FTC warns Big Lots applicants about job scams, identity theft risk

Big Lots applicants are prime targets for job scams because retail hiring moves fast and scammers count on that speed. The Federal Trade Commission says the most convincing fakes promise easy money, then push job seekers into package-handling and payroll traps that can expose Social Security numbers and bank accounts.

The FTC says reshipping scams are not real jobs. If an “employer” asks you to receive packages, repackage them and send them somewhere else, that is fraud, not a paycheck. The agency also warns that some scammers run fake online interviews and phony onboarding portals that ask for sensitive information before there is a real job. A legitimate employer will not ask for Social Security numbers or bank-account details before it has actually interviewed and hired you. If a supposed employer says your first paycheck is coming later and then disappears, the personal information you gave for payroll may already have become an identity-theft problem.

Current Big Lots workers face a different version of the same risk. Unexpected emails or text messages asking you to click a link, reset a password or change direct deposit details should draw immediate suspicion. The FTC says scammers use email and text to steal passwords, account numbers and Social Security numbers, and email was the top way scammers contacted people in 2024. That makes payroll and benefits credentials worth protecting just as carefully as a bank login.

The warning lands at a sensitive moment for Big Lots. The company’s jobs page says it is hiring and invites applicants to apply, which gives scammers a believable brand to imitate. Big Lots also went through major upheaval after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 9, 2024. Going-out-of-business sales and layoffs followed in December 2024, and Variety Wholesalers finalized an acquisition of 219 Big Lots locations in January 2025. That kind of change can make fake recruiter outreach look more credible to job seekers who are already trying to figure out where the company stands.

The safest response is simple: verify every recruiter, never pay money to get hired, and stop engaging the moment an offer sounds too easy or asks you to receive and reship packages. If identity theft has already started, the FTC points victims to IdentityTheft.gov, a federal site that provides recovery checklists, sample letters, fraud-alert steps, credit-report checks and credit-freeze options.