Internet Scam That Has
Victims Going to Jail

by Gregory Allen Butler

Here is an internet scam that my wife almost fell into. In the end she used common sense and went to the police. But for those that don’t, jail time is a likely outcome. It’s pretty slick.

It seems to be targeted at people who register with an online job placement agency. There they are able to get the e-mail addresses of people who are looking for work. Some of these people, they surely reason, are desperate for easy money. Here is the initial e-mail that they send:

DEAR ESTEEMED CANDIDATE,

WE HAVE A PART TIME JOB OFFER AVAILABLE FOR YOU IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INITIAL REQUEST ON THE JOB SEARCH DIRECTORY.WE ARE A COMPANY BASED IN UNITED KINGDOM.

WE HAVE BEEN RECEIVING ORDERS FROM UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AND EUROPE WHICH WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO PROCESS COMPLETELY SINCE WE DO NOT HAVE A PAYMENT RECEIVING PERSONNEL/BOOK KEEPER/PAYMENT RECEIVEABLE SPECIALIST IN THESE AREAS.WE HAVE DECIDED TO RECRUIT PAYMENT OFFICERS ONLINE HENCE WE WILL BE NEEDING A BOOK KEEPER/COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES TO PROCESS OUR PAYMENTS IN THESE AREAS - DUE TO DELAYS IN PROCESSING PAYMENTS FROM THESE AREAS IN UNITED KINGDOM. The main reason why the funds cannot be cashed down here is that it would take 20-24 days for a CERTIFIED US CHECK OR CASHIER'S CHECK to pass through the bank here and that would tie down our capital and won't make business move fast as expected, but a US CERTIFIED CHECK presented to the bank in the US would cash immediately or clear if deposited in the bank within 24-48 hours tops.

This makes us lose customers sometimes because we don't find it easy receiving payments from customers from these areas and it affects the patronage of our business.

WHAT WE OFFER:

FLEXIBLE PROGRAM: TWO HOURS/DAY AT YOUR CHOICE, DAYTIME AND EVENING TIME WORK AT HOME: CHECKING E-MAIL AND GOING TO THE BANK PART TIME WITH VERY GOOD SUPPORT AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS OTHER HIGHLIGHTS: NO SELLING INVOLVED, NO KIT TO BUY,WE WON'T CHARGE YOU ANYTHING.

COMMISSION:10% OF EVERY CERTIFIED CHECK/ CERTIFIED CASHIER'S CHECK THAT IS CASHED INSTANTLY "CASH IN HAND" OR "CASH ON COUNTER" IS WHAT YOU GET FROM THE TOTAL CASHED AMOUNT.

PLEASE NOTE: EXAMPLE IF YOU RECEIVE A CHECK OF$1,000.00 YOUR NET INCOME IS $100.00,OUR COMPANY SUPPORTS ANY FEES. YOU WILL PROCESS AT LEAST 2-3 ORDERS PER DAY AND REMEMBER THE MORE ORDERS, CHECKS YOU PROCESS- AT A FASTER RATE THE HIGHER YOU STAND TO EARN DAILY.

WHAT WE ASK: TWO FREE HOURS DAILY NOT INCLUDING WEEKENDS, INTERNET ACCESS FOR SENDING AND RECEIVING E-MAILS, AVAILABLE MEANS OF CASHING CERTIFIED MONEY

ORDERS/CERTIFIED CASHIER'S CHECKS AT YOUR BANK USING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.

IMPORTANT:

YOU MUST BE OVER 21 YEARS OF AGE.IF YOU MEET THESE CONDITIONS PLEASE CONTACT WITH THIS FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

EMPLOYMENT FORM:

NAME:

HOME ADDRESS WITH ZIP CODE. (NOT P.O.BOX):

PHONE/FAX NUMBERS:

EMAIL ADDRESS FOR QUICK DELIVERY OF PAYMENTS:

AGE:

GENDER:

PROFESSION:

NATIONALITY:

MODE OF IDENTIFICATION:

PLEASE INTERESTED PARTICIPANTS,BOOKKEEPER,PAYMENT RECEIVEABLE SPECIALIST SHOULD FORWARD THEIR INFORMATION TO THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS: (OMITTED@yahoo.co.uk)

WE WILL NEVER ASK YOU FOR ANYTHING MORE THEN THAT, NO BANK NAMES, NO BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER, ROUTING NUMBER, CREDIT CARD, PASSWORDS, SSN # ETC.IF ANYONE ASKS FOR THOSE ON OUR BEHALF PLEASE DO NOT GIVE OUT THIS INFO.THIS IS TO ENSURE YOUR SECURITY AND NON INVOLVEMENT IN CASES OF IDENTITY THEFT.

Please also note we have security experts who work in hand with the FBI & IRS to detect the validity of the details you provide to us and our business AND NOTE THAT YOU'LL BE PAYING NO TAXES WHATSOEVER. This has been sorted out with (IRS) and also note that this is not any form of MONEY LAUNDERING.

Please take your time to go through our website upon imminent completion and please contact our customer's service department for any question.

Warm Regards,

When my wife told me she had signed up for this, I told her it was a scam and that she shouldn’t do it. But the next day she received another e-mail stating that the registration was in progress, but that they needed her phone number.

She e-mailed them a reply: "So sorry I cannot help you as my husband advises me against this idea."

She thought that was the end of the communication between them. But two days ago she received an envelope delivered by UPS from Dallas, Texas containing $4,000 in Visa travelers checks, in $500 denominations. The travelers checks had her name already signed on them, as if she was the purchaser of them. The letter that came with the traveler checks said that she was to go to her bank, cash the traveler checks, deduct 10% commission, and wire the remainder in two equal amounts to two men in Nigeria.

Two things struck us as very odd. First, why did someone in Dallas have to send the travelers checks by UPS to her, when it could easily have been cashed and the funds sent from Dallas? And secondly, why was my wife’s false signature already on the travelers checks?

Unsettled by this entire venture, my wife decided not to cash them or even to send them back as I suggested, but to take them to the local police station and turn them in. Worried about what she had done, thinking someone was going to be upset about losing $4,000, and come looking for her, I expressed my concern. She called the station to tell them about my reaction. They told her the travelers checks were counterfeit, printed on a laser printer. No one was out anything of real value.

Can you imagine going to a bank and trying to cash counterfeit travel checks for $4,000, with your name on them as the purchaser? Sounds like jail time to me.

Or say that the bank didn’t suspect anything and cashed the $4,000. And this happens a few more times. Then Visa contacts the bank and notifies them that they are counterfeit. She would owe Visa a lot of money that she no longer had, as it would already have been wired to Nigeria.

Alert your friends and family of this internet scam, especially those that might be in the process of looking for a job online. It could save them from becoming a victim.