Scam Type
Employment Scam
Business Name Used
Behrat Construction- Imposter
Date Reported
Jun 01, 2022
Victim Postal Code
33414
Total Dollars Lost
$1,000.00
Scam Description
Hi, I was recently scammed by an imposter of a company I applied for via my Linkedin account.I applied to jobs before with Linkedin and never thought once that I would ever fall victim to a fraudulent job add using this reputable platform. Susan Roberts with phone # 972-746-2502, email: susan@berahtconstrution.net, somehow managed to get my information to contact me regarding the Remote Data Entry position I applied for. When I searched Beraht Construction on April 8,2022 nothing negative showed up and no record of any scam alert. Susan communicated with me via text and email, sent me a link to take an assessment test (https://careers.berahtconstruction.net/test) which she later stated I passed and shortly after offered me an employment contract. Everything seemed legitimate but sadly I did not pick up on the part where she sent me this email after I was offered employment: ” Beraht Construction is pleased to offer you the position of a Data Entry Clerk although there seems to be a situation. The Companys’ approved vendor is running a skeletal workforce and would be unable to make shipment of the required office equipment to you at this time. We sourced for a new vendor whose payment methods are limited to Apple Pay and Zelle, which are currently not available to the Company. If the aforementioned payment methods are readily available to you, Beraht Construction will be happy to mail you a check. You are to use the funds from this check to complete the payment to the new vendor. Kindly advise if the aforementioned payment methods are available to you and that the Company can rely on your full trust, commitment and diligence in carrying out this task”. Sadly I received a check from Susan mailed to me via Priority Mail Express from Superior Ready Mix Concrete, L.P. 1508 W. Mission Road, Escondido, CA 92029 for $3200.44 on April 13, 22 that was deposited in my account the next day on April 14,22 Unfortunately with my good banking standing, my bank posted funds the next business day making me get the false confirmation that this company and Susan are indeed legitimate. Susan in the meanwhile since I received the check has not stopped hounding me with texts to expedite the payment and shipping of the equipment (supposedly a laptop specifically to be used the company’s data entry). She made me anxious and nervous to the point I could not think before taking action to fulfill her request to send the Vendor the money via Zelle. Susan asked me to send the amount in increments of $1000 to a Zelle recipient she sent me : Cleranie Beauvil with an email address: Foreignadi99@gmail.com. After that Susan was continuously texting me sending another recipient name: Zenzi Owosu with email: Zenzi09@gmail.com. Luckily I haven’t used Zelle before therefore my second attempt to send the next $1000 was not approved. I was busy with my studies so I contacted my mom who is an authorized user on my account to contact the bank to ask why I am not able to send the transfers. When my mom called the bank and was inquiring about the Zelle rules and how it works, she informed the banker why I was sending these transfers and the banker immediately picked up that this is a scam and immediately filed a claim on April 15, 2021. My mom called me immediately to inform me not to attempt any more transfers or communications with Susan Roberts. My mom also contacted Zelle but unfortunately she couldn’t complete a form online for the incident and was only offered filing a case over the phone with an agent. Shortly after all this I found a Scam Alert posted on Linkedin by the real Berhat Construction which posted on April 11,22. My communication began on April 8 with Susan and ended on April 15, 22. I feel violated and scared. I do not know if I would trust to use LinkedIn or any online job search platform. I filled a police report, a Zelle scam report, IC3 complaint and Federal Trade Commission report. I really hope that this Susan and her scam team will be caught and brought to justice before they move on to use other names and victimize more people.
