Personal Assistant Scam in Craiglist

Hey guys, I am a poor college student who is desperate for a job so I was looking for jobs on Craigslist and found a listing for a personal assistant/administrative clerk position, emailed and sent my resume. I received an reply:


Dear Applicant,

This is to inform you that we have received your application from Craiglist in regards to my posting for Personal Assistant Wanted . I am looking for someone who can act as my PA and Errand messenger,Someone who can handle my personal and business errands at his/her spare time.


This duties requires, you will be needed basically during the weekends and this will give you a free time to go on with your regular job .
Below are the details of what you expected from this job position.
Someone who can offer me these services:


****************************** ****************************** *****************
Mail services: Receive my mails and drop them off at FedEx (nothing illegal) Shop for Gifts,Bill payment ( pay bills on my behalf),Sit for delivery( at your home) or pick items up at nearby post office at your convenience. Let me know if you will be able to offer me any of these above services.
Where are you located?
I would love to meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently on vacation with my little daughter in London and thereafter i would be leaving London to Germany for a 40 working days business summit / trip . I am expected to be back in the states by the end of July 2010 or early July depending on the program am attending in Germany.


MORE DETAILS :
****************************** ****************************** *****************
I own a new art gallery in Australia which just started operations and sales and i am sourcing to buy more art works from professional painters and artist within the USA.This is where you come in, I am willing to pay you in advance to do my artworks and paintings shipping's for me,make payments for them and have them delivered to you. I will also have my mails and packages forwarded to your address.. If you will be unable to stay at your home to get my mails, I can have it shipped to a post office near you and then you can pick it up at your convenience. When you get my mails/packages; you are required to mail them to where I want them mailed to. You don't have to put money out of your pocket, all you have to do is have packages shipped to your house and do my shopping.. You are allowed to open the packages to reveal its content. The content of the packages are art works,paintings,computer and electronics, clothing's business and personal letters. All expenses and taxes will be covered by me. You will work only on Saturdays. How much will you charge per week? I am willing to pay $400.00. That is not a bad offer is it?


I need your service instantly because as you know already i am constantly out of town. I will return to the state end of July or early August so this process will be on going till then. If you don't mind, I will meet up with you when I returned then we can talk about the possibility of making this long term though i will still get in touch with you via phone soon as we have an agreement and you start work. Well, let me know if you are able to handle the position. I will email you the list and pictures of what to shop for when I am ready. No heavy packages is involved! You can do the shopping at any nearest stores. You will be shopping for this festive season for some gifts,electronics and clothing's.

I will provide you my personal FedEx account number for Shipping. All you have to do is provide my account number to FedEx and shipping charges will be applied into the account. I will provide clear set of instructions for each task I need done as well the funds to cover them. If I were to mail you money in form of cashiers check or money order to do my shopping plus upfront payment for your service, where would you want it mailed to? How should your name appear on the money order or cashiers check?


Provide me with the following details below:


Full Name :
Full Address : (NO P.O.BOX)
City :
State :
Zip Code :
Cell Phone :
Home Phone :
Age :
Email :


Waiting patiently to read back from you as soon as possible.

Best Regards,

Mr Samson Ray
Phone : (309) 279-5330

______________________________



Now, stupid me, I didn't think much of it at first, except for the fact that the grammar was bad. I figured maybe they were typos and he was in a hurry, like some of the people here thought. So I sent him my information.

Two days later, he sent me another email:



Hello _______,

Thanks for the details. The Job will be assigned to you as my Personal assistant, you will resume work with helping me on errands, sorting out my delivery,packages and doing my shopping. You will be properly briefed on orders to be carried out every task appropriately. I believe we can start the purchase with TRUST, HONESTY AND SOUND MIND....! Please assure me of your trust, honesty and commitment.


Its great to know you are willing and you have the panache to work for me.I will make arrangement to send payment to you in form of cashiers check for your first salary and also to carry out your first assignment which will be purchasing my next set of paintings and having it delivered to you asap. You will be informed once the payment has been sent and what you are to do with the remaining money after deducting your salary. I would like you to confirm your correct details below .At some piont next week i should be able to give you a call .and if possible tommorrow...i can give it a try to reach you.

Note: Verification of your details below will confirm your full interest. Once you have confirmed your details, Payment for your first assignment and your first week pay will be sent to you in form of Cashiers check in other for you to start work instantly and further instruction on how to carry out your first assignment will be emailed to you.

Will be expecting to read from you asap with verification that i have your correct details to make out the first payment for your first assignment .
Thanks for your time and keep in touch.

Best Regards,
Mr Samson Ray
Phone (309) 279-5330

_____________________________



So again, stupid me, I confirmed my information and waited for him to send the checks. A few days later, I received them in the mail. I went to the bank to find out that they wouldn't cash it since it was from a bank in Canada. So I went home and FINALLY did research and found this website. I realized I've been tricked and scammed and I'm incredibly ****ed off. I sent an email to the guy, telling him that I've reported him to authorities and blocked his email address. However, this was two days ago...

Today, I received more checks from him!

I don't know what to do! Please help me!

[Dodobird]

Hello zwy,

The first thing to do is not to answer any correspondence or phone calls from this criminal. The second, is to take the cheques, their envelopes and your email exchange with this scammer to your local postal inspector, who has all powers to investigate this.

