Information and Alerts

Investigations

In January 2019 BBB investigated BPM Staffing & Solutions Inc's business practices due to reports through BBB Scam Tracker. Consumers advised that they had been contacted by the Human Resources Manager, Ms. Michelle Preston, of BPM Staffing & Solutions Inc and offered employment without a formal interview. Once hired, they were directed by Ms. Preston to accept an Interac e-transfer, convert the funds into BitCoin, and deposit into another BitCoin account. The consumer did not complete the transaction.

On January 24 2019 BBB checked the website bpmstaffing.ca to determine when it was created and where it was registered. The website was created on November 23 2018 however the registrant information was not disclosed. On the same date BBB contacted the company by phone at 647-699-3338 but there was no answer. Additionally, the mailing address reported on the website appears to be a residence.

Upon review it appears the company may be spoofing a legitimate federally registered company by the same name which is located at the same mailing address, 2005 - 4011 Brickstone Mews, Mississauga, ON L5B 0J7.

Based on the information detailed 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