GREENSBORO, N.C. — Have you ever received a text telling you if you put a company's logo on your car you can be paid to promote it?
A WFMY News 2 viewer received a text like that and is wondering if it's a real offer.
THE QUESTION
Will Oral B pay you $500 to put a decal on your vehicle to promote their brand?
OUR SOURCES
THE ANSWER
WHAT WE FOUND
We brought the text message to the Better Business Bureau and they say it is definitely a scam. Lechelle Yates says this is a textbook version of an employment scam. She says people have reported similar messages to the BBB.
"We call it an employment scam because you're hired to drive around with the big Oral-B on the side of your vehicle but that's a bit of a misnomer because you actually become a victim when you fall for the fake check and that's the part of the scam," Yates said.
If you fall for the scam, she says the new "employer" sends you a fake check for completing the job. You would then deposit the check and use that money to pay the person to put the decal on the car. But once the check is found out to be fake you're on the hook for the lost money.
"Because this is an employment scam when you are looking for a job one of the hallmarks of unemployment scams is the emails with the recruiters or whoever you're talking to about the job never comes from the business itself and never comes from so-and-so@amazon.com or so and so oral-b.com that's always a really good red flag," Yates said.
The Federal Trade Commission warns of other red flags. Some examples include promising free prizes, gift card or coupons, offering a low or no interest credit card or promising to pay off loans.