You can also thank your lucky star in that your bank refused the Canadian cheque, or you'd be left holding a hefty bill.

I'm not going to bother to post the emails but I got the same junk from a Mr. Davis Scott, a supposed Australian art dealer. I'd responded to a Craigs List ad for a Personal Assistant. I did check back and it'd been flagged and removed but I still reported it again anyway. Although suspicious, I corresponded with him so far that I received a FedEx containing a check today, drawn on Wells Fargo bank which we have none of here, that I shall assume is fake. I'd have deposited it in an account tomorrow with only $5 in it to see if it cleared but rather will avoid that mess and simply give it to the authorities having read all the posts here. Thanks and best of luck everyone with finding legitimate employ...

I recently received a similar email:

Hello There,

Thanks for your interest in the PA position and I am sorry for getting back to you lately, I will deeply appreciate all genuine efforts to help me monitor and keep up to date with all my activities. I have had a previous PA who has been very commendable in her activities and who has been part of my life for the past 6 months, she has since returned to her country. I sincerely hope I will be able to find someone again who will be as efficient as she has been.

I'm Mark Stache, 45 yrs of age, originally from Sydney, Australia, but I have spent a whole lot here in United State. I'm a lawyer by profession and I have been pretty successful in a handful of ventures I get involved in; both in Canada and United State including various welfare and community service programs, I most very often get my hands occupied, so it is imperative for me to have a worthy assistant who can monitor and keep me up to date with my activities. However, I’m presently in Canada for a summit and shall be spending 2 weeks here before getting back to the states.

As my assistant, your activities amongst other things will include.

*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring.
*Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them.
*Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence when I'm away.
*Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf.
*Handling and monitoring some of my administrative files and financial activities.

Basic wage is $500 a week

This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings. There is also a very sensitive issue on trust and accountability which I believe will resolve itself as time goes on. Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules, it's a part-time, work from home basis and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others, so it's a little difficult judging the exact number of hours you'll be doing per week. If you can manage your time properly, this job may even give you some extra while you do something else on the side. As I have said, I'd want us to get a head start with things as soon as possible. I do have a pile up of work and a number of unattended chores which you can immediately assist me with, I hope we can meet up with the workload eventually.

Permit me to use the coming week to test your efficiency and diligence towards all this, also to work out your time schedule and fit it to mine. I really need to find the perfect person for this job, I'm confident you can take up the challenges and on the long run we should have a relatively sound working relationship between us. I am glad you are willing to work with me and I promise to be a good boss. I am also glad on the commitment in working. I have been checking my files and what I would want you to do for me next week is to run some errands out to some of the orphanage home, I do that every month.

The funds will be in form of Money Order or Cashiers Check and it will be sent over to you from one of my clients and I have some list of items that will be emailed to you once you received the funds, you will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the nearest store around you so you can mail them out.
I will get you more information on that and I will want you to provide me your information for record purpose and for the remmittance of the payment to you. Get back to me with the following information:


FIRST NAME ..................... SURNAME...................
ADDRESS..................
CITY ...........STATE..............
..........
ZIP CODE.............COUNTRY....... .........
HOME PHONE NUMBER........................
CELL PHONE NUMBER........................
PRESENT OCCUPATION.................... ....
GENDER.............MARITAL STATUS........
AGE..........
EMAIL ADDRESS...........
ALTERNATE EMAIL ADDRESS...........

Once I received your contact information I will get back to you with the task for this week, Understand you will also be paid as well as its important for me to make the necessary steps before I get to the state.This can act as a stable foundation to our working relationship and I will surely meet you in person as soon as I get back to the states.Hope to hear back from you ASAP.


Cheers
Mark Stache Esq.

I did get scammed just last week. Like a moron. Second time around I created a fake email address and answered the same ad and got another email that was asking for a personal assistant but it was a bit different. I will post them both. Yes so everyone reading knows, I was a dumb *** and got scammed out of almost a grand. The first email was really to me. The second one I am going to post was to my fake email under the name <removed>

Hello <removed>

I have gotten your e-mail for the job as my personal assistant .. Where are you located? I would love to meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently away on business. I am presently in Frankut, Germany for a short business trip so there will be no interview. I will pre-pay you in advance to do my shopping. I will also have my mails and packages forwarded to your address. If you will be unable to stay at your house to get my mails, I can have it shipped to a post office near you and then you can pick it up at your convenience. When you get my mails/packages; you are required to mail them to where I want them mailed to. You don't have to put money out of your pocket, all you have to do is have packages shipped to your house and do my shopping. You are allowed to open the packages to reveal its content.

The content of the packages are computer, electronics, clothing, bibles business and personal letters. All expenses and taxes will be covered by me. You will work between 15 and 20hrs a month. How much will you charge per week? I will pay $450.00 weekly for this position.That is not a bad offer is it? I need your service because I am constantly out of town. I work in real estate and I own an Art Gallery in Germany. I will return to USA by Nov, 2010 so this process will be going- on till I get back in July. If you don't mind, I will meet up with you when I return and then we can talk about the possibility of making this long term.
Well let me know if you are able to handle the position. Hope to hear. I will email you the list and pictures of what to shop for when I am ready. No heavy packages is involved! You can do the shopping at any nearest stores.

