Scams offering fake Au Pair positions
#106429 by leah Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:02 am
A while ago I've received the first letter from Mr. Graham Smith. I'll just post here all the letters from him, also from the agency he advised.
FROM:
GRAHAM SMITH ([email protected])

TO:

Message flagged
Monday, May 28, 2012 11:44 AM

After reading your profile http://www.easyaupair.com , we thought we should write to you about coming to work for us. We live in Baltimore, MD, USA and we are looking for a live-in aupair to help out with our little daughter.

The job pays $500 / week with light house chores. We would be very happy to hear that you are interested. Please let us know what you think as there is still so much more to discuss

Graham Smith


it’s great to know that you are interested. we want to assure you that we appreciate your acceptance and you will enjoy your time with us here. we will be needing your services for 6-9 months with the possibility of an extension and we are hoping you can be here within the next 2months . please confirm if this is possible. Before we go on, I would like to tell you a bit about us

First of all I would like to introduce myself. My name is graham smith and I am a civil engineer. My wife ;kate is a medical rehab specialist and my only daughter is Haley Smith and she 5yrs old. She would be your primary concern during your stay here. All your activities during the week revolves around her including taking her to school and bringing her back

Haley spends most of her time playing. She loves Polly Pockets, Barbies, etc and loves to swim. She is constantly asking to learn more and would benefit greatly by having a "big sister to play with and talk to.

We know that changing your environment is difficult and most times adaptation is a problem and that is why we are going the extra mile by helping you out in any way we can. we want you to feel free and happy during your stay and in turn, reflect it on our little girl.
During your stay here, we will be your host and will provide you with the basic necessities that you will need especially your accommodation, meals and toiletries
You will be fully responsible for our girl's daily routine which includes getting her dressed, making breakfast, lunch and dinner, minding her during the day and taking her to playground, play dates or other places of interest, as well as cleaning her bedroom and helping with general household duties.
Your working hours per day will be within 5-6 hours which will be approximately 25-30 hours per week .
Your working period will be Monday to Friday while Saturday and Sunday will always be your off day from work.
Your monthly salary will be $1500 and $120 weekly pocket allowance or a total of $500 weekly depending on your choice of payment
You will be provided with a comfortable accommodation with 24 hours free internet access.
Please confirm to let us know that you are interested in this job and tell us all about yourself and your experiences.
Yours sincere
Graham


Hello,

It was really nice to read such wonderful things about you, in fact we would be thrilled to have you as the newest member of the smith little family. We feel we have made the right choice, let’s hope to make your stay with us the best time you can have. Our last au pair was just wonderful; she is south African by origin, and she had the most terrible accent and yet she had a miraculous touch on hayley. Since she left, it has been hard to watch our little daughter get over her. It’s too bad she had to return to complete her education, hopefully everything will work out just as well with you and you will be able to fill the void she left in our hearts. Before we go any further, I want you to understand your job routine, just so we are clear and we wouldn’t have any misunderstanding when you get here

From Monday to Friday
You will start by 8:00 am in the morning, get breakfast ready
and get Hayley dressed and packed for pre-school. If we are not home you
are free to drive her to school with one of the cars or you can get a taxi.
While she is at school you will take care of her laundry, light
Housekeeping, grocery shopping, etc. within which time, you can engage your self in an extra school course if you like but just make sure you are back before she is out of school.
We have a meal plan so what she'll eat will already be
Sorted out and there will always be cooked food available but you need
to heat it up for them. You’ll get her back from school by
12:00pm and from then on it’s up to you on how to keep them occupied,
There are playgrounds where she can also be with other kids.
One of us should be home by at 6:00pm and that’s when you close for
the day so we expect the her to be home and cleaned up by then. If we
ever need you to stay over time we will work out a scheme on how to
pay extra for that and you get the weekends off as well.
You will have a room in the house for free, it comes with its own
bathroom, a TV and a laptop. We have wireless connection in the house
so you can communicate with people back home anytime you want. You are
always welcome to join us for meals if you choose. You should always
think of yourself as family because that’s the way we see you.
Best Wishes,
The Smiths


We really can’t wait to meet you. Glad to know we have sorted things
out regarding your duties now we can focus on getting your contract
ready as well as sorting out your travel plans.

We are hoping you can start as soon as possible . We also need your

FULL NAME

ADDRESS

PHONE NUMBERS

You will need a visa and some other papers to come over here in the
USA and we have experience with sorting them out from when our last au
pair came here.

