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.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Cindy Williams of the Institute of Food Research (IFR)

A scammer going by the name of "Cindy Williams" (today, at least -- who knows what name tomorrow will bring) has a bunch of FORGED money orders, and is looking for suckers to convert them into cold hard cash. The part about the money orders being forgeries isn't mentioned in the email, so I thought I'd better add it. Also, in case it's not obvious, the bit about the Institute of Food Research is just a load of bull cover story.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cindy Williams <ifrcindy@hotmail.com>
Date: 2008/9/28 UTC
Subject: Job Offer
To: undisclosed-recipients


Greetings,

My name is Cindy Williams, I am a freelance researcher. I would be very
interested in offering you a part-time paying job in which you could
earn a lot. I just resigned my job as a research scientist for IFR
(Institute of Food Research) but i still work as a freelance consultant
for the institute which gives me very much time to do my own work which
is basically being a freelance researcher who could be employed by
research institutes to do research projects anywhere in the world.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR US
Presently, I have just been granted a funding to head a research project
in the tropical regions of West Africa regarding rare and vulnerable
plant species and this would be commencing very soon, However my
findings were by my American counterparts which sent me the bunch of
payments mostly in US based money orders. Getting an accountant in the
states or opening an account would have been my best choice but I have a
deadline to meet and taking any of those choices would cost me time and
a whole lot of other requirements I am not ready to deal with as I would
be traveling a lot in the meantime. So presently, assuming you would be
able to deal with cash, "I would be willing to employ you on contract
basis to be my payment representative back in the states, this way I
could issue and make these money orders out to you, you could then cash
them easily, withdraw 10% of the total amount on these money orders as
your commission and then send the rest back to me through !
Western Union wire transfer".

JOB DESCRIPTION?
1. Receive payment from Clients
2. Cash Payments at your Bank
3. Deduct 10% which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed.
4. Forward balance after deduction of
Percentage/pay to any of the offices you will be contacted to send
payment to (Payment is to forwarded by Western Union Money Transfer).

HOW MUCH WILL YOU EARN?
10% from each operation! For instance: you receive 7000 USD via cheques
or money orders on our behalf. You will cash the money and keep $700
(10% from $7000) for yourself! At the beginning your commission will
equal 10%, though later it will increase up to 12%!

ADVANTAGES
You do not have to go out as you will work as an independent contractor
right from your home office. Your job is absolutely legal. You can earn
up to $3000-$4000 monthly depending on time you will spend for this job.
You do not need any capital to start. The employees who make efforts and
work hard have a strong possibility to become managers. Anyway our
employees never leave us.

MAIN REQUIREMENTS
18 years or older
Legally capable
Responsible
Ready to work 3-4 hours per week.
With PC knowledge
E-mail and internet experience (minimal)

And please know that Everything is absolutely legal, that's why You have
to fill a contract! I would be glad if you accept my offer
and I intend to commence on the job as soon as you are ready.

Please note when replying fill the form below:

Name:
Full Address: (not p . o . box):
City:
State:
Country:
Zip code:
Phone Number(s):
Age:
Sex:
Current job:
Email:

Thanks for your anticipated action and i hope to hear back from you.

Cindy Williams
IFR(Institute of Food Research)
Norwich Research Park Colney
Norwich NR4 7UA UK
ifrcindy@hotmail.com

Thursday, September 25, 2008

AMAX OIL & GAS INC

The "from" address used in this scam contains a domain name that does not exist. I've received several copies using various reply addresses. It's probably an Advance Fee Fraud scam, meaning that the job offer is bait, and the hook is that they are going to ask you to pay some kind of fee. There is no job, and these people do not represent this company (if it exists at all): it's just a lie they use to con people into sending them money.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: AMAX OIL & GAS INC <info@amaxoil.org>
Date: 2008/9/24 UTC
Subject: AMAX OIL JOB OFFER
To:





FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR
AMAX OIL & GAS INC
Level 36, Tower 2
PETRONAS Twin Towers
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
MALAYSIA
Tel: +60 14645 8330



ATTN: APPLICANT

INTERNATIONAL EXPATRIATE OFFICIAL JOB ONLINE INTERVIEW

Your name has been shortlisted/Choosen among the Lucky expatriates who
submitted the CV to the MALAYSIA ONLINE JOB ,before we will issue you the
Success Letter and the Contract Document You have to fill the following
informations and send it back to us
Via-Email:amaxoil.gasjob_inc@live.com

Full Names

City:

State:

Country:

Zipcode:

Sex:

Phone:

AGE:

MARITAL STATUS:

Get back to me as soon as possible.


