MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Three weeks of work with no pay.

More than a dozen Shelby County residents contacted FOX13 after worrying they lost hours of their time and personal information in an “employment opportunity.”

“I was very skeptical from the go,” said Kim Urquia, who said she was never paid.

In late May, Urquia said she applied to a business that claimed to specialize in emergency medical services.

She was hired almost immediately.

“It was a bit surprising because we hadn’t met in person,” she admitted.

FOX13 spoke with nine other people who had very similar stories.

Most were afraid to share their names or faces because they worried they were victims of identity theft.

The employees said their “training” included watching online instructional videos to earn what appeared to be a certificate of CPR completion.

“We just watched YouTube videos, and we took what look like made-up Google Doc quizzes on the videos to say we were ‘certified,'” one man said.

“They didn’t have accounts payable, they didn’t have paperwork,” said a woman who claims she was hired to be head of human resources. “I’m used to hard copies of everything. They didn’t have any of that.”

The employees provided a copy of what appeared to be the company’s certificate of incorporation.

FOX13 could not verify the business was registered with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website. The control number on the certificate belonged to a separate company in Dyersburg.

A spokesman with the Secretary of State said his team is reviewing the document.

The Better Business Bureau would not comment on this specific case, but spokesman Daniel Irwin urged job seekers to be careful.

“When something does go wrong or you start to see red flags like not getting paid, you should be very concerned about your personal information and your identity,” he explained.

If you are in a similar situation, you can file a complaint with Tennessee’s Department of Labor at this link.

Urquia warned other job seekers to use caution with remote work opportunities.

“If it’s not a face-to-face interview and you’re not at a legit building doing your interview, I wouldn’t go through with it,” she said.

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