I received the following email today offering me a cushy sounding job. Too bad it’s a fake check scam. I’ve posted the entire email below with my comments in red so you can learn to what to watch for if you get a letter similar to this. Please heed the advice in today’s post. A failure to do so could cost you thousands of dollars and may land you jail.
Greetings, (I’m being offered a job, but the company doesn’t know my name!)
It is my pleasure to write you in respect of Polesworth Art Gallery, Dublin, Ireland. (A Google search doesn’t find a Polesworth Art Gallery in Dublin, Ireland). We produce and export high quality textile materials, fine art prints, posters, framed arts and gift items.
We are seeking a reliable and trustworthy representative who can help us establish a medium of getting to our customers in USA & CANADA. You shall be receiving all forms of payment on our behalf from our customers being our representative. It does not affect your present job, it’s strictly online job and absolutely legal. You shall have ten percent commission on every payment made through you as your remuneration. You could make over 2500 U.S dollars weekly depending on your response to the job.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
1. Receive payment from customers
2. Process Payments
3. Deduct 10% which will be your commission/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 (This is the big red flag. First, what company, any where in the world can’t get a merchant account or PayPal to process payments from around the world? Second, it’s asking you to use your personal bank account to help it do business. NEVER, EVER AGREE TO THAT!)
If you are interested, please furnish us with the following details below:
1. FULL NAMES. ” as it is to be stated in every payment issued to you
On our behalf”……………………..
2. RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS”Where payments will be delivered to”……………….
…….
3. CITY………..
4. STATE:..
5. ZIP CODE:…
6. COUNTY:….
7. PHONE NUMBERS:..
8. GENDER…..(There is no need for this.)
9. AGE…..(There is no need for this.)
10. OCCUPATION:….
11. ARE YOU EMPLOYED?…
12. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVICTED OF VIOLATING ANY LAW OTHER THAN A MINOR
TRAFFIC VIOLATION?
13. IF YES, EXPLAIN CIRCUMSTANCES:
14. HAVE YOU EVER WORKED AS A REPRESENTATIVE BEFORE?
15. IF YES, EXPLAIN CIRCUMSTANCES:……
16. ALTERNATIVE EMAIL ADDRESS:…..
Please visit our website: (No website was given.)
We are grateful for your attention. Your email was forwarded by monster.com at our request, because you or somebody else has subscribed for the delivery of the job offers on the Internet. (I don’t use this email with Monster.com and Monter.com isn’t going to forward emails to businesses. However, if you have a Monster.com, you’ll want to be careful getting contacted through your profile.)
If you are interested, please get back to me as soon as possible.We wish you good luck and happiness.
Friendly Regards,
If you no longer wish to receive information regarding this Job offer, please reply to this message with the word “Unsubscribe” in the subject line (Don’t email asking to be removed, as it will only prove the letter arrived at a real email account. Delete it).
Leslie Comments:
Phishing scams involve a “company” sending you a large sum of money of which you get to keep 10% for your compensation. You are asked the send the extra back to another “company” usually in another country, though not always. This scam doesn’t just show up for work-at-home jobs. I’ve heard stories about people selling items on eBay or renting an apartment in which someone sends too much money and asks the extra (usually several thousand dollars) to be sent to someone else. If you fall for this scam, the original check or deposit (if electronic) you received will turn out to be bogus and you’ll be held accountable for all the money you forwarded on. If you can’t cover the amount, you may lose your banking privileges. In some case, you can get arrested for participating in a fake check scam.
Remember, no legitimate business needs to use people’s personal bank account to do business.
