I think I am a fraud victim.

[Goroshek 0]

Hi, I have already asked a question about a potential employer who was asking me to send him a lot of documents online.

I refused and explained that I would only show some of them in a personal meeting.the meeting happened today.

Here is the result: In the second meeting he asked me to fill in the form I-9 and W-4 and asked to show him my greencard, the extension letter from USCIS, my drivers license, my SSN, my passport, my Birth Certificate. When I gave them to him he started scanning them without a permission saying that he would need to prove that if the tax company asks him about that. They looked like a decent family living in a big beautiful house, he works as an executive and I agreed hoping that he was checking all that just trying not to be involved into anything illegal.

Then he printed a contract, he gave one copy to me and another one to his wife, we both read it and I signed, then the wife took that contract from my hands and gave it to him, when I asked if they are going to sign it, too, they said that they would do that after a background check.

In other words all my personal documents already scanned in their computer and I don't even have a copy of a signed contract!

Ok, let me believe in good people's qualities.

when I came home I looked at all the documents I had one more time including the filled copy of the printed W-4 form they gave to me. Now comes the funniest part, the form says "2011"!!!!!!! Not 2012!!!

In the form I-9 we signed today I put the today's date and they put January, 14, 2012.

They told me to start moving in at the end of the week if the background check is fine. Now I am 90% sure I am not going to hear from them again and I already filled in the form W-4 2011! Can they just use this form for their 2012 tax return and use the scans of my papers for that?

What should I do if they don't call back? Can I make a fraud report on them? How can I prove it?

I know that was silly of me but I had never worked on families in private houses before and I was trying to understand them that it's hard to leave the person you don't know anything about in your house, but that was what I got in return for my being polite, trustful and tactful.

what should I do next? Thank you for your help

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Form W-4 isn't something people file with their tax return. It's a form an employer asks you to fill out so they know how much taxes you want withheld from your wages. The fact that a 2011 form was used instead of a 2012 is sloppy, but doesn't really mean anything else.

The reason you are getting a creeped out feeling is because legally this guy asked for way more information from you than he was entitled too. That is where he broke the law.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Agree with Rebecca Jo- the dates are sloppy, but nothing major.

While he wasn;t supposed to ask for your greencard, a lot of employers do.

The other stuff is weird though- no need for him to see your birth cert (it doesn't show if you are legal in the country...), passport and so on. I would keep a close eye on your bank balance for a while.

[Goroshek 0]

Agree with Rebecca Jo- the dates are sloppy, but nothing major.

While he wasn;t supposed to ask for your greencard, a lot of employers do.

The other stuff is weird though- no need for him to see your birth cert (it doesn't show if you are legal in the country...), passport and so on. I would keep a close eye on your bank balance for a while.

What can he do and how can I protect myself?

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

He probably has enough information to apply for credit cards and such in your name. I would call the police non-emergency line and ask for advice. If he has done this before, he may be known to them- even if not, they can give you tips on protecting yourself. All I can suggest is to sign up for online banking so you can keep a close eye on your bank accounts, and also check your credit reports regularly. You could sign up for something like LifeLock, but I am not sure if that works after the fact.

[skiptex 225]

freeze your credit with the 3 bureaus.. i could cost about $10 each of the three credit bureaus..

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-remains-best-way-shut-down-economic-/nFhB/

[Harsh_77 718]

OP – I really have no input at this point as on you earlier post, you were given pretty good advice what you should do and what you should not do.

You were clearly explained by tons of folks how the background check works, what is required for background check and when you should provide your details to these guys.

It seems you were just excited on the prospect of employment and you went on providing your details without thinking.

[Darnell 8,479]

Harsh - ya - it does seem weird, after all the advice given in her prior topic.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Agree with Rebecca Jo- the dates are sloppy, but nothing major.

While he wasn;t supposed to ask for your greencard, a lot of employers do.

The other stuff is weird though- no need for him to see your birth cert (it doesn't show if you are legal in the country...), passport and so on. I would keep a close eye on your bank balance for a while.