Bar.Abdul Mohammed,
Head of Recruitment Service.
AMAX OIL & GAS INC(Sarawak)


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Polaris Limited

It seems unlikely that this message actually originated at CareerBuilder, but the sender has at least gone to the effort of determining that the name associated with my email address is "Deception Spotter". I do have an account at CareerBuilder, clearly marked as "for the purposes of catching job scams", so anyone who says I qualify for a position is either admitting that they are a scammer, or not reading the entry! This is a money mule scam. They say that the payments to be processed do not come in the form of checks, so it's most likely to be fraudulent direct bank transfers they want people to launder via Western Union for them. If anyone has further details, please post. In the meantime, be assured that this is a scam, and that they scammers don't really represent a company named "Polaris Limited" or anything else.

I love the disclaimer block, though. I think a scam-baiter has been taking up a scammer on one of those "re-write English properly" job offers. That disclaimer block and the "From" address ties this scam to "NIX Consult, Inc." and "Target Co." scams (documented elsewhere -- I'm not the only scam-spotter on the planet).

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Etan Muller <CandidateEmail@job.careerbuilder.com>
Reply-to:
Etan Muller <hiring.Etane.Muller+1039@gmail.com>
Date: 2008/9/17 UTC
Subject: CareerBuilder: Position Regional Manager
To: Deception Spotter <ideceive@gmail.com>




[image redacted]
[image redacted]
 
Position Regional Manager  
Dear Deception:

Upon reviewing a resume you submitted through CareerBuilder, I feel you could be a great fit in our regional managers program. It is permanent work-from-home entry-level growth opportunity.
The job includes processing payments for our clients (not checks), holding accounts with certain banks or payment systems, managing cash flows, creating reports. We are currently lacking representation in your area.

If you ready to apply, please REPLY. You will get all necessary information regarding this position.

Yours sincerely,
Etan Muller
Polaris Limited HR Manager.
You are receiving this employment opportunity email because you uploaded your resume on CareerBuilder. This email is used for hiring process only to prevent the company from spam messages.
If your employment status has changed or you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can update your privacy and communication preferences from your resume by logging onto CareerBuilder.com:
http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobseeker/emails/emailsubcenter.aspx

Or you can Block this employer from viewing your resume and sending you candidate emails.

This email was sent from Account ID A045WBEM7H9PCSUZUCT and by this logged in User UAV9A86L0W3FWDM2361
DISCLAIMER
The content of this email has been reviewed and approved by CareerBuilder. This email is intended for the use of the individual address named above and may contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is not authorised and constitutes an irritating social faux pas.


Sunday, September 14, 2008

TARGET-MARKET

Here's an obvious scam: anything that involves "payment processing" is an obvious scam. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that this particular scam involves cheque fraud: the scammers send the employee forged cheques and ask him to bank them, then forward 90% or so of the face value via Western Union. The shocked "employee" then discovers that cheques can bounce after you've drawn on them, and the bank simply deducts the money back out of your account, potentially leaving you overdrawn.

The .ar top level domain doesn't operate a functioning WHOIS server, so I can provide no information on "target-market.com.ar". Assume it was registered yesterday -- to Satan, operating under an assumed name.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jorge Andrade <jorgepsistemas@gmail.com> [SPF verified]
Date: 2008/9/14 UTC
Subject: Job offer
To: ideceive@gmail.com


With reference to your resume we happy to offer you to fill up the vacant position in our company.
TARGET-MARKET, is currently looking to fill 14 Payment Processing Clerk positions
within USA and United Kingdom.

This position focuses on the management of daily, weekly and monthly tasks and special projects
pertaining to the finance support for accounting in U.S. and United Kingdom.

Hours: You can work full time or part time. Your schedule can be flexible.
For part time - you will need to spend on average 2-3 hours per day, Monday-Friday.

Position requires:
- Assist the Accountant and HR Departments in a support role performing special projects, data
entry and other duties as assigned;
- Investigate and resolve all customer payment inquiries.
- Investigate and resolve all payments received without a valid customer account number.
- Process manual ACH direct pay applications.
- Process all the exception payments, correspondence, rejects from the lockbox provider.
- Processing of Deferred Payment Agreements (DPA).
- Use of contemporary computer software (e.g., Windows; Microsoft Office Suite) a MUST.

Salary/Wage: USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 /year.

Location: This is a work at home position. All communication will be online. During training/trial
period assistance may be provided by phone.

Requirements:
- Excellent math skills and previous experience working in an accounting, accounting clerk or
financial capacity, or documented accounting/finance/clerical coursework.
- Must have an AS Degree in Accounting, business, equivalent, or 1 plus years experience in Payment
Processing or Accounting would also be acceptable.

