The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says college students are being targeted for an employment scam.
The scam works once the student accepts an offer to allow what seems like a legitimate company to wrap their branding onto the student’s vehicle. In exchange for wrapping their vehicle, the student is offered money to drive around and for upkeep.
Emails with the subject line “GET PAID TO DRIVE” are typically associated with these scams, according to the FTC. In the email, the scammer offers to pay the student between $250 and $350 a week to drive around with their vehicle wrapped to advertise a well-known product – or even an event like the 2020 Olympics.
The scammer even provides the student with a check to deposit into their bank account and advises them to withdraw a certain amount of money to provide to a specialist who will wrap the vehicle in the ads.
“And they’ll tell you to pay by money order, Walmart money services, or by making a cash deposit directly into the company’s bank account – all ways that are hard to cancel or get your money back,” according to the FTC.
The deposited check will turn out to be fake, meaning the bank will take back the money deposited into the account. The scammer will be unable to be located.
Students are urged to report these types of scams to the FTC and law enforcement.