You will be shopping for Electronics and clothings. I will provide you my personal UPS/Fedex account number for Shipping. All you have to do is provide my account number to UPS/Fedex and shipping charges will be applied into the account. I will provide clear set of instructions for each task I need done as well the funds to cover them. If I were to mail you money to do my shopping plus upfront payment for your service, where would you want it mailed to? How should your name appear on the money order/Cashier's check Maybe you can provide me with the following details below :

Full Name:
Full Address: (NO P.O.BOX)
City:
State:
Country:
Zip Code:
Phone Number:
Age:

Get back to me with the required details above , So that the money order/Cashier's check can be forward to you as soon as possible and I will appreciate quick response from you.
Thanks and please get back to me asap and confirm this mail asap.

Sincerely,

Mr James.

[hrdkor34]

HERE IS THE SECOND EMAIL I GOT FROM SOME PILE NAMED JAMES MAKINWA BUT I USED A FAKE NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS SECOND TIME AROUND


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: James Makinwa <contact_csk23@yahoo.com>
<removed by support>
Sent: Fri, July 23, 2010 9:08:03 AM
Subject: Job Details

Hello,

Hope you're having a pleasant day today You contacted me applying for the position which I advertised on Backpage. Do take time to go through this introductory mail and feel free to pass any questions on.

My profile briefly:

I'm James Makinwa, 62, and a father of 3 wonderful kids, a successful entrepreneur and investor, a member of the Angel Investment Network. I'm also a research journalist and I travel every now and then within and outside the US working on various independent projects, this is why I need someone who can help keep up to date with all of my activities especially when I'm away and amidst my busy schedule.

I have had a previous PA who has been very commendable in her activities and who has been part of my life for the past 6 months, she has since moved on with her personal life and it has affected me in a way. I found her previously on the Backpage website and I sincerely hope I will be able to find someone again who will be as efficient as she has been. Please note that you are being hired only on a personal level. All correspondences would be made and promptly reported to me personally. The position is part time and home-based meaning you can work most times from your home as long as you have a regular internet access. You are also hired on a trial basis for now until we are able to see how well we fit in, this however does not affect your weekly wage.

Most of your activities will be carried out locally and most official packages will be delivered via posts. You will be actively involved in my personal, business and financial life. In summary, your activities as my assistant amongst other things will include;

* Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence;
* Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring;
* Organizing and maintaining diaries, memos and making appointments;
* Dealing with incoming email, faxes and post;
* Carrying out background research and presenting findings;
* A personal reminder for Schedules, programs, flights and keeping me up to date with them as they come up;
* Arranging travel and accommodation
* Carrying out specific projects and research;
* Taking on some of the my responsibilities and working more closely with management and other staff related to me;
* Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf.
* Handling and monitoring financial activities.
* Processing and taking charge of weekly payments and purchases.
* You will also be a part of my household and a helping hand to issues as they arise.
* General clerical activities.

Basic wage is $450 a week.

Any extra personal expenses (transport, gas, etc) incurred by you while on an errand or otherwise will also be reimbursed by me at the end of each working week.

This position is very flexible and it is difficult judging the exact number of hours you will be doing, just bear it in mind that there will be busier weeks than others with a steady pay. Working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings. There is also a very sensitive issue on trust, dedication and accountability which I believe will resolve itself as time goes on.

This is only an introductory e-mail, as time goes on we should be able to arrange a proper meeting to get things started officially. I'm currently in Thailand now for a project, however, I do have a number of things you could help me with immediately, prior to my arrival.

Due to the excessive number of responses to my Ad, do provide the following details about yourself for my personal record update and to filter applicants;

Full Names
Full Contact Address
City
State
Zip Code
Phone Number (H)
Phone Number (M)
Occupation (if any)
Age

I hope you can be available for me immediately before I arrive, it certainly can act as a stable foundation to our impending working relationship.

Hope to hear from you again.

+234-7056589931

Regards
James Makinwa

I replied to a Personal Assistant position on craigslist not entirely trusting it, and I accidently sent my first email without my resume so I had to send another one with just my resume and this person replied to both with the exact same message.

Thanks for your interests in the PA position, I will deeply appreciate all genuine efforts to help me monitor and keep up to date with all my activities. I most very often get my hands occupied because am working with many companies both states and outside,so it is imperative for me to have a worthy assistant who can monitor and keep me up to date with my activities. As my assistant, your activities amongst other things will include: Make travel arrangements and submit expenses for Attorneys Order office supplies, Running personal errands,Check Processing Filing documents,faxing,printing and typing letters Web research, Internet search skills and posting ads Quality communication etiquette skills and good organizational skills Serious sense of humor required and mandatory to work with me Ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information Perform duties with accuracy, quality, and integrity You can only apply for this position if you own a printer and personal computer. Basic wage is $500 a weekly About me:


My name is Mr Johnson Pattson ,i have a family of 3 and i am a Realtor and Lawyer.I travel alot,hence the reason why i need an assistant to handle affairs for me on the home front when i am away on business which is usually quite often. This position is home-based and flexible you can be in any location,working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, I need someone who can be able to meet up with my i rregular timings.There is also a very sensitive issue on trust and accountability which I believe will resolve itself as time goes on.