Costs and Fees: There are NO costs at any time for our employees. All fees related to this employment
are covered by the company.

Further Hiring Process: Please reply to this message including Reference Code job number.
In your email please state if you are interested in a part-time or a full-time position.


Please reply ONLY to our personal e-mail:
info@target-market.com.ar
nestoragosta@target-market.com.ar

Also you can apply online on: www.target-market.com.ar/submitresume.html
 

Saturday, September 13, 2008

apintertrust

This is curious. It's spam, and therefore up to no good, but as vague as vague can be. It does not mention a company name of any sort (which I would assume to be false in any case), but I label it "apintertrust" based on the Gmail address used as a contact. It targets UK citizens, and purports to be looking for people to "file documents and handle payroll administration to our clients in Canada". The "payroll" part of that is probably the tip-off, with the "file documents" part probably being a red herring. That being so, this is probably a money mule scam, although it's not clear as to which variety of that scam is being played. It's pretty much certain that the "payroll" duties will involve receiving money in some dubious way (e.g. forged cheques, fraudulent bank transfers) and forwarding a portion to someone via Western Union (or similar).

Please post more details of this scam if you have any, but steer clear of it if you were thinking about getting involved.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mark Berry <offer@[redacted]>
Return-Path: <nobody@host.palmhost-magenta.com> [SPF verified]
Date: 2008/9/12 UTC
Subject: Job Offer
To: ideceive@gmail.com


Dear Sir/Ma,

We are offering you another form of income for the time being with our work from home job offer.We are offering a temporary job which really do not require any professional skills.We are looking for interested candidates that can handle our clients business.

You really don't have to have any professional skills for this. All we are looking for right now is United Kingdom based individual to handle paper works, file documents and handle payroll administration to our clients in Canada.

What will be required from you is, a few hours a day and also to pay very close attention to all instructions given to you.

Your Job will be:
Handling all applications with regards to new clients that are based in Canada who are willing to register a company in the United kingdom and what you will be doing is Filling all papers from these individual companies which will be sent over to you, under their companies name.

Get back to us through our email address below with your
**FULL RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS**: apintertrust2@gmail.com

Best Regards,
Mark Berry.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Avatar Web Promotions

Damn, these scams are coming thick and fast at the moment. A quick search shows that there is an entity called "Avatar Web Promotions" operating in New Zealand, but the scammers who sent this recruitment spam used a computer in Poland and a Spanish "from" address, so they're obviously not related, despite using the same name. They don't specify what the job involves, but it's always the same story with job scams targeting Australia and New Zealand: money laundering. Yes, I'll wager that these scammers are looking for money mules to receive stolen money via direct bank transfer, and forward it to them (probably somewhere in Eastern Europe) via Western Union. Steer clear.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (suspected false)]
Date: 2008/9/11 UTC
Subject: Management consultant
To: [redacted (privacy)]


[image redacted]

Company Name

Avatar Web Promotions

Job Category

Cust. Rep.; Manager

Location

Australia/New Zealand

Position Type

Employee, Part-Time

Salary

from 3,000.00/month

Sales Experience

1+

Education Level

High School or Equivalent

Date Opened

08.2008

We are looking for someone with superior communication skills to enhance our team. We have various positions opened. Don't waste your time, this position is limited. Read requirements and send us your CV for qualification.

Requirements:

  1. Strong computer and internet skills
  2. Be able to serve our virtual office system
  3. Perfect communication verbal and written skills
  4. Strong MS Office skills

Education and Experience:

  1. High school or equivalent
  2. Sales/management experience 1+ (desired but optional)

Hours:
Mon-Fri; 9:30am – 12:30pm;

This is a great chance to enjoy large International Corporation and put your career to right hands. Send your CV to our E-mail right now, try your chances: avatar_prom@mail.com

Give us 2-3 days to reply back with results. Thanks a lot for your time and have a great day!

WE TREASURE YOUR PRIVACY AND PROTECTION

AdvResources Inc. 2008


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

LNM Bidding Services

These scammers aren't too specific about what the job involves, but I'll hazard a guess that it's money mule work: receiving stolen or fraudulently obtained funds and laundering them overseas via Western Union. Substantial similarities lead me to believe that this is the "SNB Auctions" scammers operating under another name. I suspect they change names more frequently than they change underwear.

I don't believe the telephone contact details in their domain registration. Do you? Note that the registration is extremely recent.

domain:     LNM-ONLINE.SU
nserver:    ns1.longinblack.com.
nserver:    ns2.longinblack.com.
person:     Private Person
phone:      +7 772 7727727
fax-no:     +7 772 7727727
e-mail:     retyi111@yahoo.com
registrar:  NAUNET-REG-FID
created:    2008.09.10
paid-till:  2009.09.10
source:     FID

Additional information about the name server domain (registered to "Domain Discreet" anonymisation service).

