Hiring Fraud perpetuated on Drivers and CDL Training Schools
Today, the FMCSA issued a warning to drivers and CDL students regarding attempts to scam drivers and students out of money. According to the FMCSA, the scammer promises employment in return for payment to recruiters.
Here’s how it works: A scammer calls a CDL school or a driver and represents himself or herself as a recruiter for a large or well-known carrier. The caller exhibits a sense of urgency, saying he or she “must hire” several drivers immediately or as soon as a student graduates and obtains his or her CDL.
The scammer has also been known to ask CDL school instructors to provide his or her phone number to trainees or recent graduates from truck driving schools.
When the prospective driver calls the “recruiter,” he or she is offered an immediate position. The scammer often quotes higher than average driver pay and benefits and may even offer a “waiver” for previous criminal or DUI convictions older than three to five years.
The scammer then tells the driver candidate he or she must prove a payment to the carrier by sending a wire transfer of $350 or more to the “recruiter.”
“Recently the “wire transfer” instructions were to procure a Walmart money transfer purchased at the closest Walmart store and sent to the “recruiter” for pick-up at another Walmart store, usually in another State. Past fraudulent “recruiters” have directed money transfers through other common money transfer services such as Western Union,” the FMCSA reported.
The prospective driver is then directed to travel to a specified location to be picked up by a company trainer, often in another state. When the prospective driver arrives, there is no one there to pick him or her up.
If you’re contacted by a recruiter, you’re encouraged to call the carrier’s publicly listed telephone number and verify the recruiter’s information.