This is only an introductory e-mail, as time goes on we should be able to arrange a proper meeting to get things started officially. I do have a number of things you could help me with this week if you will be available for me. This can act as a stable foundation to our working relationship. Note:This position is home base office work you can be in any location and work with me from your home. Let me know your interest if you are ready to work with me from your home Mon-Fri @ 10am

So Fill This Application And Email It Back Here Asap!!!



First Name______________________




Middle Name___________________________




Last Name_____________________________


Street Address_____________________________


City, State, Zip Code______________________________________



Sex________Age_________




Nationality___________________________




Cell Phone Number (___)___________________________________




Home Phone Number(___)___________________________________



Email:____________________________



Current Job:____________________________



Hope to hear from you again.

MrJohnson/


he doesn't mention anything about cashing a check or anything that might be fraud. But he doesn't say anything about being in my city and I have looked his name and email address up and he's not a lawyer here and hotmail doesn't have a record of his email address, i also think if trust is such an important thing that he would call me or want to meet me in person before I handle his affairs. It matches what other people have heard from him in sacramento which isn't far from me and I still don't trust it, I'm glad everyone is putting their stuff out there so I know better than to trust this post. It's just too good to be true.

I aplied for Personal assistant on craigslist and this reply I got the next day and if I wouldn't check this cite then I would be fooled by this guy.,

Hello,
I got your resume and it has been reviewed and i did appreciate it,so I will give this a GO!
I'm looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable to work very well and with good understanding.
This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them,my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings.As my Personal assistant,your activities amongst other things will include;
*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring. Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them.Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence while I'm away.Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf.Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities..
Basic wage is $500 Weekly***
*
I'm sure you'll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point,as I am presently in Canada and i will be back in Three Weeks time.
I think you're the right person for this position,Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules,it's a part-time work from home and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others,so it's a little difficult judging the exact number of hours you'll be doing per week.If you can manage your time properly,this job may even give you some extras while you do something else on the side.As I have said, I'd want us to get a head START with things as soon as possible.I do have lots of works piled up presently and a number of unattended chores which you can immediately assist me with,I hope we can meet up with the workload eventually. Permit me to use this week to test your efficiency and diligence towards all this, also to work out your time schedule and fit it to mine.I really need to find the perfect person for this job, I'm confident you can take up the challenge and on the long run we should have a relatively sound working relationship between us. I'm online most of the time as I am hard of hearing so I prefer we contact each other through E-mails,but if there is need for me to call, I will be glad to do that.I am glad you are willing to work with me and i promise to be a good boss. I am also glad on the commitment in working.I have been checking my files and what i would want you to do for me this week is to run some errands out to some of the orphanage home, I do that every month.A payment in form of a Cashier Check/Money Order will be sent over to you from one of my clients and i have some lists to email you once you received the funds,You will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the Orphanage at any nearest store around you so you can mail them out. I will get you more information on that,I will like you to fill the requirements below:
*
All Filled requirements should be forwarded to my personal email address which is (desmondbentley890@hotmail.com)
*
Full Names:
Mailing Address(P.O Box not accepted):
Apt Number if available:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Home Phone Number:
Cell Number:
Email Address:
*
The employee,acknowledged the* Detailed Job Description
and signed********* _______________
********** (First Name and Last Name of Employee)
*
Once again,all Filled requirements should be forwarded to my personal email address which is (desmondbentley890@hotmail.com)
*
Once I have received your contact information, I will get back to you with the task for this week,Understand you will also be paid as well as its important for me to make the necessary steps before i get back from my business trip back to the states.Hope I am clear with that.
*
Get back as soon as possible.
*
Regards,
Desmond Bentley

I got this reply the next day.,But I didn't reply because I checked this site and found lots of good stuff., please be careful not to be fooled

This man Jonathan Brown responded to my resume on craigslist. Here is a copy. He also sent me a check for 3,500. Thank goodness I found this site and listened to my gut.

Jonathan Brown to me
show details Jun 6



JOB DETAILS:

My name is Jonathan Brown,i am self employed.I am into consultation for different companies and i am also into Import and Export of different products within and outside the state.
I am looking for a personal assistant to work with directly your functions are:Bill payments,Printing of letters,Faxing of Documents,Scanning,Laminating,Cash Management,Assist with bank activities,Placing/Processing Orders,Account payable,Posting job Advert on Internet and new paper,helping out with just about everything.
Please note that this is a job position that does not affect your present Job as it can be done from home.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
-Ability to work on multiple tasks in parallel
-Must be friendly, professional & helpful attitude
-Start-up experience a plus
-Sincere,trustworthy & Honest
-Attention to detail and accuracy
-Good problem solving capabilities
-Able to check and reply emails in a timely manner
Compensation: $500 weekly

NOTE:This position is home-based office work you will be performing all the administrative functions from your home.(ONLY SERIOUS CANDIDATE IS NEEDED TO FOLLOW WORKING INSTRUCTION)

I am currently on a business trip to Dubai and i should be back in the State in less than 5wks from now.You can start off with work as soon as you specify your interest.
I want to know if you own any of this office equipment list to start this position.