   Domain Name: LONGINBLACK.COM
   Registrar: REGISTER.COM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.register.com
   Referral URL: http://www.register.com
   Name Server: NS1.LONGINBLACK.COM
   Name Server: NS2.LONGINBLACK.COM
   Updated Date: 05-sep-2008
   Creation Date: 05-sep-2008
   Expiration Date: 05-sep-2009

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (false, random)]
Date: 2008/9/10 UTC
Subject: Chance to change your life - new job. Good salary. Administrative Assistant
To: [redacted (privacy)]


Hi,

We are currently offering part-time job in New Zealand, Australia:

position:

Administrative assistant

The job does not need any special skills or knowledge in any specific areas. Your commitment to the job, readiness to make the job on time and with good quality, honesty and responsibility, good business acumen and accuracy are the basic recruitment criteria.

Administrative assistant provides clerical and administrative support of departments of management and sales. Selected candidate should be able to demonstrate data sorting and special project operating skills.

The position is part-time (full-time also possible) and home based. The responsibilities include answering clients&#8217; letters(optional), sales support, correspondence with the dragged in offices and vendors. The person should be able to maintain correspondence showing skills of competent and literal written communication. The vacancy includes carrying out of clerical responsibilities aimed to provide effective sales processing. One of the items is preparing and spreading of the reports.

Requirements:

- knowledge of Microsoft Windows/PC/internet usage
- high level of integrity and ethics.
- Good responsibility to company requests
- Proved ability to work independently
- Knowledge of basic accounting
- Honesty and responsibility in performing corporate tasks
- Willingness to coordinate personal results, work independently
- Fluent English
- maturity age
- Ability to follow directions

Company's provisions:

- NO INVESTMENTS NEEDED TO START!
- $1700 Bonus after 30-days of employment.If you work minimum of 8h per week.
- We guarantee that you will earn money right from your virtual home office while working as an independent contractor with us.
- Competitive Salary
- Flexible work schedule
- Online assistance and training
- Over 3500 $ monthly which highly depends on your results

You can find more information about this offer on our website:

www.lnm-online.su

Application form:

www.lnm-online.su/rega.php

We will contact you ASAP (24-48 hours after we receive your application form on our site) by e-mail or by phone to provide you more information

With best regards,

LNM Bidding Services

EU All Sales Team

New job scams come in bursts, and we're having a burst right now. The modus operandi of this scam looks like that last seen in the "Apple Sales Group" scam: note the identical fake endorsements and instruction to reply with "more information". As usual, it's a money mule (money laundering) job.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (false, random)]
Date: 2008/9/10 UTC
Subject: The big salary and the minimal expenses of your time!
To: [redacted (privacy)]


HELLO EVERYONE!
Please take your time and read about this genuine offer, job position.Make money spending only few hours a day, if you are located in Australia!
This position either can replace your current job, or can be as an extra income for you. Austria successful company - Eu All Income, brought this opportunity for you.
Advertisement itself is brought to you via Google ads (Paid advertisement, assigning e-mail business account). The most convenient and smart position for anybody who has couple hours a day, Monday-Friday. You will be able to make 1300+ AUD a week! It's either - you do want to participate in this, or - you do not, that's what makes it a genuine offer and worth reading and finding out more.If you meet requirements - do not hesitate to receive full information:

*You are 18+ y/o
*You are Reliable and Enthusiastic person.
*You Have 2-3 Hours a Day of Your Spare/Free Time, Monday-Friday(Saturday).
*You Are Located in Australia (New Zealand can be considered also).
*You Have Access to Internet 2-3 Hours A Day, Monday-Friday(Saturday).

Reference:
"The Most Creative Opportunity of The Month" - "Two Time" Magazine, quote by Angela Roer.
"Consider This Opportunity" - "Behind The Truth" Magazine, quote by Marcus Stowee.

To receive full information reply to our e-mail:  eu.allincome@gmail.com

with subject "More Information" and one of our representatives will assist you shortly.
Thank you for your interest and
Good Luck!

Best Regards,
EU All Sales Team.

