Looking for a side hustle? Don't get caught in an employment scam
An Ontario woman was hoping to earn extra money working a side hustle to help her deal with the rising costs of living, but ended up getting caught in an online employment scam.
“My source of income where I work, it's just not enough for me after paying all my bills and paying my rent," Emmanuella Ayonote, of Brampton, Ont., told CTV News Toronto.
Ayonote said she was told about a job she could do online – a job she found in a chat group.
“She explained to me that the job is you have to register with the company for $500. After that, I would do work and be paid a commission, and it sounded like a good idea,” Ayonote said.
After she sent $500 to the company, Ayonote said she started doing the required work, adding it looked like the money in her account was growing with each task she completed at work.
But, when she tried to withdraw the funds, the website shut down.
“At one point it looked like I had $800 and I was trying to withdraw it, when everything crashed. I feel sad, so extremely sad because $500 to me is a lot,” she said.
Niagara Regional Police (NRPS) issued a news release recently after getting complaints about employment scams from victims who lose money while hoping to earn income.
“Be cautious and you should never send money to an employer as that's not common practice. The employer will send the money to the employees - not the other way around," NRPS Const. Barry Ravenek told CTV News Toronto.
Janita Pannu, founder of digital marketing agency OPIIA, told CTV News Toronto that if you’re looking for work, you should never have to pay in advance for employment.
“The only conversation you should be having with a future employer regarding money, should be about your compensation,” Pannu said.
When searching for a job online, be wary of job offers sent through email or text, remember that the most legitimate employers conduct job interviews and any promise of “easy money,” should be red flag.
Most importantly, when you see a job offer, do your research.
“If they are asking you to pay for things like training, or software or equipment that's definitely a red flag,” said Pannu.
Ayonote was part of a larger group who may have lost as much as tens of thousands of dollars to the scam.
"We are just trying to get the word out to stop the scammers from going here to there to swindle more people. People work hard for their money and they should not be swindled," Ayonote said.
According to the Financial and Consumer Services Commission Canadians lost 7.1 million dollars to job scams last year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.
Southern Ont. man charged with attempted murder in Timmins shooting
One of two men wanted for attempted murder in Timmins has been arrested, while a warrant has been issued for a second suspect, who fled police on foot.