Postal Service warns of shipping fraud disguised as work-from-home programs

PHOENIX - Those on a job hunt should be wary of work-at-home programs, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

These programs are increasingly exposed as shipping fraud—a scheme that claims to pay home-based employees to ship merchandise abroad, the Phoenix division of the USPS said.

Victims often receive counterfeit checks for their work or have their bank accounts drained by wire transfer schemes, said Paul Krenn with the Phoenix Division of the USPS Inspection Service.

Victims may unknowingly engage in crime themselves, by shipping merchandise paid for with stolen credit cards, Krenn said.

He said victims may face felony charges as an accessory to the crime.

Victims are often snagged via social media and are referred to with titles like "forwarding agent," "mystery shopper" or "processing manager."

“If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” said Pete Zegarac, postal inspector in charge of the US Postal Inspection Service's Phoenix Division.

Krenn advises anyone who may have been tricked into shipping fraud to stop sending packages, cut off all communications with the scheme’s operators, keep a record of previous conversations and contact Postal Inspectors online or by calling 1-877-876-2455.