Job scam quick guide: it's a scam if...

  • they want you to collect and forward money in any way (a "money mule" job). You'll wind up engaged in money laundering, personally defrauded via expertly forged cheques, money orders, etc, or defrauding someone else who pays for goods that never arrive.
  • they want you to receive packages and reship them somewhere else. The goods will have been obtained fraudulently, and they're just using you to make the shipping address appear local. You will be aiding fraud.
  • they want up-front payment (either to them or someone else) of any sort for anything before you can get the job. This is advance fee fraud: there is no job -- it's just a big con to extract money from you.
  • they want you to buy any kind of "membership" or "kit" in order to start. Forget it -- it's not a real job at all: they're trying to sell you something, and they're probably making a bunch of other false claims about it if they're pitching it as a "job".
  • it's a job offer, and it's spam. There are LOTS of these scams about, as you can see.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Zhejiang Import & Export Co., Ltd

I sometimes wonder how many of these one-off job scam spams are sent by the same scammer, given how much overlap there is in the underlying concepts. So many "import & export" companies in China seeking to expand their markets. It's deja vu again and again. This particular spam was reported almost verbatim by joewein.de many months ago.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Zhejiang Import & Export Co., Ltd <xingcheng1@hotmail.com>
To: [redacted]
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 05:52:43 +0000
Subject: Honest Representative

Dear Sir/Madam,

Honest Representative

We the management of Zhejiang Import & Export Co., Ltd, Zhejiang, a South African firm based here in Shanghai Province in China, Who deal on Import and export of raw materials into CANADA and AMERICA, are pleased to bring to your notice that we are in need of  honest, faithful and dilligent REPRESENTATIVES who can help us establish a medium of getting to our costumers in the Canada, America AND Europe as well as making payments through them to us.

Please if you are interested in transacting business with us we would be glad to have you in our team as we encourage you to contact us for more information through the email address below:

Contact Person; Dr. Nomvette Mowoe (President/CEO)
Zhejiang Import & Export Co., Ltd,
Zip: 310003, China.
email: infodesk_zhejiang@yahoo.com.cn
Tel: + 86-571-857795111

Subject to your satisfaction you will be given the opportunity to negotiate the mode through which we will pay for your services as our representative.

Regards,

Xing Cheng
Export Manager

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