Laser/In-jet Printer:
Personal Laptop/Desktop:
Internet Access:
Scanner:
Fax machine:
Laminator:
Paper Cutter:
Calculator:
Please note that you will not be purchasing any of the items with your own money as i will be responsible for the purchase of the items you do not have at the moment.

If you would like to be considered for this position,I will like you provide the following details:
First Name :
Last Name:
Full Street Address.OR- PO Box Address :
City, State, Zip Code:
Cell Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Email:
Instant Yahoo Messenger ID if any:

I will be sure to get back to you after i have received the list of items you have and the items you don't have at the moment.Also with your full information as requested above.
Look forward in working with you.
Cheers
Jonathan Brown


It sounded legit, but it's too good to be true

Once I recieved the money he sent me this....


Jonathan Brown to amyroessel
show details 1:23 PM (21 hours ago)


Hello,
Thanks for keeping in touch with me and thanks for getting back to me with the receipt of the check.

Kindly take note of the following instructions.

-You will have the check cashed at your Bank. If the Bank requires you to deposit the check,please go ahead and do so. It takes less than 24hours for the deposit.

-You will deduct $500 as your weekly Pay.

-You will be purchasing the Laminator and Paper Cutter.

-You will be sending the rest of the money to Mrs Osuka Monika in Nairobi, she is in charge of processing all of my property documents.

-The documents will be mailed to you for scanning immediately she receive the fund.

So what you will be doing with the rest of the money is to have the money sent to her via western union.

-You will be proceed to the nearest western union in your area .Below is the information you will be sending the money to:

NAME: Osuka Monika
Address: 2 Mama Street
Nairobi,Kenya

After you have sent the fund to the information above,you will get back to me with the MTCN NUMBER,EXACT AMOUNT SENT after deducting the western union charges of sending the money.

Let me know if you know the western union location you will be sending the money from or you want me to look out for one for you on line.

Kindly have the transaction completed ASAP.
Cheers

[young40]

I received a similar email (see below):



Ape Computers Ltd.

Dear Applicant,

This is to inform you that we have received your application from Career builder in regards to my posting for Administrative Assistant/Personal Assistant Needed. We are looking for someone who can act as a PA and Errand messenger, Someone who can handle Ape Computers Ltd' business errands at his/her spare time. This duties required of you will be needed basically during the week and this will give you free time to go on with your regular job .Below are details of what you expected from this job position.

Detailed Job Description:
The primary goal of a Personal assistant is to support her principal in his efforts to reach his targets and deliver on his strategic goals. This includes Mail services: Receive my mails and drop them off at UPS (nothing illegal) Shop for office equipment at office depot, Bill payment ( pay my bills on my behalf), Sit for delivery (at your home) or pick items up at nearby post office at your convenience. Let me know if you will be able to offer me any/all of these services

I would love to meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently on vacation with my little daughter in London after a 40 working days in the US. I am expected to be back in the states by the end of August 2010 or early September depending on the program am attending in Germany.

Your duties will include:
Personal assistant need to be capable of competently dealing with situations in the boss’s absence, and should be confident enough to commission work on their principal's behalf. Maintaining confidentiality is a fundamental requirement for any PA.

We now have customers in the US and it interest us to increase our yearly turn over by selling to more people in the state. For that same reason, we just started full operations and sales and I am sourcing to employ a Personal assistant within the USA for reading, monitoring and responding to the principal's email, - answering calls and handling queries, - preparing papers for meetings,- managing an Assistant,- sourcing and ordering stationery and office equipment. This is where you come in I am willing to pay you in advance to source, order stationary and office equipment on my behalf, make payments for them (will make payment available to you) and have them delivered to you. I will also have my mails and packages forwarded to your address. If you will be unable to stay at your house to get my mails, I can have it shipped to a post office near you and then you can pick it up at your convenience. When you get my mails/packages; you are required to mail them to where I want them mailed to. You don't have to put money out of your pocket, all you have to do is have packages shipped to your house and do my shopping. You are allowed to open the packages to reveal its content. The content of the packages are computer, electronics, desktops, cable, DVD, book, business paper and letters. For more information about us, please visit http://www.ape-computers.co.uk

NOTE: All expenses and taxes will be covered by the company. More so, you will work only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's.

We need your services instantly because I am currently in the UK. If you don't mind, I will meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently engaged with some paper work that need my punctuality and this will consume much time (couple of weeks or more than). As soon as this is done, I would be leaving London to USA to meet up with you and then we can talk about the possibility of making this long term though I will still get in touch with you via phone soon as we have an agreement and you start work ASAP. Well, let me know if you are able to handle the position. It a must that I should be in the state by the end of August 2010 or early September so this process will be on going till then.

I will provide you with our business UPS account number for Shipping. All you have to do is provide my account number to UPS and shipping charges will be applied into the account. I will provide clear set of instructions for each task I need done as well the funds to cover them. If I were to mail you money in form of cashiers check or money orders to do my shipping plus up front payment for your service, where would you want it mailed to? How should your name appear on the money?

Salary:
I am willing to pay $400.00 per week ($1,600/month). That is not a bad offer is it?.

Candidates need to have a great attitude and be willing to perform any of the duties as stated above. Here is a brief questionnaire that would help me ascertain your skills and experiences.

