Police Warn of Job Scam With Potential for ID Theft

Police in Merrimack are warning the public of an elaborate job scam that could result in identity theft if carried through.

Police say they were recently contacted by a resident who was concerned about an experience he'd had in interviewing what appeared to be a legitimate job that he applied for online.

The man said he responded to a job posting on a credible job search engine that was alleged to be from a known company in the area. The man said he  
was contacted by e-mail for a Yahoo Instant Messenger preliminary 
interview, but once he initiated the chat, it became clear something was amiss. 

The man told police the chat was riddled with misspellings and inappropriate responses from the interviewer that concerned him and 
he did some online follow up on the company's website. He learned 
that the position advertised had already been filled and was no longer 
posted. Upon asking the supposed interviewer for a phone number, the chat 
was disconnected.

"The area of concern in this matter was the fact that the scam artist 
did some legwork about the company and it's Human Resources 
department to provide enough legitimate content that someone could 
potentially unknowingly provide personal identifying information to an 
identity thief," police said in a press release. 

Anyone who may have had a similar experience, or who has one in the future should contact Merrimack Police at 424-3774.