We used an agent who did everything for her in a very short Time.
They also booked her flight and sorted every little detail about her
trip here. They are great and very reliable, here their email
[email protected] and their website is
http://www.aupairsinternational.webs.com
send them an email immediately, introducing yourself as my au pair and
find out what you will need to get
here. They were very efficient and we were all very happy with them,
I’m sure they will do well for you too. We will cover the cost of the
actual flight (Plane Tickets), while you will cover the cost of your
visa
We'd really love to hear back from you so have a wonderful day and
remain blessed

Best Wishes,
Graham


And then I sent an email to that agency. That's what they replied:

GETTING YOU TO THE UNITED STATES

FROM:
AU PAIR INTERNATIONAL([email protected])

TO:

Message flagged
Friday, June 1, 2012 8:11 PM


Dear Applicant
Thank you for contacting AuPair International. We have been notified by Your employer about your new job in Baltimore, MD, U.S.A. Our job is to ensure you get here safely and legally within all the confines of the law. We are among several agencies whom are allowed to act as third parties
Between an au pair and the Immigration Services. We have been
Working with them for the past 15 years with great success so please be rest assured. You are in the best hands possible.
Your entire trip will be grouped into three stages
1. Securing your visa, health insurance and work papers
2. Scheduling a flight to bring you to the United States
3. Taking you from the airport to the residence of work
Securing Your Visa and Work Papers:
The nature of your job requires that you have a J1 visa (Au Pair Visa), with us this can be done within 2 weeks. We will need you to send us the following documents:

1- SCANNED PASSPORT

2- PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH

3- FULL MAILING ADDRESS

4- EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

(Note: We have informed your employer to send Bank Statement of Account, Invitation Letter, Reference Letter and Tax Clearance to us)
Here is a total cost breakdown of the different fillings we will be making for your visa

1. I-129 Petition for a Non-immigrant Trainee Worker $130.00

2. I-765 Application for Immigrant Authorization. $110.00

3. I-131 Application for Travel Document. $150.00

4. Immigration Attorney fees (For legal fillings at Ministry of Justice) $180.00

5. NOTE: Filing J1-or L-1 petitions must submit supplemental fraud

Prevention fee of $80.00.

Total cost is $650.00

Please ask for mode of payment before payments are made.
You will also be registered under a health insurance scheme
2. Scheduling a flight to bring you to the United States:
Depending on the date your visa is issued we will work out a date when we can book your flight. Please inform us of estimated weight of your Luggage, any phobias or preferences in airlines and which International airport you will be leaving from.
3. Taking you from the airport to the residence of work:
When you land at the airport, there will be a representative from this Agency who will be waiting to pick you up and take you to your Employers home. For convenience of him locating you, we will give him one of your passport pictures for facial recognition and we expect you to let us know what you will be wearing so he can identify you. He will also have a sign post with your name on it for you to identify him just in case he misses you.
We wish you the best of luck and require a phone number to contact you on.
Respectfully,

Timothy Howard

AU PAIR INTERNATIONAL
http://[email protected]


After that, Mr. Smith sent me a contract, with his sign on it.

I have attached a copy of the employment contract as promised. please
sign it and send a signed copy to me and another to the agency along
with all other documents.
Graham

