An Unexpected Side Hustle Story
Let me share a strange side hustle experience I recently went through. I teach at a university, and as my contract was approaching its end, I started looking for part-time gigs to plug the gap in my income.
I received an email from my university about a part-time job paying $400 a week. It involved stuffing envelopes and sorting goods for LDS charities – LDS stands for Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church – to be distributed to local orphanages and hospitals.
Obviously, I found it to be a decent offer, so I reached out for more information. On my email, they hired me right away without an interview or any formal procedure. That seemed a little odd, but I shrugged it off because I wasn’t exactly applying for a complex job, so maybe they only needed a person to do menial tasks.
Things started to get weirder when I begin working. They sent me an email about my first “task,” which was oddly worded. It stated that I had to pay a supplier from my weekly pay. This didn’t make any sense to me because in my experience as a Production Manager for various theaters, the supplier is usually paid by the organization, not the employee.
But I still continued with the job. We began to communicate through text messages, in which I was sent an eCheck, which I found out was a real thing after a quick Google search. The red flag was that the check was for $3,850, a huge amount considering my weekly pay was just $400. But I deposited the check anyway, thinking that if it was a scam, the check wouldn’t clear.
My contact, Brian, started asking questions about the check and asked me to report back immediately once it cleared. It did clear, but I had this strong gut feeling that something wasn’t right.
The whole situation quickly turned into chaos. Brian instructed me to buy money orders from CVS, and in the end, I wound up sending the full amount of $3,850 that Brian had me deposit in the first place to a random address. I couldn’t tolerate having that amount in my account without reason.
Those two crazy days cost me just a stomach ache and $37.63 in money order and FedEx costs. The most unsettling part was I trusted the job source fully. Lesson learned is always trust your gut instincts.
And most importantly, avoid working with Brian Harris of LDS Charities. He’s incredibly shady. I reported the whole situation to my university and contacted LDS Church, although I didn’t hear back from them.
So, to my fellow folks in the entertainment and events industry, protect yourselves, and always, always trust your instincts!