DENVER — The text or email might sound tempting: a recruiter promising remote work, flexible hours, and a healthy paycheck. Many people simply delete them, but what happens if you respond?
Denver resident Shadawn Shuler said she learned the answer the hard way.
Shuler, who was born and raised in Denver, said she applied for hundreds of jobs online earlier this year. She received an email from a company called Echo Shipping LLC about a position they listed as “consignment verifier.”
“They had listed what I would be doing, which was very vague. It just said I was a product tester, and that I would be getting paid a salary after 30 days of $4,300 plus a $350 bonus,” Shuler told Denver7 Investigates. “And that did sound good, but it did sound iffy.”
Shuler, who has a child with special needs, said she was looking for a remote job so she could spend more time with her son.
“So I took this job specifically so I could just stay home," she said. "I’ve shipped packages before, so I assumed it would be something similar to this one. It was not.”
Packages start arriving
According to Shuler, the company began mailing her high‑value items — golf clubs, brand‑name clothes, and electronics — and asked her to open the packages, photograph the contents, upload the images to an online dashboard, then repackage and reship them using labels they provided.
“They told me it was quality control,” Shuler said.
In all, she said she shipped more than 20 packages. But just before her first scheduled payday, she said she was locked out of the dashboard.
“I was supposed to get paid on the third. I think on the first, I was locked out,” Shuler said. “I had no access to the dashboard. I could not see anything. I called, emailed — no response. I was never, ever paid. Not a dime.”
Shuler suspects the company was an imposter using a name similar to a legitimate freight business.
“I do think this was a scam,” she said.
BBB: Employment scams are surging
The Better Business Bureau said employment scams like this are surging nationwide. Meghan Conradt, director of the BBB Foundation, said that since Jan. 1, the Denver metro area has reported 237 employment scams totaling nearly $92,000 in losses.
“They will say that they’re with a company that sounds very close to a legitimate company, so that it might be similar in name, or they may just be impostors, and say that they are actually with a legitimate company,” Conradt said.
Conradt said scammers sometimes ask victims to pay for training or equipment, or they send counterfeit checks with “overpayments” and ask the worker to wire back the difference.
“Like we see with a lot of scams, they really prey on people’s insecurities and their vulnerabilities,” she said.
Sharing her story
Shuler said she ignored early warning signs — including emails from a Gmail account and vague job descriptions — in desperation to find flexible work. She closed her bank account after the scam to protect herself, and she hopes speaking up will help others.
“I’m glad that I’m just able to share my story," she said. "And hopefully more people in Colorado, more people in general, are able to get this story and see the scams, and not ignore red flags like I did.”
Shuler and the BBB outlined three warning signs for job seekers: unsolicited offers, big pay for little work, and up‑front requests for money or sensitive information.
The U.S. Postal Service warns that participating in a reshipping scam can be a felony. Even if scammers send a check, the BBB said those checks are often counterfeit, leaving the victim liable for the full amount once deposited.
