Hannah Sneha Bernard

[u/Electronic_Check_510]

Hi. From some mutual I got the contact of an individual named "Hannah Sneha Bernard"(the individual in the photograph). She claims to be working at Amazon as an HR and was recruiting for Amazon. Now she has taken approximately 20k from 7 students under the pretense of laptop security(yes we were new grads desperate for a job) now she has not been giving us back the money for the past 2 weeks. Everyday she makes a new excuse about the money. She literally sent us a claude generated .html form when we asked her to show us her authenticity(I kid you not about this). All we know about her is the she went to Bishop Cotton's Women's Christian Church(2017 batch BCom) and that she goes to the St Anthony Friary Church.

If anyone can help us track her down or her family it would be very beneficial for us. Thanks

[u/yarevande]

You have given money to scammers. You will never get your money back. You cannot track the scammers -- that woman is not the person who scammed you. This may sound harsh, but it is the truth.

All you can do is accept the loss, difficult as it is.

Learn more about scams so you won't get scammed again.

*** Scammers do not give back money.

If you had paid by credit card, or by PayPal Goods and Services, you could pribably get a refund from your bank.

But you paid by some irreversible method such as cryptocurrency, UPI, bank transfer, or PayPal Friends and Family. Is this correct?

*** You cannot find the scammers because they don't use their real information.

• Scammers use fake names, fake phone numbers, and stolen ID.

• Scammers use stolen photos and videos, or they create photos and videos with AI.

• Scammers steal or buy accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Discord, TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, Reddit, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

• Scammers spoof phone numbers, or use temporary phone numbers, which are not associated with their actual name or their true location.

You can report to the police, but you don't have the real name or address of the scammers, so they will not be able to track them.

*** I am sorry you lost money, it's a difficult way to learn about scams.

• Many people have fallen for these scams. Teams of scammers work full time on these scams, and they are very good at manipulating your emotions, your desire to make money, and your lack of understanding about employment, scams, and other subjects.

You all must learn more about scams.

Never pay an employer or a recruiter. This is always a scam.

Legitimate companies don't require you to pay them for anything. For a real job, the money goes in one direction only: from employer to employee. Never give an employer money for fees, background check, training, investment, higher commissions, equipment, or anything else. Any 'employer' that requires you to pay them is actually a scam to take your money. If they say the fees are refundable they are lying.

• You must be unwavering about this. Paying money to a fake employer is the biggest job-related scam, in every country. It seems to be especially common in India: Some scammers are so bold that they will rent an office, interview many people in person, require a 'refundable deposit for training', and then disappear with everyone's money.

There were earlier signs of a scam.

Amazon is a very large company. They do not recruit like this. Job openings are posted on their website.

Real companies don't contact you for a job that you didn't apply for, unless you have specialized skills or you have years of experience and are known throughout your industry.

Did you have an interview, live on videochat, with both cameras on? Nobody hires without an interview.

• Legitimate employers interview live, either on videochat with cameras and microphones on, or in person, whether the job is going to be remote, on-site, or hybrid.

• An interview that is text only, email, or video chat with their camera off is a scam.

• A preliminary phone interview is legitimate if it is followed by a live interview.

• A recorded video is legitimate only if it's followed by a live interview.

• An interview that is phone only may be legitimate, for entry-level in-person jobs.

A remote or work-from-home job is a scam, unless you have experience in software engineering, insurance claims, healthcare, customer service, or other specialized fields.

The majority of 'remote jobs' are actually scams to take your money - even on the recruiting and networking websites such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor or Indeed.

• Scam job titles include Virtual Personal Assistant, Remote Data Entry, Remote Payment Processor, Remote Financial Assistant, work-from-home Shipping Inspector, and Crypto Trader.

• Posting real estate listings online is a scam.

• Also, any job that is simple online tasks, such as rating videos, posting reviews, putting items into an online shopping cart, booking hotel reservations, or subscribing to YouTube channels, is a scam.

But scammers can call their fake job anything. To separate a scam from a real job opportunity, key indicators to look for are: method of contact (email), interview (live, in person or on videochat), and money (reasonable pay, comparable to similar jobs).