Finance International Ltd

"Finance International Ltd" is the most unconvincing and unimaginative name I've seen since "Finance Corp International". Also, "Management Department" is a really stupid concept. It goes without saying that this isn't a real company: it's a scammer doing a very bad impression of one. Like all these scams that target Australians, the job involves receiving stolen money via direct bank transfer and then forwarding (laundering) it via Western Union. The domain name given in the "unsubscribe" address, "finance-int.net", is not registered at the time I post.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (random, false)]
Date: 2008/9/9 UTC
Subject: Australian position
To: [redacted (privacy)]


Good day.
We would like to offer you position the of transfer manager. Due to
Company expansion onto Asia-Pacific financial market we will need
regional representative in Australia.

-POSITION: Regional Representative,
-POSITIONS AVAILABLE: 15,
-COUNTRY: Australia (New Zealand),
-SALARY: 2200-3500 AUD P/MTH,
-TRIAL PERIOD: ONE MONTH,
-OCCUPATION: part-time (1-3 hours a day),
-EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: We will provide full training for suitable candidates,
-HOW TO APPLY: Email (open.new@icmail.net) Viktor Lesken for details.

Unsubscribe: Send an empty message to unsubscribe@finance-int.net.

---
Finance International Ltd,
Management Department,
Oliver Lesken

RAI Capital, Ltd

I can't see any obvious evidence that these scammers are impersonating a real company, although someone somewhere is almost certainly using the name "RAI Capital" for something. (There's a limited supply of three letter acronyms in the English alphabet, after all!) Beyond that, I have little to say about this scam: they provide only a Gmail address as a point of contact, and it has the letters "RAI" ordered differently than the "company name" they're using. Also, the cheap scumbags are only offering 2% of each transaction, which is really lame for a money mule scam.

It's not immediately obvious whether these guys are wanting the sucker to cash forged cheques or accept fraudulent bank transfers. Please post details if you have them.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (false, random)]
Date: 2008/9/9 UTC
Subject: Foreign financial company is looking for specialists
To: ideceive@gmail.com




Dear job seeker,

Please find a regular update on the temporary and part-time jobs below. If you received this email in error, please respond email back with the subject: REMOVE.

VACANCY: Transactions Analyst / Senior Transactions Analyst
DEPARTMENT: Transactions
GROUP: Finance & Operations
COUNTRY: USA only
EMPLOYER: RAI Capital, Ltd.
INDUSTRY: Financial Services
EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Contract
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: NO
PART-TIME: YES
AVG PAY: $2,000 - $5,000 / mo
AVAILABLE FROM: August 1st, 2008
VACANCY CODE: SA/S2008

E-MAIL: riacapital.hr@gmail.com

EMPLOYER SNAPSHOT

Found in 2001 in Novosibirsk, Russia our company has grown to be a strong player in the national financial market with an ambition and capacity to expand overseas. Currently headquartered in Moscow, we specialize in offering tailored derivative trading strategies to institutional clients and qualified private investors both as a derivatives broker-dealer and an asset management consultancy. Found by a group of mathematics-turned-financiers, we have creativity, meritocracy, and constant innovation as our core values. We believe that it is the enterpreneurial and inventive spirit of our team that drives forward both our business and that of our clients. Our talent and dedication is our core asset, and we are keen to offer endless opportunities for further professional training and education.

RAI Capital Ltd. is an equal opportunities employer opsen to candidates of any sex, race, age or ethnicity.


JOB SUMMARY

Finance and Operations Department manages the administrative side of our business on day-to-day basis. As a Transactions Analyst, you will be in charge of settlement of incoming payments initiated into your designated bank account by our US & Canadian clients. In this role, you will have actual business responsibility from day one, with your duties ranging from receiving incoming funds alerts from your supervisor and confirming the transfers arriving into your account, to initiating transfers into our managed client accounts in Russia and confirming the settlement. On average, your duties will require up to 8 business hours per week. Since the Transactions Department is based in Moscow, you will be in touch with your supervisor via phone, email and fax, and thus you need immediate access to these facilities. You should also be able to visit your bank branch during the regular business hours upon a few hours notice.

Your compensation will be calculated as 2% percent of the client funds that you handle. You will receive your remuneration each time that you complete a transaction, thus ensuring the full flexibility of your employment contract. On average you can expect to earn from $2,000.00 to $5,000.00 per month working as a Transactions Analyst with our company. Please reply to this email for more information on the positions available.

The position can be filled while working at home or keeping a current full-time job, with the remuneration entirely determined by your performance. In order to apply for this position, you must be aged 21+ years and have a verifiable residence in the USA.


CANDIDATE PROFILE

A successful andidate needs to be a self-starter with strong communication skills who is capable of setting and managing her priorities. Candidates with previous clerical, business or administrative exerience are preferred, although this is not a pre-requisite to succeed in this job. Relevant professional training will be provided by the employer.


