Information and Alerts

Investigations

In August 2019, BBB investigated XEO Marketing and Strategic Consultancy after receiving a report that consumers are being contacted regarding employment opportunities.

BBB located a Federal Corporation for "XEO Marketing and Strategic Consultancy Inc" however, it appears the legitimate company has been targeted by a spoofer who is currently using their information to create a fraudulent website and operate an employment scam.

Based on the above, BBB suggests consumers be cautious in responding to any employment offers from this business.

How Employment Scams work:
- You receive an employment offer without applying for the job. The company may find your resume on job sites like Monster, Indeed, etc.
- If you indicate interest in the job you receive a cheque (which could also be a traveller's cheque) in the mail with instructions. In some cases the company offers to send funds via Interac E-Transfer or Bitcoin.
- You are instructed to deposit or cash the cheque and keep a portion of the funds as your first week's salary.
- Most of the remaining funds are to be used to send a money transfer (BitCoin, E-Transfer, Western Union, etc.) for equipment, rent, office supplies, etc. In some cases, you may be requested to deposit cash directly into another individuals account.
- Eventually the initial payment is found to be fraudulent, and you are held accountable to pay for the funds that were transferred.

By law, banks must make the funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. It may seem that the check has cleared and that the money has posted to the account, but when the check turns out to be a fake, the person who deposited the check and wired the money will be responsible for paying back the bank.

BBB suggests consumers exercise extreme caution when responding to unsolicited mail, email, and text messages with high-paying job offers:
- Reputable companies are not going to offer you a role without interviewing you first. Never, ever accept a job offer that has come through via email, when you have never had a telephonic or face-to-face interview.
- If the company offers you a salary that is completely out of your range, and experience, you are probably in the process of being scammed. Any legitimate employer will evaluate your skill set and experience, before deciding on what you are worth.
- Employers will never send a cheque or payment before work has been performed. If you are instructed to cash a cheque and send the funds elsewhere, it's a scam.

For more information regarding employment scams, please visit: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/fraud-escroquerie/job-emploi-eng.htm