1. Do you have an idea of how to use Microsoft Excel ?
2. Have you worked as an admin / Personal Assistant before ?
3. What is your weakness ?
4. What are your strengths ?
5. What is your Full contact Address (NO P.O.BOX) ?
6. Where are you located .... City, State & Zip Code ?
7. Provide me with your Cell & home Phone Numbers ?

I will be waiting for your detailed response so that we can move on to the next phase and we have a very fast and responsive Human Resource Team that would that will get back to you as soon as possible.

Regards,

Mr. Andrew Smith.
(Human Resources manager)
APE COMPUTER LTD
http://www.ape-computers.co.uk

Unfortunately I responded back to them before I decided to check them out.
This is what I wrote back:

I'm interested in the position and I'm in a situation where I'm available to work for you three days a week.
If you have received my application then you should already have my address and phone#(see below). You can give me a call to set up an interview with me. After the interview if I feel your business is really legitimate then I will give you the rest of the information that you are asking for, if you feel that I'm a good candidate.

I hope you understand that there are many businessess out there that are scams and I don't want to get burnt.

Thank you for taking the time out to consider me.
<removed by support>

Since I know that they are a scam the best thing I can do if they try to contact me is to tell them that I found a full time job.

young40

[ilyboober]

I have fallen for the scam and today I got three moneyorders in the mail from PA the guy said he was out of the country what do I do now?

[Curious Nelly]

Hello ilyboober.

Send the money orders preferably in the original envelope to your nearest FBI Field Office. If you have emails that are connected with the money orders, send them along with the money orders. Every email has a header and that should be sent also. Need help with anything, just let us know

http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm.

I too received the email on the "personal assistant" possition from "Desmond Bentley".

Thank you to everyone who posted on this website! In the back of my mind, while reading the email, I'm thinking to myself that it had to be fake. A quick google search later and I've found all of this.

Once again, I just wanted to extend a thank you to everyone who is posting this sort of thing that can help prevent scams like this from continuing!

I responded to this fraud email and almost accepted the Job, but thanks to this page I didn't. Even though they got some of my personal information. I got so mad I reported it and most of you should to, so the people doing can get what they deserve.

[eswann]

Unlike the rest of you guys I didn't apply for this job. I WAS on craigslist and I DID apply for a job, but this was not it. I am going to post all conversations with this "KELLY MORGAN". I would also like to thank you guys. When I received this offer via email I was skeptical. I looked up the name "Kelly Morgan" and I looked up job scams via email, all of which told me if you're offered $1000 a week, told to pay upfront for training, or asked for bank or social security information to report that person to the authorities. I told my boyfriend that I was skeptical and he said I "had freaked myself out by looking up scams online" and that I "probably had nothing to worry about if they weren't asking me for money", so I laid off searching. After a few emails, though, I realized that this was not only a mass produced email, but I was probably going to be asked to do something illegal. Here goes...

From: kelly morgan <kellymorgan111@gmail.com>
> Sent: Thu, August 5, 2010 8:20:35 AM
> Subject: PART TIME JOB OFFER NEEDED VERY URGENTLY !!!
> Attention:
> I am looking for someone who can handle my Personal and Business
> errands at his/her spare time. Someone who can offer me these
> services: Mail services, Receive my mails and drop them off at the
> Post ,Shop for Gifts Bill payment ( pay my bills on my behalf),Sit for
> deliveries( at your home) or pick items up at nearby Post Office at
> your convenience.I would love to meet up with you to talk about this
> job but I am currently away on business. I am in Australia so there
> will be no interview. I will prepay you in advance to do my shopping.
> I will also have my mails and packages forwarded to your address. If
> you will be unable to stay at your house to get my mails, I can have
> it shipped to a post office near you and then you can pick it up at
> your convenience. When you get my mails/packages; you are required to
> mail them to where I want them mailed to. You don't have to put money
> out of your pocket, all you have to do is have packages shipped to
> your house and do my shopping.
> You are allowed to open the packages to reveal its content. The
> content of the packages are computer and electronics, clothing
> business and personal letters. All expenses and taxes will be covered
> by me. You will work between 15 and 20hrs a month. How much will you
> charge per month? I will pay $1000. That is not a bad offer is it? I
> need your service because I am constantly out of town. I work in real
> estate and I own an Art Gallery in Australia. I will return to United
> State by Middle of DECEMBER 2010 so this process will be on going
> till then. If you don't mind, I will meet up with you when I return
> and then we can talk about the possibility of making this long term.
> Well, let me know if you are able to handle the position.I will email
> you the list and pictures of what to shop for me when I am ready. No
> heavy packages is involved! You can do the shopping at Sears, Walmart,
> and other stores. You will be shopping for Electronics and clothing. I
> will provide you my UPS account number for Shipping. All you have to
> do is to provide you my UPS Account Number and bill the shipping
> charges on it.. I will provide clear set of instructions for each task
> I need done as well the funds to cover them. If I were to mail you
> money to do my shopping plus upfront payment for your service, where
> would you want it mailed to? How should your name appear on the Pay
> check? so if you still have
> interest you're to reply me back with all this following details.
>
> Full Name:
> Mailing Address(Not PO Box):
> City, State,
> Zip Code:
> Phone Numbers ( Home and Mobile):
> Age:
> Present Occupation:
>
> Sincerely,
> Kelly Morgan

On 8/5/10, <removed by support> wrote:
> I am interested in your offer. How is it that you got my email address?