FURTHER ENQUIRIES

Please contact our VP, Finance & Operations at riacapital.hr@gmail.com with your contact email address and phone number to request further information and/or enquire on the application procedure. All applications are treated in confidence.



Your's Sincerely

Dr. Andrey Uspenskiy
Managing Director
RAI Capital, Ltd
E-mail: riacapital.hr@gmail.com


Royal York Hotel, Canada (not)

This particular scam has been sent to me as a Yahoo! meeting invitation. This is an uncommon but not completely unknown method of spamming, favoured by the less technically sophisticated scammers of the world. The theme of "work in a Canadian hotel" is also popular with this breed of scammer: just search this blog for the terms "Canada" and "hotel" to see what I mean. Anyhow, this scam has been around for so long that the actual company behind the Royal York Hotel, Fairmont, has a fraud warning on its "Fairmont Careers" website (to which you should go if you are genuinely interested in working for them). I repeat this warning here for your information.

Please note a recent scam involves soliciting individuals for international employment via e-mail using various internet based e-mail accounts that use the Fairmont name.  Individuals are then asked to provide copies of their personal identification and to send money in order to process the application. 

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has not authorized this form of communication and no such recruitment program is being offered or sanctioned by our company.  These offers are fraudulent.  Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has notified the authorities to investigate. 

If you receive an offer of employment but are unsure if it is legitimate, please contact pathfinder@fairmont.com

If you have been a victim of this scheme, please contact your local police department to report the matter.

If you intend to contact Fairmont at the above address, you should probably check their website to determine whether the address is still current. Save them and yourself some bother though: assume that anything originating from a Yahoo! email address is a complete fake, for a start.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Employeet Real <employeetreal@yahoo.com>
Date: 2008/9/10
Subject: LIVE AND WORK IN REAL ROYAL YORK HOTEL CANADA
To: ideceive@gmail.com




You're invited to:   LIVE AND WORK IN REAL ROYAL YORK HOTEL CANADA
By your host:   Employeet Real
 
Message:   Employment Opportunities 2008
The management of The Real Royal York Hotel, Canada, wishes to advertise through this medium that there are Job Vacancies in our Hotel. Due to the expansion in our services and the opening of new outlets the hotel needs both men and women to fill in different categories of job openings. Currently, Canada is experiencing a decline in Lab our force and as such we seek serious minded please get back to us employinfoyorkhotel@yahoo.ca
 
Date:   Tuesday September 9, 2008
Time:   7:00 pm - 8:00 pm  (GMT +00:00)
 
Will you attend?   RSVP to this invitation
Copyright © 2008  Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

Pes Group Co

I don't know if there's a real "Pes Group" operating somewhere, but this is just a random scammer with a Gmail address, not a legitimate company of any kind. The job title is suggestive of one of the usual money mule scams. Please post further details as comments if you have any.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (false, random)]
Date: 2008/9/9 UTC
Subject: FANTASTIC PART-TIME POSITION FOR YOU
To: ideceive@gmail.com


We seek for people for a position of a Financial Agent in escrow company. We do not require any
special experience-we need responsible and honest employees who have a good reputation for that
job. You will get new experience
in our company and a high level of income.

If you are interested in that position, please let me know and send me a message
to my e-mail:  goodchancetoearn@gmail.com

You will get all additional details within 24 hours.



Yours sisncerely
Mr. Ronald Rosinski
Personnel Manager, Pes Group Co

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

West Metrology Company

This particular spam was received from an undistinguished DSL service pool in Mexico, not CareerBuilder. I haven't investigated whether the company identity has been copied from a legitimate entity or not, but the domain name is clearly dedicated to the scam. The scam itself appears to be standard "money mule" funds laundering.

   Domain Name: WMP-COMPANY.NET
   Registrar: ANO REGIONAL NETWORK INFORMATION CENTER DBA RU
   Whois Server: whois.nic.ru
   Referral URL: http://www.nic.ru
   Name Server: NS1.WMP-COMPANY.NET
   Name Server: NS2.WMP-COMPANY.NET
   Name Server: NS3.WMP-COMPANY.NET
   Name Server: NS4.WMP-COMPANY.NET
   Name Server: NS5.WMP-COMPANY.NET
   Updated Date: 30-jul-2008
   Creation Date: 30-jul-2008
   Expiration Date: 30-jul-2009

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (false, random)]
Date: 2008/9/8 UTC
Subject: CareerBuilder: FuLL time and Part time job from West Metrology Company.
To: ideceive@gmail.com


On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 1:41 PM, madera madera <CandidateEmail@site.careerbuilder.com> wrote:


[image redacted]
[image redacted]
 
FuLL & Part time job from West Metrology Product Company.  
Hello,

West Metrology Product Company offers the position of Local Operator. We are looking for
the trustworthy person with excellent organizational and communicative skills.
The good knowledge of computer and business practice will be your advantage.
This is the part-time job, which can be combined with any permanent or other
part-time job; average workload is up to 20 hours a week. No special experience is required.
Excellent benefit/compensation package, stability, salary starts from $10,000 a year on
condition of low workload a week.

