'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
"$15,000 is not a small amount, it was all my savings. There were days when I would just sit and cry,” said Toronto resident Davanshi Poddar.
Poddar moved to Toronto in 2022 and was searching for a job last year when she saw an employment posting on Instagram.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
"There was an ad stating that Walmart was looking for part-time employees and you could work from home,” said Poddar.
Recognizing Walmart she assumed the job posting was legitimate, applied and was hired. Poddar was told the job involved promoting Walmart products online.
"They would send a list of products every hour and we just had to go there and add these products to a cart and send a screenshot that it was done,” said Poddar.
Over time she was told to use her own money to buy expensive products and that she would later be reimbursed. While it appeared her money was being given back to her in a separate account, it never was and Poddar was eventually scammed out of $15,000.
“Being in a new country you have questions in mind, but you also want to trust the process,” said Poddar.
CTV News Toronto reached out to Walmart and a spokesperson said, “We take concerns of this nature very seriously. We’re sorry to hear about this incident. I can confirm Walmart Canada’s recruitment ads on social media link to our careers site.”
“We also want to make it clear we would never ask anyone for money to apply for a job. Additionally, we encourage anyone who is the victim of a scam to contact police.”
Social media experts say complicating matters is the fact that some companies are using social media platforms to find employees, meaning applicants have to be extremely careful they don't get caught in a scam.
Mohit Rajhans with Think Smart Inc. said, “There are many people who are being scammed just by looking at opportunities online."
Rajhans said anyone looking for a job has to research the position carefully, do their due diligence and watch out for red flags.
“The immediate red flag would be the amount of money that's required to join or be part of any job upfront,” said Rajhans.
Signs of a job scam include being asked to send money in advance, you're told to cover purchases with your funds, you're asked to provide your bank details upfront, there is no in-person or video interview and the job involves easy mundane tasks.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the job scam is now the fourth most popular scam in Canada and Canadians lost more than $27 million to employment scams in 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
1 person killed and 23 injured in a bus crash in northern Maryland, police say
One person was killed and 23 others were injured when a bus crashed early Sunday on Interstate 95 in northern Maryland, police said.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
Chemical spill could be cause of stinky water in Puslinch, Ont., new report says
People living in Puslinch, Ont. may have the answer to why their water smelled so bad last year.