CONTACT

Katie Mitzner / Communications Director
Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado
Telephone: 719/636-5076 Ext. 118
Fax: 719/636-5078
Email: katiem@bbbsc.org

Job Posting for “Office Manager” Bilks Tens of Thousands from People from Colorado Springs to Wisconsin

This is a scam that may make you think twice about the legitimacy of an employment offer before you accept it. Recently a number of people in southern Colorado responded to an ad in a local paper advertising for an office manager. Upon responding to the ad they were quickly hired, but just as quickly found themselves the victims of a scam.

Here’s how it works. A company calling itself White Chapel Displays Inc. out of Mount Laurel, New Jersey advertises for an office manager or branch manager. The job seeker calls the 800 number listed in the advertisement and is quickly hired on as a “district branch office manager” to help keep track of inventory for this “decorating” company. The catch comes when White Chapel Displays says the new “office manager” needs to look for office space and make appropriate “big item” purchases to get the local business up and running. The newly hired office manager is sent a cashier’s check totaling almost $5000 and is asked to write checks on this money to pay for the services needed. A courier is sent to pick up the checks from the office manager’s home. Before the office manager’s bank can determine that the check is fraudulent, the payments have been made and the office manager is out all of the money. In both cases White Chapel Displays sent the “office managers” two checks totaling nearly $10,000, both o f which were fraudulent. The company then disappears.

The cashier’s checks are sent from a non existing address in New Jersey. The cell phones used by White Chapel Displays trace to Miami, Florida. The website referred to by the company links to a company out of London. According to police investigating this scam, the website appears to be legitimate and is likely a company unknowingly used in the scam. This scam ran in the Colorado Springs’ “Gazette” and the “Milwaukee Journal” and has claimed victims in both Colorado and Wisconsin. Local police in both states as well as the BBB of Southern Colorado are investigating this scam.

Reminders when applying for employment:

• Beware of companies asking you to write checks to cover their business expenses. Once you write a check you are responsible for the funds and there is no recourse if the company turns out to be fraudulent.
• Before seeking employment with an unknown company, call the BBB at 719-636-1155 or 866-206-1800 to check it out! You can also log onto BBB’s national website at www.bbb.org for information on companies in other states.

To arrange an interview with a victim affected by this scam, contact Katie Mitzner with the BBB of Southern Colorado at 719-636-5076 x118 or 866-206-1094 x118.