From: kelly morgan <kellymorgan111@gmail.com>
To: <removed>
Sent: Thu, August 5, 2010 7:05:33 PM
Subject: PART TIME JOB OFFER NEEDED VERY URGENTLY !!!
Hello elizabeh i got your mail from craiglist and so if I were to mail you
money to do my shopping plus upfront payment for your service, where
would you want it mailed to? How should your name appear on the Pay
check? so if you still have
interest you're to reply me back with all this following details.

Full Name:
Mailing Address(Not PO Box):
City, State,
Zip Code:
Phone Numbers ( Home and Mobile):
Age:
Present Occupation:

Sincerely,
Kelly Morgan
Half punctuated and capitalized correctly, and half not?

On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 3:09 PM,<removed> wrote:


My full name is <removed>
Mailing Address: ******* ********** ****** ******
Phone Number: **********
Age: **
Present Occupation: Student

Before you consider me I hope you'll give me a call. Anytime is okay. I would love to speak with you.
Unfortunately, I gave her my shipping information

From: kelly morgan <kellymorgan111@gmail.com>
To: <removed>
Sent: Sat, August 7, 2010 2:28:55 AM
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! WORK STARTS IMMEDIATELY !!!!

Attn: <removed>
Thanks for the Urgent Response. I really have a lot of Mails that are piled up to be mailed to me by My Clients and Business partners. You are to start work from today with immediate effect . All you need to do for now is to always check your email every day for instructions you are to follow as soon as you get any mail on my Behalf.

Get back to me to show that you are in receipt of this message.

Kind Regard

Kelly

On <removed> wrote:
Kelly:
Excuse my skepticism, but I'm going to need you to call me to discuss some things before I can start this position.
Thank you,
<removed>

From: kelly morgan <kellymorgan111@gmail.com>
To:<removed>
Sent: Sat, August 7, 2010
Subject: YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT IS AROUND THE CORNER
Attn: <removed>

This is to inform you that you will be undertaking your First Assignment on my behalf Very soon . At this point in time you are expected to check your email every day for instructions you are to follow as soon as you get the Mail. Get back to me to show that you are in receipt of this message ..well i am still going to call you very soon and we will talked much better on phone okay ..so pls just bear along with me okay and everything is fine thank you very much and i am looking forward to your email .. What the ?


Kind Regards,
Kelly

On<removed> wrote:

I'm very sorry but I can not take this position or your assignments without you calling me.

From: kelly morgan <kellymorgan111@gmail.com>
To: <removed>
Sent: Sat, August 7, 2010
Subject: YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT IS AROUND THE CORNER
Attn: <removed>
Hi <removed> well i understand you very clear and i said in my previous email that am going to call you that you should be expecting my call at anytime ...im going to call you before you will be starting your position okay but be expecting my call tomorrow okay because am very busy today doing some things...thank you

That's the last I've heard from "Kelly". Thank you so much for your website. Because I gave my shipping address I am going to give any check or money orders she sends me to the police. I have not gotten a phone call, but when I do I am going to let "Kelly" know that I know it's a scam, which will hopefully deter from any shipments or checks. THANKS FOR YOUR WEBSITE, IT SAVED MY BANK ACCOUNT!!

Re: http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/...guidelines#fg3

Sigh. I new this was a scam. Too good to be true. But I figured id play along just in case there was a chance this was legit. And the minute they'd ask for money or something i'd stop.

So i sent this guy my personal info. And he said i got the job. This was so suspicious so i found this website.

So I went to the IC3 but since I haven't lost anything yet i dont know if i can file a claim. What should i do? Im kinda freaked out i gave him my address.

Here is the copy of the email

Lawrence Taylor <brookdalesenior@gmail.com> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>Thanks for your response. My name is Lawrence Taylor. I live in US but
>presently in London on a business trip and I need a part time personal
>assistant urgently to run my errands until I return back to the US by fourth
>week in November. I own an electronics and clothing store in London, United
>Kingdom. Here below is the job description.
>**
>1. You will run errands for three times a week and two hours each day.
>2. You will do my business shopping.
>3. You will receive my packages which will be shipped to the nearest UPS
>office to you. You will go to the UPS office and pick up the packages. The
>content of the packages are electronics, clothes, my business and personal
>letters. You will open the packages and confirm the contents for record
>purpose.
>4. You will ship out some of the packages where I want them to be shipped
>to. (You don't have to pay for the shipment. All expenses and taxes will be
>covered by me)
>5. You will receive payments from my clients on my behalf which will be
>written payable to your name so you can cash them at your bank. The payments
>will be in either check or money order. The payments will be for the
>services you will be rendering and to do my business shopping.
>
>*Job Requirement*
>1. You must have good communicatin skill.
>2. You must be efficient, reliable, responsible and trustworthy.
>3. You mush be able to perform your tasks effectively
>4. You should be able to work 3 times per week and 2 hours each day.
>
>
>*Payment and Work Duration*
> The Job will last for three months. I want to open another electronics and
>clothing store in the US when I return and If there is need to extend your
>services, an ammedment would be made to your wages and you will be notified
>accordingly. I will meet you in person by November when I return back to the
>US. I am willing to pay $300 per week. Your weekly payment will be deducted
>from the payments sent to you by my clients.
>
>I need the service of a personal assistant because I am always out of town
>for business trips. The lists and pictures of what to shop will be sent to
>you via email when am ready. No heavy packages are involved! The shopping
>will be done at any nearest stores to you. You will be shopping for
>Electronics and clothes. My personal UPS account number will be provided
>for shipping. I will provide clear set of instructions for each task to
>be done and funds to cover them.
>
>If interested, Please confirm the following details:
>
>Your Full Name:
>Your Full Address with apt # (Not P.O.Box)
>Your Cell phone number
>Your Home phone number
>Age:
>Present Occupation:
>
>
>Hope to hear from you soon.
>
>Regards,
>Lawrence Taylor
>Tel: +447562770428

