Protect Yourself and Report the Latest Frauds, Scams, Spams, Fakes, Identify Theft Hacks and Hoaxes
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Have you received an email from Mrs.Edgar Blessing of "EDGAR ART WORLD" in lll (or ANYWHERE else) offering you a job as a "representative in USA" in which you "receive payments", deduct your "Processing fee", deposit the checks and then wire most of the money to an overseas "company"?
It is an AFF / Money transfer Scam. One obvious clue ought to be the address. Since when is London located in "Zealand"? They'll send you counterfeit checks which you are supposed to deposit, take out some percentage (typically, 10%) for your work, and then MoneyGram or Western Union wire the remaining 90%. Notice that although you receive checks, they won't let you forward a check to them, only Western Union or Money Gram. There's a reason for this: Western Union and MoneyGrams are cashed immediately and are untraceable and irretrievable. Bank checks can take 1 or 2 weeks to clear!
Of course, since the check is fake, it will bounce a week or so later after you deposit it. But you have already moneygram'ed the scammers the 90% of the amount, and that is transacted almost instantly. So you now owe the bank for the full amount. You may also face criminal charges for passing counterfeit checks. See this page for a step-by-step explanation of how the scam unfolds.
Do you have a resume posted online? We'd like to hear from you about your experiences recruiting emails that turned out to be scams or misleading - click here to write us.
Notice the passages we have highlighted in the actual scam email below. They point out some of the additional clues that it is a scam, such as the email comes from a free email account (such as Yahoo.com, Hotmail.com, Aim.com, Gmail, cox.net, etc.). Wouldn't you expect a company to have its own website and email address (after all, it only costs about $200/year; every reputable company has its own website these days!) And don't be surprised if the scammers do put the names of real companies, real websites and events in their scams; it doesn't mean anything at all!
On 3/26/07, EDGAR ARTS <info_alfredcole1@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:Hello DearI am Mrs.Edgar Blessing, I am an artist and i own EDGAR ART WORLD in London, Zealand (United Kingdom)I have been doing artwork since I was a small child that gives me about 39 years of experience. I have sold in galleries and to private collectors from all around the world. I am always facing serious difficulties when it comes to selling my art works to USA's, they are always offering to pay with money order or cashier's cheque, which is difficult for me to cash here in London United Kingdom. I Seek for a representative in USA who will be working for me as a part-time worker and i will be willing to pay 10% for every transaction, which wouldnt affect your present state of work, He would help me receive payments from my customers in the states,The Money order or cashier's cheque would come to you in your name if you are willing to assist as a representative,So all you need do is to cash the money order, deduct your percentage and western union Charges then wire the rest back to us in the UK.If you are interested, please send to me your Name:Address:Phone, so that I will forward it to my customers to send you the cheque.Blessing
There are a variety of sleazy scams that look, at first glance, like legitimate job offers. Before you write back to them, pause a moment and read about the scams below!
Some of the more common job scams are