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT FOR AU PAIR
Date of Issue: 01/06/2012
BETWEEN
(1) MR GRAHAM SMITH ("The Employer")
(2) --- ("The Au pair")
Our agreement with you:
IT IS AGREED that the Employer will employ the Au pair on the following terms and conditions:
1. Terms of Employment
1.1 The Au pair is employed to work at the Employer's home at 3806 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD
21218, USA, or such other place(s) as the Employer may reasonably require from time to time and
employment
will be for a period of four(4) months with the possibility of extension.
The employment commenced one week after arrival and shall not be continuous with any previous
period of employment.
1.2 The Au pair's duties shall be:
(a) Caring for one child whose name and age is Hayley and is five years old.
(b) Baby sitting at times agreed upon arrival
1.3 The Au pair shall normally work the on week days and have the weekends off
1.4 Work will start by 8:30 am every weekday to 5:30 pm and will only be changed upon agreement
between the employer and au pair.
1.5 The Au pair shall be entitled to a rest period of not less than 11 consecutive hours between the end of
her normal working hours on one day and the commencement of her normal working hours on the
following day. It shall be the responsibility of the Au pair to ensure that she takes such a rest period.
1.6 Unless prevented by illness or injury the Au pair
(a) Shall devote the whole of her time, attention and ability, both during normal working hours and
during such other reasonable additional hours as may be agreed between the Employer and Au pair, for
the performance of her duties for the Employer, and
(b) Follow all lawful instructions of the Employer,
(c) Not perform any paid or unpaid work for any third party without the prior written consent of the
Employer.
1.7 Language Courses
The Au pair shall be allowed to register and attend languages courses if need to improve communication
skills.
2. Remuneration
2.1 The Au pair's gross salary will be $500 per week. The salary shall be reviewed twice a year on but
any increase in salary shall be at the total discretion of the Employer.
2.2 The salary shall be payable in arrears on the last working day in each week by a check or a direct
debit payment direct to the Au pair's bank, as agreed by the parties. The Employer shall ensure that the
Au pair is given a payslip on the date of payment detailing gross payment, deductions and net payment.
2.3 The Au pair shall receive the following benefits:
Accommodation
(a) The Employer provides the following accommodation: Self Contained room with private bathroom
(b) The Employer provides the following meals: Breakfast and Lunch and Dinner
(c) The Employer does provide use of a car.
(d) The Employer does provide pension contributions.
2.4 The Au pair shall be reimbursed by the Employer for all reasonable expenses incurred by her in the
performance of her duties under this contract, provided that the expenses are incurred with the approval
of the Employer and provided the Au pair produces such evidence of expenditure as the Employer may
reasonably require. Petrol costs will be reimbursed at the rate recommended by the Automobile
association if the Au pair uses her own car during performance of her duties.
2.5 The Au pair agrees that the Employer shall be entitled to deduct from any amount payable to the Au
Pair under this contract:-
(a) Any deductions required by law (including PAYE income tax),
2.6 The Employer shall be responsible for accounting to the Inland Revenue for Income Tax and the
employer's and the Au pair's National Insurance Contributions.
3. Holidays
3.1 In each holiday year the Au pair's holiday entitlement is 3 weeks [in addition to/including the usual
public and bank holidays/The Nanny shall not be entitled to paid time off for public and bank holidays
except with the express agreement of the Employer.
3.2 The Au pair shall give the Employer not less than one month notice of an intention to take holiday. If
the holiday period requested is not convenient to the Employer, the Employer shall agree an alternative
period which is convenient to both parties.
3.3 If the Au pair is required to work on a bank or other public holiday, the Au pair will be given a day
off in lieu on a date to be agreed with the Employer.
4. Sickness & Sick Pay
4.1 If the Au pair is unable to attend work due to sickness or injury she shall (insofar as she is able)
promptly notify the Employer either in person or by telephone (as appropriate) on the first day of
absence and provide the Employer with such evidence of her sickness or injury and the cause of it as the
Employer may from time to time reasonably require.
4.2 The Au pair shall be entitled to receive statutory sick pay in accordance with the Governments SSP
scheme during periods of sickness absence or payment (inclusive of any Statutory Sick Pay) during her
absence on sick leave
4.3 [The Employer shall be entitled to require the Au pair to undergo examinations by a medical
practitioner appointed by the Employer, and the Au pair shall sign the necessary consent form to
authorize the medical practitioner to disclose to the Employer the results of the examination and discuss
with the Employer any matters arising from the examination which might impair the Au pair's ability to
properly discharge her duties].
5. The Au pair shall not during her employment with the Employer, or at any time thereafter (otherwise
than in the proper course of her duties or as is required by law) without the prior written approval of the
Employer divulge or disclose any information which, by reason of its character or the circumstances or
manner of its disclosure, is evidently confidential to the Employer.
6. If either party wishes to terminate this contract, the notice to be given shall be as follows:
(a) during the first four weeks of employment ("the Probationary Period"), not less than one week's
notice in writing, and
(b) Thereafter, not less than 4 week's notice in writing.
6.2 The Au pair's employment under this contract may be terminated by the employer at any time
immediately and without any notice or payment in lieu of notice if the Au pair:
(a) is guilty of gross misconduct or serious and persistent breaches of the terms of this contract, or
(b) is convicted of any criminal offence involving dishonesty, violence, causing death or personal injury,
or damaging property.
6.3 Misconduct which may be deemed gross misconduct includes but is not limited to theft,
drunkenness, illegal drug taking, child abuse and violent or threatening behavior (be it verbal or
physical).
7. Reasons which might give rise to the need for measures under the Disciplinary & Capability
Procedure includes the following:
(a) causing a disruptive influence in the household
(b) Job incompetence
(c) Unsatisfactory standard of dress or appearance
(d) Conduct inside or outside Normal Working Hours prejudicial to the interests or reputation of the
Employer
(e) Unreliability in time keeping or attendance
(f) Failure to comply with instructions and procedures
7.2 In the event of the Employer needing to take disciplinary action the procedure shall, save in cases
involving gross misconduct, be:
Firstly Verbal Warning
Secondly Written Warning
Thirdly Dismissal
8. If the Au pair has any reasonable grievance relating to her employment the matter should be raised
with the Employer either in person or in writing as the Au pair deems appropriate. The Employer and the
Au pair agree to take all such reasonable steps as are necessary to resolve such grievances.
9. This contract shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of United
States of America
SIGNED by the Employer
...............................................................................................................
DATED 01/06/2012
SIGNED by the Au pair
...............................................................................................................
DATED 01/06/2012

It opens in Adobe Reader, but the sign is like an inserted image.

