A man from Council Bluffs was scammed and lost $3,000 after he applied for a fake job

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A student at Iowa Western was duped out of a significant amount of money through a work hoax.

The victim was duped in a very genuine way by the fraudulent sales pitch, despite the fact that it may have seemed too good to be true.

Students at Iowa Western are being cautioned to pay attention to the emails they receive because con artists will try to trick them.

Student Michael Hansen explained his train of thought by saying, “The email came from an Iowa Western email account therefore that’s why I felt it was from Iowa Western.”

Michael was presented with a campus employment job opportunity in the form of an email that gave him the chance to work part-time from home or school and earn $450 per week doing errands for someone who lived off campus. He had the impression that they were connected to Iowa Western.

“No, I didn’t believe it was too good to be true; I know some individuals who are fortunate with positions like that where they make decent money,” the person responded. “No, I didn’t think it was too good to be true.”

Pay would be withdrawn from a check drawn on a clinic in Michigan that Michael had put in his account, and the remainder of the money would be donated in accordance with the instructions.

Around two days after I deposited the check, I received notification that it had bounced.

It turns out to be a hoax, and his bank is demanding the return of $3000.

“I was under the impression that I had a terrific job, but I later found out that I had been taken advantage of.”

According to the Nebraska Bankers Association, the act of cashing a check does not indicate that the check has been cleared.

According to Richard Baier, President of the Nebraska Bankers Association, “We are compelled under federal law to swiftly provide the money for checks placed.” This statement was made in reference to the federal statute. “Therefore, the tension in this process arises from the fact that the bank has to afterwards travel to the other bank where the check came from and verify there are money to draw it out of,”

When we got back to the Iowa Western campus, the information technology staff looked into the fake employment opportunity that had been sent out via a school email.

Don Kohler, the Vice President of the organization, stated that “a student email was hijacked and then used to feed emails to other students involved in this scam.” “Since all student emails have a number as well, this individual had both the name and the number in order to make it appear as though nothing was amiss.”

Kohler claims that in addition to requiring passwords of 15 characters, Iowa Western has recently strengthened its security by implementing a multi-factor email authentication procedure.

But if a fraudulent email gets through, both students and staff members should recognize the warning signs.

According to advisor Kinsey Rodenburg, “if there’s a website included or an email address from outside Iowa Western that they are asking you to contact, then that’s an idea it’s a scam.” “If there’s a link included or an email address from outside Iowa Western that they are asking you to contact,”

Michael claims that he has paid the bank $600 back, but because he still owes $2,700, he has decided to take some time off from education.

“The best thing I can do right now is to go to work every day, and if I need to, I’ll pick up another job so I can pay it off and move on with my life.”

Michael has stated that he will evaluate any additional job opportunities that come through a college email address.

The Council Bluffs Police Department is aggressively looking into Michael’s disappearance. The Michigan clinic adds that the fake checks using its name began circulating approximately two months ago, and staff members have received calls from potential victims located in a variety of states.

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