Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.
Scamming - Fraud
If you asked to receive packages at your home or business and ship them to someone else, you should not do it! This is because it may be a Reshipping Scam. Reshipping scams are a hot trend targeting people who visit job sites, dating sites, and chat rooms. You’ll find reshipping scams disguised as bogus work-at-home offers, fake “sweethearts” who need your help, and charities asking you to donate to their cause — in Europe or Africa.
These complex scams usually involve several crimes. Some criminals purchase merchandise with stolen credit cards and need your help to smuggle the goods out of the country. Others send you counterfeit money orders or checks and ask you to reship them to another address. You’ll be given counterfeit postage to reship the illegal items.
You’re committing several felonies when you help these criminals. And even if you don’t get caught, it’s likely you’ll lose a lot of money. When they send you a money order or check for payment, you’re told to deposit it, keep a portion, and wire the remaining amount elsewhere.