Posts in category: Company News

Employment scammers use the same techniques to post job listings online as legitimate businesses do. They use ads on social media, job websites and other platforms. When an applicant shows interest, they use that as a way to access personal information and even money.

Unfortunately, it came to our attention that our name was used in an employment scam, and we posted the following notice on our website:

Public Notice: It has come to Global’s attention that unknown parties have been advertising on various employment platforms purporting to be representatives of Global in an apparent attempt to defraud prospective applicants of money and obtain their confidential information.

Please be advised that Global has no available employment positions at this time, and when we do screen for job applicants we will never require you to obtain equipment for performing a position at our company via the purchase of Apple gift card, funds transfers on Zelle or any similar transaction.

Please contact Global directly at 480.478.7400 if you are viewing our website because of a job posting you have encountered as we are in the process of compiling information in order to identify the perpetrators of this scheme.

This incident prompted us to dive deeper into employment scams and share what we’ve learned with you. If you’re actively seeking a job, our hope is that this information can help you avoid being scammed. If you’re a business owner or executive, we hope this blog helps you protect your name from being associated with such activity.

How Do Employment Scams Work?

Scammers pose as company recruiting employees and lead applicants through the hiring process, including the application, etc. The fact that these criminals gain personal information is bad enough, but many go farther, convincing applicants to pay a recruiting fee or pay upfront for equipment or supplies they’ll need to use for their job. Rather than the applicant purchasing anything on their own, criminals demand they send “the company” payment, who’ll then purchase and send the equipment or supplies to the applicant. Of course, there is no job, no supplies needed and the applicant is out the money.

The rise of online job applications and employment websites means employment scams are on the rise. Just like other types of phishing scams, criminals can spoof a company’s name and website and go as far as conducting fake job interviews. The damage can include loss of money, stolen identity, accessing the applicants’ accounts, and more.

It’s easy to be fooled. Employment scammers easily create fake URLs, websites and job postings. They’re close enough to the real company’s information that many applicants overlook very slight changes, like one letter being different in the URL. Plus, since many interviews are being held online now, not attending an in-person interview doesn’t raise red flags. Sophisticated employment scammers go so far as to impersonate personnel from various departments to gain applicants’ trust.

Employers legitimately hiring ask for the same information as scammers, so it’s difficult to identify a scam from the real thing. That being said, here are six signs that might indicate an employment scam:

1. Video interviews aren’t held via Zoom or other trusted platforms
2. No phone numbers are associated with the interview or recruiter
3. Recruiter or hiring manager has an email different than the company email address
4. You’re asked to pre-purchase equipment or supplies you’ll need to perform the job for which you’re being hired
5. You’re asked for a credit card number
6. The job listing is on an employment site, but not listed anywhere on the company’s actual website

How Widespread are Employment Scams?

In 2020 alone, 16,012 people reported being victims of employment scams. Likely the number is higher since many victims feel embarrassed and don’t report the crime. An employment scam victim reached out to the Global Financial & Leasing Services team to let us know a criminal was using our name in job listings. Victims of any employment scam are encouraged to:

• Report the activity to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov
• Report the activity to the website on which the job posting was listed, Indeed.com for example
• Report the activity to the company the cyber criminals impersonated, GFLS for example
• Contact your financial institution immediately of any fraudulent or suspicious activity
• Ask your financial institution to contact the financial institution where the fraudulent or suspicious transfer was sent, if a transfer was made (doesn’t apply to gift cards and such)

Not GFLS, nor any legitimate employer will ever ask for your credit card number, bank account, etc. as conditions of employment. Even after an applicant has been “hired,” he or she should verify the employer is real and not impersonating such before providing direct deposit information for payroll. And, of course, no legitimate employer will ask for gift cards to pay for anything.

LEARN MORE: Can You Ever Prepare Your Business Enough Against Cyberattacks?

It’s difficult to protect against employment scams today. We are not currently hiring, but many companies are. Follow the tips and advice above. Be vigilant. And, if there is anything our team can do to help, please contact us.

BE ALERT: SCAMMERS IMPERSONATING A BUSINESS NAME SIMILAR TO GFLS TO GAIN APPLICANTS’ PRIVATE DATA

It’s been brought to our attention that scammers are using a similar business name to ours, Global Financial & Leasing Services (GFLS), in an advertising phishing scam. Consumers, thinking they are submitting bank account and social security numbers to us, are in fact sending this sensitive information to hackers.

GFLS management became aware of this scam when “applicants” began calling our office for status updates. We asked those who got further along in the scammer’s “process” to send us their communications with the alleged cybercriminal. GFLS’s founder and CEO, Jim Jenks, is in touch with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Better Business Bureau (BBB) to determine next steps. We have reported the phishing scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Unfortunately, consumers falling victim to phishing schemes that falsely invoke reputable company names is more common than one might think. Be assured that we are doing everything we can to stop this scammer, protect consumers and the reputation we’ve worked hard to earn as a leading provider of equipment financing across a range of credit tiers.

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: Legitimate businesses, like GFLS, WILL never solicit sensitive personal information through insecure channels like email or text messages.

What Can You Do to Protect Yourself Against Phishing Scams?

Forward phishing communications. We suggest that affected consumers forward any phishing emails impersonating GFLS to the Anti Phishing Working Group, a public-private partnership against cybercrime. You also can file a complaint with the FTC. (This applies to any suspect communication, not only GFLS.)