This scam is still going on except it's for Front Desk Assistant / Personal Assistant position. From the looks of things, these people are targeting all different cities.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/ofc/1886240404.html

http://www.listown.com/engineering/cg/201006/199220.htm

http://www.moderntelecommuter.com/details/front-desk-assistant-personal-assistant-atlanta-ga

Does anyone know what these people are trying to scam? Money? Identity? Lure honest people in as "middle-men" for illegal activities?

There is a similar scam on the Sacramento Craig's List except it's for a Personal Assistant. Everything is exactly the same except the location and type of business is now a Make Up Studio.

Exactly the same scam except they changed their names & type of business. The explanation about them being on a cruise is identical to the bridal store position.



Hi,

My name is Mrs Geraldine Smith wife to Mr Bryan Smith, I'll need your services as an Front Desk/Personal Assistant for my business in Town . We just moved in to town a couple of days ago before embarking on a trip sponsored by my husband's company. Presently we're on vacation on board on an European line cruiser sponsored by my husband's company and we'll be back soon before the end of this month or at the very beginning of next month. I own a Makeup Studio,Others Beauty is my business , and I have numerous customers around the states. I work from home for now and i also do home service. I wish i had my website up already so that you can know lil about me business but that's one of the reason why i need a P.A who will plan with me so that we can set everything up.
Rhoda is our only child and daughter and she plays a very important role in our family, ever since she was born,the family has never remained the same for good. There 're just the 4 (myself,my husband,my daughter and my husband's mom) of us in the house hopefully you will be the fifth person( If you choose to live with us cuz the position is open to both live-in and live-out).I have an offer for you to be my personal assistant and to help with business related issues and advice, also to to take care of my business for me whenever am not around in person. You can send in your updated resume/references in your next email. I want to let you know that we're having much fun out here, we would have love to call you but the network reception on board is really poor because of the high tides for this particular period of the year. But we will try as much as possible to call you as soon as we get a better reception.
My daughter has been a little ill and she has been in the Intensive care Unit on board for the past two days, But I thank God she's is getting on fine and this will prompt us in coming home as soon as we get to shores.

We'd have loved to call you for a face-to-face interview but due to the present situation of things, we are unable to do this because i believe that is the best way. I'd like
you to get back to me as soon as you can because the earlier the better and let me know your schedules and timing that best fits your plans. You'll be working for about Fourty (40) hours weekly and below are your task/duties.

Below are few deatils of the job and i hope you can meet all of them satisfactory ....

* Reading and replying emails from customers
* Receiving of incoming calls & making of outgoing calls to customers
* Taking proper care of sales records
* Receiving payment from customers
* Sending out payment to my clients for supplies of cosmetics

I and my husband want to put things in place so you can start immediately we arrive from our vacation.

Below is our Offer & Requirements.

You'll be paid $20 per hr ($800.00 weekly). You'll be paid every other week or Monthly . So you do let me know which one you prefer.

1) You must be able to speak English Language..

2)Is your partners in support of this position for you.

3)You must have any references and achievements ?

4)Ever been convicted ?? Doesn't matter to me as long as you have realize your past mistakes and now a changed person.

I await your prompt response and as soon as i get your response, I will write back to let you know if you have the job or not.

Best Regards.

Mrs Geraldine Smith
Managing Director & C.E.O
Face of Beauty
geraldine@faceofbeauty.biz





Your Beauty is our Pride.......................

[Dodobird]

Originally Posted by Anonymous02

Does anyone know what these people are trying to scam? Money? Identity? Lure honest people in as "middle-men" for illegal activities?

There is a similar scam on the Sacramento Craig's List except it's for a Personal Assistant. Everything is exactly the same except the location and type of business is now a Make Up Studio.

If you look at the job offer, it mentions receiving and sending out payments. This spells fake cheque scam. You will be asked to receive cheques from "clients", deposit them into your account and resend a portion of them by Western Union to your scammer. A few weeks down the road, the bank will tell you that the cheque has come back as fake. You will be left holding the bill and possibly facing fraud charges.

Understand that there is NO reason in this day and age for anyone to accept and deposit payments for a company into his or her own personal account. At best, it's fake cheques, at worst, money laundering, both punishable by law.