Ontario insurance regulators are warning about an apparent advance fee scam preying on job seekers and using a name similar to the State Farm group of companies.
The Financial Services Commission of Ontario issued a warning Friday about an online scam involving fraudulent job offers that have appeared on popular classified advertising website, Craigslist. FSCO says that offers to perform data entry work from home for a company called State Farm Insurance Services Agency are being made through the site.
Job applicants are then told that computer equipment must be installed for the job, and they are asked to pay a fee to cover the installation. “Consumers should be aware that a request for an advance fee is a common characteristic of a job scam,” it says.
FSCO notes that the firm running the apparent scam is not associated with any of the legitimate State Farm companies, and that is not licensed by the regulator.