MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Three weeks of work with no pay.<\/p>\n
More than a dozen Shelby County residents contacted FOX13 after worrying they lost hours of their time and personal information in an “employment opportunity.”<\/p>\n
“I was very skeptical from the go,” said Kim Urquia, who said she was never paid.<\/p>\n
In late May, Urquia said she applied to a business that claimed to specialize in emergency medical services.<\/p>\n
She was hired almost immediately.<\/p>\n
“It was a bit surprising because we hadn’t met in person,” she admitted.<\/p>\n
FOX13 spoke with nine other people who had very similar stories.<\/p>\n
Most were afraid to share their names or faces because they worried they were victims of identity theft.<\/p>\n
The employees said their “training” included watching online instructional videos to earn what appeared to be a certificate of CPR completion.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
The employees provided a copy of what appeared to be the company’s certificate of incorporation.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A spokesman with the Secretary of State said his team is reviewing the document.<\/p>\n
The Better Business Bureau would not comment on this specific case, but spokesman Daniel Irwin urged job seekers to be careful.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
If you are in a similar situation, you can file a complaint with Tennessee’s Department of Labor at this link.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Urquia warned other job seekers to use caution with remote work opportunities.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n