Jobs Scam: QuikDrop International, Costa Mesa, California - Virtual Assistant

Job and Recruiting Scams:
Payment Officer Scam
QuikDrop International, Costa Mesa, California
Virtual Assistant

Have you received an email from "QuikDrop International" in Costa Mesa, California offering you a job as a "Virtual Assistant", "Payment Officer", "local agent" or "local representative" in which you "receive payments", deduct your "Processing fee", deposit the checks and then wire most of the money to an overseas "company"?

First, the real company, QuikDrop, appears to have closed down: the Quikdrop website is shut down and their phone number (see obtained from this website) is disconnected. We have found no way to contact them, and no evidence that they are still in business. They must have shut down recently, as the Better Business Bureau still lists them, with a very positive rating, and does not indicate that they have closed. That obviously works to the scammer's advantage.

It is an AFF / Money transfer Scam.  It might also be money laundering. 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.

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Sample "Payment officer" scam emails:

Trial Period                                                            

QuikDrop International
3151 Airway Avenue, Suite M-3
Costa Mesa, California USA 92626

This outline specifies:

                                                                  Confidential    Page 1 2/27/2008

PURPOSE

-          The considerations surrounding an employee's trial period.

-          The supervisor's responsibility to provide guidance and assess employee's performance and conduct during the trial period.

-          The criteria for termination of trial period.

The trial period is the final, most policy significant step in the hiring process for new employees. It is the policy of the company to use the trial period as an opportunity to train new employees in job responsibilities; observe on-the-job conduct and performance to determine suitability; retain employee whose performance and conduct is fully acceptable; separate, without undue formality, those employees whose performance or conduct is deficient after the trial period; document the Company's recommendation for retention or separation on the Trial Period Form.

Trial periods are periods of time during which employee's conduct and performance is evaluated.

It is the responsibility of the supervisors to ensure that employees have every reasonable opportunity to achieve success on the job. Specifically, supervisors should:

A.     Inform employees of job expectations in both performance and conduct. Employees must be provided performance standards, information on working policies and procedures, and guidelines on employee responsibilities and conduct.

B.     Counsel and provide feedback concerning performance and conduct to employee on regular basis. It is crucial that employees know how and where they are or are not meeting expectations.  If a performance or conduct problem becomes apparent, supervisors should provide training or assistance to remedy the situation, as appropriate.

C.     Gather documentation throughout employees' trial periods reflecting both good and bad performance and conduct.

TERMINATION

 

Generally, a request for action to terminate should be supported by

documentation making it clear that the employee received a "fair trial". The documentation should specifically and in detail state:

1.  How the employee was made aware of the performance/conduct expectations in question; guidance and training given to the employee

2.  Counseling given to the employee regarding specific conduct and/or performance deficiencies; opportunities for improvement given to the employee

3.  Details regarding the performance/conduct deficiencies.

 

REPORTING PROCEDURES

Trial Period Report

I.  General

        Trial Period Form is used to document new employees' performance and conduct and the Company's recommendation for retention or separation. The trial period will be for one month starting from the commencement date.

II. Responsibilities

        The supervisor will, no earlier than the 2nd week but no later than the 3rd of the trial period, complete the Trial Period Form (evaluation) and forward it to the reviewing official. Once the reviewing official has signed the form, the rating supervisor will review it if satisfactory will discuss with employee, if recommends separation will contact personnel division for further guidance. Trial Period Evaluation Form will be also sent to the employee.

The Commencement Date:_______________________________________________________________

The Employee, ________________________________, acknowledged the Trial Period Outline,

                  First and Last Name

and signed ___________________________________, on the _________ of ___________, 2008.

                       Signature                          date         month

Detailed Job Description - Virtual Assistant

            Confidential      Page 2      2/27/2008

The primary goal of the Virtual Assistant is to provide local representation within the location of the auctioned item, provide our clients with convenient payment options, contribute to the sales force and add convenience to our service dedicated to individuals, businesses, and organizations worldwide.

You will be assisting our clients within Australia and New Zealand, the assistance to be provided will include: communication with buyers regarding shipping and payments, payment collections and currency conversions, shipping details  

Your primary duties will include:

When a buyer in Australia or New Zealand decides to purchase an item through an online auction from our sellers he has the following payment options: pay pal, international wire transfer, international check, or local wire transfer. The quickest option of these is local wire transferring. Local wire transferring is the option that the Virtual Assistant will provide to the clients.

