Scott, from Tacoma, writes in:
Dear Mr. Wixey,
I got this letter and it sounded to good to be true. I was supicious and tried to report it to crime stopper and was told they could do nothing about. Before I gave out any information I went to the bank to check it out and the also confirmed most of these email are possible scams or is there a way you can verity if it is legit or a scam . Here is what I was sent and there reply. I wil try to see your response on the air but if possible could you please return my email to let me know if it is legitimate or not.
Respectfully
Scott
Please give my best regards to the crew for my wife and I enjoy your staff
Thanks Scott.
This is an increasingly common online scam. Like millions of people, Scott posted his resume online. What he didn't realize is that scammers are taking advantage of job hunters' eagerness, and duping the job seeker into sending them money. Here's how this transaction went down:
Scott received a "hit" on his resume:
----- Original Message -----
From: Latoya Smith
To: latoya_smith001@yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 12:06 AM
Subject: CONCERNING YOUR RESUME YOU POSTED ON THEJOBPLANET.COM ( EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY)
Hello , I am emailing you because I went through your resume on WWW.THEJOBPLANET.COM and I have the feeling that you have every feature of being a good company worker.
I am Latoya Smith , I am a Financial Consultant for an INVESTMENT MONITORING COMPANY that is based in the UK .Our Company is looking for a competent worker that is honest, sincere and trustworthy that will be acting on their behalf in the UNITED STATES. The job is not a stressful job; it will only be taking less than thirty minutes of your time.
It is part of our company goals that people can actually work from their home and earn good income and numerous reputable companies are now adopting this system.
You will be performing the responsibility of a Cashier from the comfort of your home and it will not in anyway affect your present occupation.
The company will be paying 10% on each transaction handled on their behalf and will amount to $4,500 monthly.Let me know if you are interested or not and if you need more information, contact me.
BEST REGARDS: Latoya Smith
FINANCIAL CONSULTANT.
Email: Latoya_smith011@yahoo.it
NOTE: NO FEE WILL BE REQUIRED FROM YOU. I AM NOT A RECRUITING AGENT BUT I AM ONE OF THE COMPANY WORKERS. THE COMPANY IS IN NEED OF SOMEONE THAT IS CAPABLE OF DISCHARGING THEIR DUTIES EFFICIENTLY.
Okay, so Scott thinks it sounds like a great "work at home" situation. But think about it this way: If this is a legit "Investment monitoring company", wbhy would they need someone to take checks from a third party, cash them and then wire them 90% of it? Why wouldn't they just take payment directly? That's what was going through Scott's mind, so he asked for more information, and received this reply:
Thanks for the response and i believe without adequate or enough information, you will not be able to make a sound decision.
I am also one of the company workers but am unable to perform effectively because of the increasing number of the company client and the nature of our company service tolerate no delay.
Our company has authorized me to look for someone that will be performing the following functions on their behalf:
1. Receive payment from Clients
2. Cash Payments at your Bank
3. Deduct 10% which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed.
4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the offices you will be contacted to send payment to (Payment is to be forwarded by Western Union Money Transfer).
How much you will earn:
10% from each operation! For instance: you receive 2000USD via check,bank draft or money orders on our company behalf. You will cash the money deduct 200USD (10% from 2000USD) for yourself! At the beginning your commission will equal 10%, though later it will increase up to 12% or more depending on how fast.sincere,competent,efficient and capable you are in handling payment on our company behalf.
I hope you are a sincere and honest person that i can provide with this opportunity that is why i have to email you. The only requirements are honesty, sincerity, competency and efficiency.
NOTE: THE NATURE OF THE JOB WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR PRESENT JOB OR OCCUPATION BUT IT WILL EARN YOU ADDITIONAL INCOME AND IT WILL NOT TAKE MUCH OF YOUR TIME. YOU WILL TRAVEL NO WHERE TO GET STARTED AND YOU WILL NOT PAY ANY FEE OR CHARGES BUT ALL THAT IS NEEDED FROM YOU IS HONESTY AND SINCERITY.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, LET ME HAVE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IN THIS ORDER:
NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
COUNTRY:
PHONE NUMBER:
EMAIL ADDRESS:
PRESENT OCCUPATION:
AGE:
I will fax the above information to the company upon receiving it from you and one of the company secretaries will contact you with more information upon receiving it.
Thanks
I've featured this scam several times now on Moneysafe, and I'll put this plainly: IT"S NOT A REAL JOB IF YOUR EMPLOYER ASKS YOU TO CASH CHECKS FOR THEM AND WIRE MONEY. It's not a real occupation. It is a con job. The checks you receive are either fakes or drawn on the account of another fraud victim. If it's fake, you will be out the money you wire back, plus overdraft charges. If it's a fraud case, you could face charges for being party to this con.
Thousands of people are getting these offers through online job sites. It's impossible for the sites to keep all of these con artists out. It's up to you to sniff this out, and hit DELETE.
Rachael, from Lacey, is up next:
I received this with the subject line BOA.
I use Bank of America but I knew this was not them. Diabolical!
From: sebascd@telefonica.net
> Subject: Confirm Receipt of Your ATM CARD
> Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 11:30:59 0200
>
> Attention: Sir/Madam
>
>
> Have You Received Your New ATM CARD?, If Not Report Back Immedaitely To Enable Us Cancel The Already Sent ATM CARD, Which You Can Use To Withdraw Your Money From Any ATM Machine In Any Part Of The World,The Maximum Is (Fifty Thousand Dollars $50.000.00) Per Day.
>
>
> Reconfirm Information:
>
>
> 1) Your mailing Address (P.O box Not Accepted)
> 2) Your Full Name
> 3) A Valid Phone Number.
>
>
> Below is the contact Information of our ATM center:
>
>
>
> (Director ATM Center)
> Tel: 229-93413506
> Email: bafribjj@consultant.com
>
>
> We Await Your Urgent Response.
>
>
> Best Regards
> Mr.McMartins Okri
> Director of Operation,
Thanks Rachael. What I found particularly funny about this scam email is that they actually gave a phone number. But it's an ELEVEN-DIGIT NUMBER. "Mr McMartins Okri" didn't do enough homework to realize that we only use 10-digits here in the States. Another typical scam that I see all the time.
Your bank is not going to contact you about a debit card via email. Your bank is very careful about sending information like this through US Mail, or perhaps they would contact you directly via telephone. If you have any concerns about whether a bank offer is legit, contact your bank and they will tell you whether they have contacted you about such an offer.
And finally, Rebecca writes in with a story about a phone scam that is making the rounds:
received 4 phone calls this week about a free $500 shopping spree from phone# 909-842-9148. all I had to do was pay the $1.95 shipping fee with my credit card. They said their co name is EBI Phany. When I told them It was illegal for them to ask for cc# over the phone they hung up.
Rebecca
Thanks to all of you for writing in, and being do diligent about spotting these scams, and staying in contact with me so I can get the word out. I've been ridiculously busy lately, anchoring the morning and the evening news over the past couple of weeks (whew!), so I haven't been as good as usual in keeping up with all of you. I am getting back at it with a vengeance, going after the bad guys, but I need to hear from you to know what you're seeing. Together, by exposing these frauds, we really are making a difference and helping keep our money safe.
Thanks!
Bill Wixey
Q13 Fox News