I know, I went too far. I didn't think it was a scam until they had sent me this email. I've sent them the signed contract, and the copy of the passport. But I haven't sent them money yet.
After I sent them all the documents, here is what they replied:

Dear Applicant,

We have received your documents and we shall begin processing your visa as soon as we get the required funds.

The accepted mode of payment from your Country is through MoneyGram to our finance officer whose information can be seen below. MoneyGram payments can be done online with a credit card, check their website for directions on how to make an online transfer or to find the closest agent near you.

Receiver's Name - GLORIA WEIDNER

Receiver's Address -Bismarck, North dakota, United states

When the transfer is done please send us the following details

Sender's Name
Sender's Address
Amount Sent
Reference number(8 digits)

Your employer has agreed to pay for your flight ticket and cover your health insurance and taxes.

Yours sincere
Tim Howard
Au pair international


I also sent the signed contract to Mr. Smith:

That's good. I trust the agency to deliver because they have done it
before. Keep me informed on your progress.
Graham


But, just after that, I started to think about the possibility of being scammed. That's why I wrote to the agency, asking about the process of making all the documents done. And they replied me:

This is how it works, when we receive the payment and documents from you. We will begin your application at the home office here. Everything goes much faster here and we have experience with them so we can assure you that if your papers are in order, you are sure to get the visa.
When it is ready, they will send a letter of authorization to the embassy in your country where you will go with your passport to get the visa stamped on your passport. We will get the email from them when the letter has been sent and inform you.
You should understand that the payment isn't for us but its for you visa application. So there's no way, it can be paid in installments, it must be paid in full. Your employer has already agreed to pay for your flight ticket
Yours sincere
Tim Howard
Aupair international


So, this is all. I really don't think I must send them money, but maybe I'm wrong, and this is real. Please help me.

P.S. Also, they sent me some pictures of my room, the house, the family and the girl. The only thing is that the pictures are kind of.. old. Also, he called me, but the number was private. we talked about 5 minutes. He said that they really need me there, cause they are busy and blah blah blah. He said that Hayley is doing well and is waiting for me. I asked him about taxes, which percent goes for taxes, and he said I don't have to worry about that and something more, but I didn't understand. Actually, I didn't understand almost half of what he said. Just some parts of his speech were understandable.
Advertisement

#106444 by lilia Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:42 am
Hey Leah !

Thanks for posting this article about Mr. Graham Smith and this au pair agency.
I have received exactly the same e-mails as you and now I am sure that these are some guys who want to betray innocent girls.
I don't know what I am going to do now but probably I'll report this incident to the american consulate and maybe the police.
In my case Mr. Graham Smith is named Mr. Steve McGallen and his wife Elizabeth McGallen. And her little daughter is Lisa ( 5 years old ).
If you want to know more you can get back to me by e-mail: Removed. Please use the Private Message facility for your safety - CW

Regards
Lilia
#106448 by Norman Barlleo Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:03 am
Yes, it's %100 scam. Visas or work permits don't get issued via emails. [email protected] is a free email from mail.com and don't represent any agency. It's the same scammer playing different roles.

Please post the emails headers after you remove your own address. You can find the headers following the steps in this link:
http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/19.html

DON'T tell the scammer that you found him in this site. Just cease all communications with him and move on.
#106470 by leah Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:04 am
Thank you! Hopefully I didn't send him money. Just thinking about it makes me mad.. and sad. Anyway, thank you once more.
#134108 by mellany prinsloo Thu Nov 15, 2012 8:31 am
Hi! Exactly the same happend to me this morning. I saved the number the so called employer phoned me on and this morning I noticed there was a picture of an african american man on his profile on whatsapp and the "fred Meyers" was a white man on the pictures he sent me. I then decided to google Gloria weidner and well, I discovered this site. I transferred the money ( $850 ) via Westernunion. Luckally i was able to cancel the transfer. I received an email from "Gloria" asking when i wanted to book my flight. ridiculous! She was very keen on finding out when she will receive the money. thankfully, I outsmarted those retards!!!!!!!!!!!!! :laugh-s: :=) :oh-joy:

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 84 guests