- Currency Conversions

Another factor for the preference of local wire transferring is that the client can transfer funds in local currency. All payments that you will receive will be in local currency. When forwarding, you will forward all payments in USD.

- Managing Data

Along with the payments received from buyers you will be receiving details of these sales. These details will include items sold, price, and buyer's information.

- Forwarding of the Payments

Once you receive each payment you will be keeping 5% as commission and forwarding the rest to either the seller or other representative, whose information will be provided. It is crucial to complete forwarding of the payments in a time efficient manner.

- Correspondence

You will be submitting brief reports, weekly reports, and monthly reports. Weekly and monthly reports are to be done in Excel format.

Here is an example of a brief report:

Date: January 8, '08

Buyer: Steve Hill

Item: MontBlanc

Price: $3,921.27AUD

Commission 5%: $196.00AUD

Fees: $152.00AUD

Forwarded to Marie Sterns, Amsterdam, Netherlands: $1,573.27AUD / $1,400.05USD

Reference Numbers for Marie Sterns: 8976659730

Forwarded to Jane Moss, Chisinau, Moldova: $2,000.00AUD / $1,779.80USD

Reference Numbers for Jane Moss: 6512845269

Total Forwarded: $3,573.27AUD / $3,179.85USD

- Communicating with Clients

You will receive a list of FAQ which will guide you how to respond vian emails to buyer's questions related to payments and shipping. The clients you will communicate with have agreed to make the purchase, no need to convince or sell, instead provide assistance with the completion of the purchase.

- Fees, and Transferring Procedures

All fees are covered by the company. The fees for transferring are simply deducted from the payment received. No client will contact you during initial stage of the trial period. After two weeks of the trial period you will begin to have contact with the buyers vian email in regards to collection of the payments. For the first two weeks you will simply receive all of the transferring details, and payments, along with step by step guidance from your supervisor. You will be forwarding the received payments through western union transferring agents, they are located at the post offices; this allows instant currency conversions and instant payment transferring. 

                                                                                                             Confidential            Page 3       2/27/2008

Additional Information

Salary Part-Time

During the trial period, you will be working part-time, 3hours per day, Monday-Friday; you will be paid 1,500AUD per month, plus 5% commission from every payment received and forwarded.  The salary will be sent in the form of wire transfer directly to your account. After the trial period your base pay salary will go up to 1950AUD per month, plus 5% commission. Saturday is an optional day for working; receive 10% instead of 5% for sales on Saturdays.

Salary Full-Time

During the trial period, you will be working full-time, 6hours per day, Monday-Friday; you will be paid 3,000AUD per month, plus 5% commission from every payment received and forwarded.  The salary will be sent in the form of wire transfer directly to your account. After the trial period your base pay salary will go up to 3,900AUD per month, plus 5% commission. Saturday is an optional day for working; receive 10% instead of 5% for sales on Saturdays.

Taxes

You will receive a monthly invoice stating your total income. All applicable taxes are covered by the company.

                             EMPLOYEE INFORMATION FORM

(Complete the Following Form)

Personal Information

First and Last Name:___________________________________________________________

Residential Phone Number:______________________________________________________

Mobile Phone Number:___________________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________________________________________Date of Birth:_________________________________________________________________

Hours

 

Preferred Working Hours (please write or type in X for the time you prefer):

Part-Time:

SHIFT A: 9:00am-12:00pm         SHIFT B: 11:00am-2:00pm 

   

   

 

SHIFT C: 12:00pm-3:00pm         SHIFT D: 2:00pm-5:00pm

Full-Time:

SHIFT A: 9:00am-3:00pm          SHIFT B: 11:00am-5:00pm

Payments

In order to receive payments from clients and your salary please provide with the account information:

Account Holder's Name:_________________________________________________________

Type of Account (Checking, Savings, Business):_________________________________

Name of Account (If Business):_________________________________________________

Name of the Bank:______________________________________________________________

Account Number:________________________________________________________________

BSB Number:____________________________________________________________________

The Company will not reveal these details; and will only remit agreed funds to the account at the times and dates specified prior each transaction. The Employee will not attempt to use any of the Company funds - other than those that are deposited in relation to the employment as agreed remuneration, and commissions.

Commencement Date:______________________________________________________

The Employee,_______________________, acknowledged the Detailed Job Description

                First and Last Name

and signed_______________________, on this____________, of_____________ 2008.

                    Signature                 date             month

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Other Jobs Scams

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!

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