CBS2 Exclusive: Yonkers Job Fliers Target Teens To Videotape Man With Their Cellphones
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) --The school year is winding down, and teens are out looking for summer jobs – but ad being posted in Westchester County is causing alarm.
CBS2's Brian Conybeare had a warning for students and parents Wednesday night in an exclusive story.
Right outside Roosevelt High School on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers is a flier taped to a light pole offering a "job available for young adults and teens." Luis Nunez, 22, could not believe what he was reading.
"I am a licensed exercise fitness instructor. I will pay you to videotape me with my cell phone while I exercise in my home doing push-ups," the flier read.
And it supposedly pays $50 per hour for two hours – no experience necessary.
"It's a little odd. It's a little strange -- for young adults and teens too?" Nunez said.
Young women had an even stronger reaction.
"What?!" one young woman said.
"That's just crazy," said Gabrielle Rivera of Yonkers. "That's just like a child molester or something."
The flier asks those interested to text a 914 number that comes up in Greenburgh. So CBS2's Conybeare reached out and said, "I saw ur ad...I can do videos."
A man texted back: "Hello, my name is Charles. What is your name, age, and where exactly did you see the flier?"
Conybeare answered, "Yonkers, outside Roosevelt," "Brian," and, "Over 18."
He didn't get a response, so CBS2 tried calling, but got an automated voice message back saying, "call rejected."
Once the fliers were pointed out to school security guards, they were taken down.
Yonkers police confirm they are aware of the fliers and are investigating.
"It's just creepy and it's upsetting to see this," said Sean McGrail Yonkers Workforce Development Board said.
McGrail said it is a tough time for young people to find employment, especially summer jobs, and some might be tempted by the offer.
"Kids who are economically disadvantaged, they're going to jump on this right away. You know, they'll figure, 'Oh great, 50 bucks, 100 bucks, boom, boom, I'm done,'" he said.
He fears anyone answering the ad could fall victim to a predator.
There are reports that the same fliers are being posted in New Rochelle and Mount Vernon.