For more information please visit our web site. To learn more about the position of Local Operator go to:
http://wmpco.250free.com/agentusa.html


If you have any questions feel free to contact us.
Please send your application and resume to career2@wmp-company.net
You are receiving this employment opportunity email because you uploaded your resume on CareerBuilder.
If your employment status has changed or you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can update your privacy and communication preferences from your resume by logging onto CareerBuilder.com:
http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobseeker/emails/emailsubcenter.aspx

Or you can Block this employer from viewing your resume and sending you candidate emails.

This email was sent from Account ID AQ72X5Y9XY8RJMQDDX and by this logged in User U8C40L71VZ1WNTRTB2N
DISCLAIMER
Please be aware that the content of this email has not been reviewed or approved by CareerBuilder and is in no way endorsed by CareerBuilder. You are solely responsible for any response you choose to provide to this email and you do so at your own risk. If you have questions regarding the legitimacy of the position being offered please contact the CareerBuilder Site Integrity Team by submitting your inquiry at: http://www.CareerBuilder.com/JobSeeker/Help/Feedback.aspPlease also review common scams and tips for protecting yourself on CareerBuilder's Fraud Page. If you have questions or comments for and CareerBuilder, please use our feedback form.



Saturday, September 06, 2008

Morgan Investment

This money mule scam has actually been around for some time, using a variety of different domain names, as reported by BobBear. It's come to my attention in the form of the spam email copied below, and they're presently using the domain name "morgantrustfund.cn". The name "Morgan" and some of the text contained in the spam is evidently ripped off from Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC. Please do not confuse the two: this scam report relates only to "Morgan Investment".

Domain Name: morgantrustfund.cn
ROID: 20080830s10001s74456500-cn
Registrant Organization: ah wen
Registrant Name: ah wen
Administrative Email: 2409@244.com
Sponsoring Registrar: 北京新网互联科技有限公司
Name Server:ns4.foly3troso.com
Name Server:ns2.foly3troso.com
Name Server:ns1.foly3troso.com
Name Server:ns3.foly3troso.com
Registration Date: 2008-08-30 15:08
Expiration Date: 2009-08-30 15:08

The doman being used for the name servers, "foly3troso.com", is also of interest. They haven't put too much effort into making the false registrant details credible.

   Domain Name: FOLY3TROSO.COM
   Registrar: BEIJING INNOVATIVE LINKAGE TECHNOLOGY LTD. DBA DNS.COM.CN
   Whois Server: whois.dns.com.cn
   Referral URL: http://www.dns.com.cn
   Name Server: NS1.FOLY3TROSO.COM
   Name Server: NS2.FOLY3TROSO.COM
   Name Server: NS3.FOLY3TROSO.COM
   Name Server: NS4.FOLY3TROSO.COM
   Updated Date: 11-aug-2008
   Creation Date: 14-jul-2008
   Expiration Date: 14-jul-2009

Domain Name.......... foly3troso.com
  Creation Date........ 2008-07-14 22:21:18
  Registration Date.... 2008-07-14 22:21:18
  Expiry Date.......... 2009-07-14 22:21:18
  Organisation Name.... ah wen
  Organisation Address. No.213 changan road
  Organisation Address.
  Organisation Address. Foreignness
  Organisation Address. 100001
  Organisation Address. WG
  Organisation Address. CN

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: US Free Classifieds <[redacted (false, random)]>
Date: 2008/9/6 UTC
Subject: ATTN: Job offer by US free classifieds
To: [redacted (privacy)]
Cc: [redacted (privacy)]


Your resume and or contact details were automatically screened by the US free classifieds and you were selected for possible consideration of employment with the following Corporation.

Morgan Investment offers a motivating and exciting work environment. Work is organized around clear performance goals and expectations, and every employee, regardless of background, tenure or position, is given the opportunity to be a key contributor. This is an outstanding opportunity to join a stable, yet dynamic, entrepreneurial and growing company. Morgan Investment offers a challenging and rewarding work environment, competitive wages and full benefits (medical, dental, vision, flexible spending account, accidental death insurance and 401K).

The Company:
Morgan Investment Co. is an international private equity company which has been successfully in operation since its inception in 1996. Morgan Investment builds portfolios around a set of fundamental investment tenets that make up the foundation of the programs we deliver to our clients. We believe institutions and wealthy families should benefit from access to the same investment approach and investment talent utilized by the largest university endowment programs.

