A college student in Long Beach who applied to a paid internship via the job-searching site Indeed was told she handed landed the job — then scammers stole thousands from her.
“[They said] ‘We’re interested in you, you have the qualified skills,” Alexandria Smith said.
It was music to her ears. The Cal State Long Beach student landed a paid internship to do social media for Greylock Capital Management LLC.
“I was hoping I could use it to not just help myself but also bring in some income for my mom because I was like, ‘Oh I can help her out and ease some of the burden off of her.’ Then I was hit in the gut,” she said.
It was all a ruse. Smith applied for the position through the job search site Indeed.com.
A scam artist posing as a Greylock employee contacted Smith online telling her she was a candidate, and to download the “Element” messaging app for an online interview.
Randy Mac reports for the NBC4 News.
She said the scammer asked her, “What can you bring to the company?” and “What skillsets do you have?” during the 45-minute chat. Smith shared screenshots with the NBC4 I-Team of the exchange.
Smith was told she was hired, asked to fill out an application and was sent three checks.
She said the first two checks were for around $1,900, and the last for $3,200.
Smith says she was instructed to deposit the checks into her account with school’s First Federal Credit Union. Then to use Zelle to transfer some of the cash and…
