Online Craigslist Scam For Remote-Work-From Home Job

Beware of Remote Work-From-Home Scams on Craigslist and These Guys

Since it's commonsense, this doesn't need to be said. But, I want to give job searchers on Craigslist a heads up. These online scammers also need to be pointed out.

Craigslist requires $5 per post; small change for online scammers committing fraud.  

I've been looking for remote work-from-home jobs recently. I had luck with the process over the last couple of years and emailed them my resume. 

The first red flag, in hindsight should have been that they paid $30 per hour. The job description was also vague. That is usually resolved after more correspondence. 

In fact, all the post said was that it was a remote IT / customer support position. 

I got a text the following day asking me to verify my identity. This generally requires I send my state id. They also sent me a link to verify my face. This is generally standard practice for remote jobs.  

I do currently work from home editing audio! Check my link here!

It was a week before they told me that I had passed verification and to expect a package to arrive. in the mail. 

Before this, I want to the link for the Craigslist ad. I wanted to confirm what it said and it said this: 

Well, that's a little suspicious. 

The next thing to do was a reverse image search of the Sparkwave logo and got these results.

I became more suspicious when I matched the graphic they were using with the un-pixeled one in the search results. 

It confirmed to me that they lifted the graphic from somewhere else, simply duplicated it as another layer and changed one color. 

I had learned all of this before they told me to expect a package. 

They also said that training would start on the day it would be delivered and that it was paid. 

I texted them back asking them to send me details of the job description and a link to their site as any credible employer should have one. 

I ran searches before to find out who Sparkwave was and found various potential sites but they never sent me anything that matched. 

Then, over Memorial Day weekend, I get this email: 

From: Recruitment Desk <recruiter@sparkwaveremotejobs.info>
Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2025 5:29 PM

Subject: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

Hi ***,

I hope this message finds you well, 

We know you can’t wait to get started with us.

Kindly provide us with your id.me gmail and password so as to verify the Employee's identity for employment-related background screening, fraud prevention, and security purposes,

If you you’re yet to have yours kindly navigate to id.me and apply after you might have applied kindly forward the gmail and password you used for registration.

We are hoping you’ll get this done so you can get started as soon as possible.

Thanks

Adam.

I couldn't believe or be sure of what they're asking for. Did they just ask for my login info?

Why would they be so stupid as to ask me for my username and password to log into my ID.me account? 

I emailed them to clarify and sure enough, that's what they wanted! 

They emailed me again and even texted me on Memorial Day saying that I needed to act quickly to start the employment process. 

At this point, I felt I had already wasted too much time with these clowns and ghosted them. 

To confirm, this is what the ID.me site says about this kind of shit. 

Understanding and identifying online scams

Scams and fraud can affect anyone, no matter how savvy you may be. Some of the most common scams use psychology to trick people into revealing personal, sensitive information and performing actions that compromise their security. Scammers are becoming harder to spot.

When it comes to ID.me, scammers may trick you into verifying your identity on an ID.me account they created or to give them access to your ID.me account after you’ve verified your identity. When scammers have access to your account, they can use it to log in and you and access government benefits and services, like the IRS and unemployment agencies.

This article explains how scammers try to trick you and how to identify scams so you can protect yourself.

The psychology of scams

Scammers increasingly use human psychology, rather than technical methods (like deep fakes or fake documents), to gain access to an account. They often exploit trust, fear, or a sense of urgency to manipulate their victims into taking actions that benefit the scammer.

Note: The methods used by scammers are constantly evolving, so the examples in this article may not cover every type of social engineering scam.

Here are examples of scams to look out for:

Fake jobs

“Please reply to verify your job employment verification. All you need to do is click on the link and take a selfie to complete the verification process. We can also set up an interview on Facebook Messenger.”

Tip: When in doubt, contact the company who listed the job. Be on the lookout for people who invite you to a job interview on Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. Learn more about job scams.

I mean, shit! 

It verbatim points out what they were trying to do!