Who were the 90-plus computers working for? An American woman’s international scam. You think remote work means employees don’t have to come into the office 🥲🤪
But in this case, even the employees’ identities didn’t match the people doing the work. In Arizona, a woman named Chapman turned her home into a very unusual office.
In October 2023, investigators searched her home and seized more than 90 laptops. The computers had been provided by employers, but they became tools for people overseas to hide their true locations.
Why were all the computers issued to employees gathered at her home?
Because the scam needed someone in the United States to provide a local-employee front for people overseas. Some North Korean IT workers used stolen American identities to apply for remote jobs at U.S. companies. After they were hired, the companies shipped their computers to Chapman’s home, where people based overseas operated them remotely.
So the job was split among several parties: the identity belonged to an American whose identity had been stolen, the computer was kept at Chapman’s home, and someone else did the actual work.
Chapman’s role extended to handling payroll, too.
Some wages went directly into her U.S. bank account. Some companies mailed her paychecks made out to the people whose identities had been stolen. She helped forge their signatures, deposit the checks, and then transfer the money to her overseas accomplices.
Employers thought they were paying their employees. In reality, they were funneling income into a cross-border money network.
But in this case, even the employees’ identities didn’t match the people doing the work. In Arizona, a woman named Chapman turned her home into a very unusual office.
In October 2023, investigators searched her home and seized more than 90 laptops. The computers had been provided by employers, but they became tools for people overseas to hide their true locations.
Why were all the computers issued to employees gathered at her home?
Because the scam needed someone in the United States to provide a local-employee front for people overseas. Some North Korean IT workers used stolen American identities to apply for remote jobs at U.S. companies. After they were hired, the companies shipped their computers to Chapman’s home, where people based overseas operated them remotely.
So the job was split among several parties: the identity belonged to an American whose identity had been stolen, the computer was kept at Chapman’s home, and someone else did the actual work.
Chapman’s role extended to handling payroll, too.
Some wages went directly into her U.S. bank account. Some companies mailed her paychecks made out to the people whose identities had been stolen. She helped forge their signatures, deposit the checks, and then transfer the money to her overseas accomplices.
Employers thought they were paying their employees. In reality, they were funneling income into a cross-border money network.