Two BBBs have recently issued warnings about work-at-home scams offering work that involves shipping packages overseas.  The first scam is to be a “gift wrapper” for Best Buy; the second, to be a “mail manager” for an online company.

BBB serving Minnesota and North Dakota reports that the name of the major retailer Best Buy has been misappropriated in a scam that offers job seekers the chance to be a “Best Buy gift wrapper.”  As with most re-shipping scams, the job involves the “employee” repackaging and shipping overseas stolen merchandise or items that have been ordered from mail-order or auction sites and not paid for.  The legitimate Best Buy wants anyone seeking employment with them to know that all Best Buy jobs in the US are posted via their Web sites, http://careers.bestbuy.com or www.bestbuy-jobs.com. Best Buy does not solicit or accept job applications or resumes via email.  Any inquiry from a Best Buy recruiter inviting a candidate to apply for a position will include an invitation to apply via the Best Buy career site or in person inside one of their store locations.

The next warning comes from the BBB of South Alabama.  They received a complaint from a customer who had found a “work-at-home” job online, working as a “mail manager” for an online company, 1-stop-shopper.com.  The first package the “mail manager” received was two large bottles of Chanel #5 perfume to be sent to Russia.  The second package to be shipped turned out to contain dozens of pre-paid SIM cards that had been paid for with a stolen credit card.

To avoid being caught up in a work-at-home scam such as these, read the BBB tips on the red flags that can help identify reshipping and forwarding scams.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is alerting consumers to AAA Africanized Bee Removal (AABR), a Tucson-based bee removal company that has repeatedly misled consumers by using BBB’s logo in its advertisements, despite not being Accredited, and having an ‘F’ rating with BBB.

In a recent complaint against the company, Andrea Barber- a Tucson consumer- provided BBB with a copy of AABR’s business card, which unlawfully uses BBB’s logo.

“It’s very misleading,” she told BBB. “To put a Better Business Bureau logo on their card is unconscionable.”

This is not the first time AABR has used BBB’s logo without authorization. AABR was notified of trademark infringement in 2005, 2006, and 2009 for using BBB’s logo in their yellow pages ads and on their business cards.

In 2006 and 2007 BBB spoke with the company on multiple occasions, and informed them that BBB’s logo was a registered trademark, and the company was not authorized to use it. AABR has an ‘F’ rating with four unanswered complaints, and is not eligible to be a BBB Accredited Business.

If consumers see a business advertising their Accreditation with BBB they can call (520)888-5353 or visit www.tucson.bbb.org to double check the business’ Accreditation status.

eBay can be a great place to buy and sell items online. However, as with other money-making opportunities, there are unscrupulous people that will use the site to take advantage of consumers. It’s important to know what to watch out for. Here is a list of unethical tactics mentioned on eBay’s website:

“Shill Bidding”: This is when a seller has multiple accounts or a group of friends who deceitfully make higher and higher bids to increase the seller’s overall profit margin.

“Bid Shielding”: In this scenario, the buyer with the multiple accounts or group of friend bidders will keep upping their bids but then retract them. This process is used to scare off other bidders. Then, the bidder with the lowest bid gets the item for bottom-dollar price.

“Switch and Return”: A buyer will purchase an item from you and return it. The catch – the item they return is not what you sold them; it’s a fake.

“Fakes and Reproductions”: Sellers may provide fraudulent certificates of authenticity on collectors’ items. This may be done on rare items billed as being in “mint condition.” Watch out for wording such as “to my knowledge” or “I think.” Be especially aware of counterfeit trading cards.

There are some precautions consumers can take to predict and prevent internet crime.

• Know who you are dealing with! Find out a seller’s information. Do this by placing a low bid on an item and go to http://search.ebay.com/advancedsearch. Enter in “the seller’s name and item (more…)