This may be a legitimate job. I would probably violate a few laws in hiring a person who will be in my house with my wife and children. How many of you would do it too? The chances that the Labor Department or any government agency coming after a homeowner for violating hiring practice is near zero. Considering that versus the safety of my family, I probably ask for everything the applicant is willing to give me.

If there is fraud, the bank account is not what is going to get looted. It's opening up new lines of credit. Check your credit reports if you have any concerns.

Edited January 17, 2012 by aaron2020

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

LifeLock is a bad idea, how they protect you is by falsely reporting to all 3 Bureaus that you are a Fraud Victim.

If you contact each of the 3 Bureaus you can lock your file, don't use a service to do it for you.

You could always spend a little money and check him and his wife out on beenverified dot com if you're really freaked-out.

[Miss smarty pants 84]

I don't really see the problem. Though they asked for a little more than really necessary....it still could be legitimate.

[MnnnB 4]

He probably has enough information to apply for credit cards and such in your name. I would call the police non-emergency line and ask for advice. If he has done this before, he may be known to them- even if not, they can give you tips on protecting yourself. All I can suggest is to sign up for online banking so you can keep a close eye on your bank accounts, and also check your credit reports regularly. You could sign up for something like LifeLock, but I am not sure if that works after the fact.

I AGREE WITH YOU!!

[MnnnB 4]

What can he do and how can I protect myself?

ALSO CALL YOUR BANK AND REQUEST TO CHANGE YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBERS.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

The way I see this, the employer asked for more documents than required. There's no law against asking, and since you provided these things voluntarily, no law was broken.

As always, know your rights, know the law, and do what you feel comfortable with. I am pretty sure no fraud attempt is going on here; thus, I personally would not jump the gun because of this.

For the future, keep in mind that your birth certificate is surely nobody's business. If you want to show your Green Card (List A document), I have no problem with that and I actually understand that some employers want to make sure the person they are about to hire is authorized to accept employment in the U.S. From a purely legal perspective, all you needed to show for I-9 purposes to prove (a) who you are is your driver's license (List B document) and (b) that you are authorized to work, an unrestricted SS card (List C document).

Google "I-9 form" and learn what you need to know about this.

[rizallen 0]

Hi, I have already asked a question about a potential employer who was asking me to send him a lot of documents online.

I refused and explained that I would only show some of them in a personal meeting.the meeting happened today.

Here is the result: In the second meeting he asked me to fill in the form I-9 and W-4 and asked to show him my greencard, the extension letter from USCIS, my drivers license, my SSN, my passport, my Birth Certificate. When I gave them to him he started scanning them without a permission saying that he would need to prove that if the tax company asks him about that. They looked like a decent family living in a big beautiful house, he works as an executive and I agreed hoping that he was checking all that just trying not to be involved into anything illegal.

Then he printed a contract, he gave one copy to me and another one to his wife, we both read it and I signed, then the wife took that contract from my hands and gave it to him, when I asked if they are going to sign it, too, they said that they would do that after a background check.

In other words all my personal documents already scanned in their computer and I don't even have a copy of a signed contract!

Ok, let me believe in good people's qualities.

when I came home I looked at all the documents I had one more time including the filled copy of the printed W-4 form they gave to me. Now comes the funniest part, the form says "2011"!!!!!!! Not 2012!!!

In the form I-9 we signed today I put the today's date and they put January, 14, 2012.

They told me to start moving in at the end of the week if the background check is fine. Now I am 90% sure I am not going to hear from them again and I already filled in the form W-4 2011! Can they just use this form for their 2012 tax return and use the scans of my papers for that?

What should I do if they don't call back? Can I make a fraud report on them? How can I prove it?

I know that was silly of me but I had never worked on families in private houses before and I was trying to understand them that it's hard to leave the person you don't know anything about in your house, but that was what I got in return for my being polite, trustful and tactful.

what should I do next? Thank you for your help

what job are you applying for?