Prince Frederick, MD—At the end of August, Maria Ciancio, an unemployed mother living in Prince Frederick, was looking through jobs advertised on Facebook and stumbled across one that caught her eye. The job description stated that they were looking for someone who would advertise the Redbull energy drink by getting their car wrapped in its insignia. The payment for doing so was $450 a week for three to six months. Ciancio was interested in taking up this offer, although it seemed “too good to be true.” What Ciancio did not realize was that she was about to fall victim to a ploy.
Ciancio contacted the job personnel, who stated that they were impressed with her qualifications. The representative, who claims his name is Daniel Radley, told Ciancio that they would send her paperwork in the mail and that a technician would come out to her house to wrap her car. Everything sounded legitimate, and Ciancio was looking forward to a positive job opportunity. Radley then told Ciancio that they required a $500 deposit, however she would get reimbursed for this payment. Radley asked for Ciancio’s bank account information, but she did not feel comfortable revealing that, so instead Radley told her that the company would accept the funds through Western Union or MoneyGram. Ciancio wired the $500 to Radley’s supervisor, Bonnie Hill, to a location down in Newbern, NC.
A few weeks later, Ciancio received a check in the mail for $1,950. The bank was already closed, so Ciancio took the check to an ATM. The ATM would not accept it, displaying a message saying that the check was not valid. When the bank reopened, Ciancio took the check in and the teller informed her that it was a fake check that could not be cashed. Ciancio called Radley, who seemed confused by the situation and told Ciancio that they would send her a different check. Radley then went on to say that the technician who was supposed to wrap her car was unfamiliar with the area that she lived in, and would require yet another deposit to come out to her home. Ciancio decided she just wanted her money back, and did not want to pursue the Redbull advertising gig, to which Radley told her that she would have to purchase a $50 iTunes gift card, and then they would put the remainder of the money on that card. The entire scenario was senseless, and Ciancio could not get a straight answer from Radley.
Since this conversation, Ciancio has been unable to contact Radley. He will not answer calls or text messages. Being an unemployed mother, $500 is a significant amount of money to lose. At her wit’s end, Ciancio contacted the Calvert County Sherriff’s Office, who told her they would file a report and consider it further if anyone else complains about a similar issue. Ciancio is now skeptical of jobs advertised on Facebook, and says she believes the Calvert Sherriff’s Office treated her “like a fool” when she was just trying to earn some money. Ciancio contacted TheBayNet.com to get her story out there in order to spread awareness. With the ever-increasing presence of social media and the Internet in our lives, it is important to remain cautious of online dealers and offers. Always do your research to prevent getting scammed.