Visit IdentityTheft.gov if you believe you’re a victim. If you believe you may be a victim of identity theft because of a phishing scam impersonating our or another business, visit www.IdentityTheft.gov where you can report and recover from identity theft.

Stay current on best practices to protect your identity. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website has helpful and current tips for computer security practices. You’ll find the latest recommendations on how to protect yourself online and avoid phishing attacks.

Always be on alert. Across the board, personal data security isn’t a one-time action. Always be alert. Be suspicious. Consistently change passwords, logins, etc. Cyberthreats, like phishing scams, are constantly evolving,  and so must your actions to protect yourself.

Effective immediately Pat Chaffey has been chartered with the entire AACFB program responsibilities for Global Financial & Leasing Services.  His Team members include Julian Sirull, Chuck Dale and Cathy Steadman.   All future inquiries from members of the AACFB should be directed to newapps@gfrservices.com and copy Pat Chaffey (Pat@gfrservices.com).  Pat look’s forward to developing relationships with all broker members as well as expanding the relationships with the ones we currently work with.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Pat Chaffey, 480-478-7406.

GFLS, a Leading Equipment Leasing Finance Company, Moves to a New Scottsdale Location

Last October, Global Financial & Leasing Services (GFLS) hosted an open house at our new, larger Scottsdale location. More than 150 guests, including past and present clients, board members and fund investors attended the event hosted by GFLS’s employees, and owners, Jim and Judy Jenks, and Sean Duffy. Attendees enjoyed appetizers, beverages and raffle prizes.

For many companies, relocating to a larger space means that their business has outgrown its current location. For GFLS, the need for a larger office reflects our business is growing, too. However, our growth is a direct result of our clients’ business growth.

As a leading provider of equipment financing, our business IS helping our customers grow theirs, whether they’re small and mid-sized companies, startups or business owners with credit blemishes. The two are directly linked.

When the GFLS team can help business owners obtain the financing they need for leasing equipment essential to their services or product, they can expand into new areas, stand against competitors, make strides in efficiency and improve productivity—and in the end, boost their sales revenue.

GFLS works with equipment vendors and business owners in various industries, including:

• Healthcare and Medical
• Construction
• Restaurant
• Machinery and Manufacturing
• Printing
• Logging and Forestry

The equipment leases that GFLS finances in these fields are often a sizable investment with the potential to take a business to the next level. Typically, GFLS’s clients struggle to find the funding they need for new or used equipment due to tighter regulations and stricter requirements in traditional banking institutions. The Great Recession practically shut out many people without “A-type” credit from the equipment financing market. GFLS was created in 2009 to give those without perfect credit an option.

READ: Nearly 8 in 10 End Users Acquire Equipment Through Financing

As clients celebrated GFLS’s new location during the open house, they also were celebrating their own business successes and growth. The GFLS team takes pride in helping clients finance the leases for the equipment they need to grow. And, when it’s to a larger space, all the better.

Though GFLS’s address has changed, our motto, “When Other Lenders Say No, We Often Say Yes” is the same as it’s been and always will be no matter how often we outgrow our office space.

Contact the GFLS team to find out more about how we help business owners, who otherwise would be turned down by banks, finance equipment leases.

Global Financial Leasing Services
Has Much to be Grateful For

The Global Financial & Leasing Services (GFLS) team hopes you had a remarkable Thanksgiving. Like so many do during November, our team reflected on the many things we have to be grateful for this year.

Measurable Growth

2018 has been a time of measurable growth for both GFLS and our clients. To help meet demand and continue providing the personal level of service our clients deserve and expect, we hired three new team members. These focused and motivated people have joined our operations and our sales departments. We brought them on board to help with back-end responsibilities and sales support. Their work ethic makes each of them an excellent fit for our existing team who put 100 percent toward helping our clients obtain the equipment financing they need. Our newest team members allow us to streamline processes and keep response time quick.

The need to hire additional staff indicates that our clients’ businesses are growing too, or else we wouldn’t be seeing the demand for equipment essential to expanding business – a win/win for all.

We are deeply grateful for the new customers who’ve turned to us this year to help them finance and lease equipment. So far this year, our number of customers has increased 100 percent over this same time period of 2017. And, we’re even more thankful to our current customers who have referred new clients to GFLS because we work hard every day to earn their respect and trust.

Along with new customers, we have been fortunate to begin partnerships with new brokers – 25 percent more new brokerage relationships over 2017 to be exact. The support GFLS has seen from the broker community is humbling.

Celebrating 10 Years in Business

Last, but not least, we are grateful to be coming on the tail end of celebrating our tenth year in business. It’s a well-known fact that many businesses do not survive past their fifth year. GFLS has surpassed the norm by twice that. Fortunately, there is no end, but instead more growth in sight. This is an extraordinary accomplishment for any business, especially one like ours that Jim “JD” Jenks founded during the Great Recession in 2009.

As we prepare for the end of 2018 and the start of our next decade, our philosophy that business owners are more than numbers on paper is always top of mind. We’ll continue to take character and other factors into consideration for our clients who need equipment lease financing. After all, the many things for which are grateful wouldn’t be possible if not for our clients. For that, we are grateful and blessed.