Job Description:
The position available with Morgan Investment is an administrative assistant position. Assistants and representatives are given the opportunity to work from home. It is believed that if a person is given the opportunity to work in a comfortable environment, the employee is more likely to perform at their maximum potential. Studies have shown that business overhead expenses are reduced drastically when allowing employees to work from home. The position pays a guaranteed $2,500 USD per month + 5% commission on each closing assignment. We provide a team environment, and a focused, hard working atmosphere essential for success in the financial world.

Requirements:
# You must be at least 21 years old
# Basic understanding of the PC and its services (e-mail, internet, ..)
# Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills
# Ability to develop and manage relationships
# Attention to detail, and the ability to multi-task and self-manage

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, flexible spending account, accidental death insurance and 401K after a 1 month probationary period. Senior assistants will be given the chance to apply for a management position at one of our worldwide locations.

Morgan Investment presents a significant opportunity for growth; this is your chance to get in on the ground floor.

Please visit our site for consideration of this position. Browse the site to become more familiar with the company and the position available. If you feel you will be a good candidate for this position ensure to view the careers section and submit an application for employment.

- Visit Now

Monday, September 01, 2008

STG COMM NORD

This ridiculous mess has arrived several times in one of my accounts. The proliferation of "&#nnnn" garbage is a way to encode certain special characters in HTML, but they've sent the thing as plain text, and messed it up. I've seen errors like this on a small scale before, but this one is almost unreadable. In any case, this is the usual money mule scam in which the "employers" transfer stolen money into your account, and ask you to withdraw it and send it to them via Western Union or similar. In case it's not obvious, it's illegal to launder stolen money like this. I don't know whether there is a company of the name that they give, but I do know that the folks who send this are an organised crime gang, not a company.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted (false, random)]
Date: 2008/9/1 UTC
Subject: Work - high salary
To: [redacted (privacy)]


SEEK,&#8237; &#8236;a leading company in the sphere of placement,&#8237; &#8236;suggests you to get acquainted with the vacancy of month,&#8237; &#8236;the offer of the company that has been co-operating with us for last&#8237; &#8236;5&#8237; &#8236;years.&#8237;
The offer is valid on all the territory of&#8237; &#8236;Australia.&#8237;
As a leader in the career building,&#8237; &#8236;we recommend just this company.

Double up&#8237; &#8236;-&#8237; &#8236;the number of vacant places is limited.

Employment Opportunities
At&#8237; &#8236;STG COMM NORD,&#8237; &#8236;you have the opportunity to learn,&#8237; &#8236;grow and make a difference.&#8237; &#8236;Work together with seasoned professionals to create ideas and solutions.&#8237;

&#8236;Our competitive advantage is a result of talented personnel.&#8237; &#8236;We continually search for highly motivated,&#8237; &#8236;multi-dimensional individuals,&#8237; &#8236;who seek opportunities for growth.&#8237;

&#8236;STG COMM NORD's employees enjoy competitive salaries,&#8237; &#8236;comprehensive benefits packages,&#8237; &#8236;matching superannuation,&#8237; &#8236;free parking and the stability of a growing,&#8237; &#8236;diversified investing company.

Reliabilities of&#8237; &#8236;&#8236;Investment assistant&#8237; include processing of cash receipts from clients of the company.&#8237; &#8236;After procedures of transaction documents preparation he/she must transfer the sum to accounts advised by our dispatchers.&#8237; &#8236;All you need is spare time&#8237; (&#8236;3-4&#8237; &#8236;hours per day&#8237;)&#8236;,&#8237; &#8236;wish and ability for teamwork,&#8237; &#8236;responsibility.&#8237; &#8236;Your salary at the initial stage will amount&#8237; &#8236;from&#8237; &#8236;1500&#8237; &#8236;AUD monthly.

Requirements to candidates:&#8237;
       Strong computer and internet skills
       Be able to serve our virtual office system
       Perfect communication verbal and written skills
       Strong MS Office skills

Education and Experience:&#8237;
       High school or equivalent
       Sales/management experience&#8237; &#8236;1+&#8237; (&#8236;desired but optional&#8237;)


This is a great chance to enjoy large International Corporation and put your career to right hands.&#8237; &#8236;Send your CV to our personal E-mail right now,&#8237; &#8236;try your chances:&#8237;  stgcomm.tom.hr@gmail.com


Give us&#8237; &#8236;2-3&#8237; &#8236;days to reply back with results.&#8237; &#8236;Thanks a lot for your time and have a great day&#8237;!