There is a new scam spreading online. It targets job seekers, especially in careers like virtual assistants and online marketing professionals. It leaves the job seeker disappointed, the employer blamed for the broken promise it never made, and the scammer in possession of valuable access to cloud accounts from which to launch DDOS attacks and other scams.

As explained in more detail below, an unwitting business’s name and reputation are stolen. They are used to entice job seekers to set up commercial cloud accounts as a supposed condition for a lucrative employment offer or future promotion. Once the job seeker has set up the cloud accounts, the scammers take over the accounts and, their prize now acquired, drop out of sight.