Company Representative scams, Payment Processing scams and other Employment scams.
#143 by ScamInformation Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:20 pm
This is an explanation of employment scams and the different aspects of them. Many employment scams involve asking the victim to process fraudulent checks. Please read this topic to learn about how fraudulent check scams work: Overview of Check Scams

1. Whilst most employment scams are still using fake cheques, some scammers have moved on to using compromised bank accounts. This scam uses the same basic hook as any other payment processing/ financial manager/ company representative employment scam, but the payments are made by direct transfer into the victim's bank account. The problem, of course, is that the money is coming from a bank account whose details have been phished or otherwise compromised by the scammers, effectively making the victim of this scam an unwitting accomplice in a money laundering operation. Scammers using this method will often request their victims to open an account with a specific bank for receiving payment, as account to account transfers within the same bank are less likely to arouse suspicion before the money has been withdrawn and sent to the scammers.

2. Scammers using both fake cheques and compromised accounts often set up fake company websites, advertising the "vacancy" for payment processors/ financial managers to make the scam seem more real. Some will list several job openings in addition to the payment processing job to make it look more like a real company that is growing. As an example, the following text is from the Vacancy page of a fake company website:
Careers
Financial Manager position

Widening the scope of activity our company has to increase and renew the staff of
Financial Managers.

You must enjoy working in a fast-paced, hands-on environment and have strong multi-tasking abilities and interpersonal skills.

This job requires punctuality, good organizational skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office programs to maintain inventory and fill necessary forms. All candidates must be reliable.

Obligatory requirements:

* United States resident;
* computer with internet access and e-mail address;
* be at least 21 y.o. (we cannot hire people who have not reached the adult age);
* opportunity to check your email several times a day;
* basic knowledge of Microsoft Office;
* at least 3-4 hours of free time during the week for communication (mostly
evening time/non-business hours);
* be able to answer phone calls several times a week;

Approximate salary per month depends ONLY on your skills. Our company guarantee a minimum profit of $1800 per month.

It is an easy job which doesn't require leaving your main occupation. No significant experience in sales is required.

There are NO start up or training fees. If you are interested in this vacancy please submit your resume to [email protected] with subject "Financial Manager position" and it will be reviewed soon.

Correspondence Manager position

Skyline Finance, Inc., a leader in wholesale product distribution is seeking for honest, communicative and dynamic individuals to work in the areas of shipping management (sorting and processing our delivered correspondence) from your own home!

This job requires punctuality, good organizational skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office programs to maintain inventory and fill necessary forms.

All candidates must be reliable. You should timely process Company's correspondence following the instructions our manager will send to you.

Obligatory requirements:

* United States or United Kingdom resident;
* mailing address (not P.O. Box);
* be at least 21 y.o. (we cannot hire people who have not reached the adult age);
* computer with internet access and e-mail address;
* opportunity to check your email several times a day;
* basic knowledge of Microsoft Office;
* at least 3-4 hours of free time during the week for communication (mostly evening
time/non-business hours) and 2-3 hours a week more for package processing;

Approximate salary per month depends ONLY on your skills.

It is an easy job which doesn't require leaving your main occupation. No significant experience in sales is required.

Job description:

Handling of packages and letters from your own home! Receiving, sending, sorting and repacking of packages as well as checking for missing parts.

There are NO start up or training fees. If you are interested in this vacancy please submit your resume to [email protected] with subject "Correspondence Manager position" and it will be reviewed soon.

Note that this one also includes a "vacancy" for shipping mules. Victims who apply for this position will be used to receive and reship goods paid for with stolen credit card info, and also to send out fake cheques to other victims.

3. Victims of these scams are often hooked after they receive spoofed emails purporting to be from real job websites such as monster.com that make the scam sound like a legit job offer. Employment scammers also place ads on job websites all over the net to lure in victims.

Bottom line: NO legitimate company hires people to funnel company funds through their personal bank account.
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#14366 by bill_b3llo Sun Sep 27, 2009 2:01 pm
Another twist to this scam is the victim might be asked to set up a legitimate credit card merchant account under their real name and credit info, process credit card payments from the "clients" and forward the funds. The payments come either from other victims or scammers using compromised cards. Basically, it's money laundering by an unknowing victim. Here's instructions sent to one victim: (innovativemerchant.com is a real business and not involved or have knowledge of this scam)

I am writing to let you know that to make our business more competitive and flexible to receive payment from our client you will need to open a merchant account with the following merchant service provider.
http://www.innovativemerchant.com/
or call 800-397-0707
This is Intuit merchant acct service. Intuit merchant account is very easy to set up. The type of merchant acct you want to set up is called virtual terminal. Once this is set up you can take credit card payments using your laptop or pc. Pls, contact them and give them the follow informations;
average ticket amount per transaction = $2500.00
Average annual amount = $200,000.00
As soon as the account is set up and approved you will be sent a logon user ID and password so you can start processing payments.
Pls, check out the website and give them a call asap to set up one account.

Write me at scamspook at gmail.com
#51667 by Bubbles Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:28 am
This page has a short video from the US Federal Trade Commission regarding job/employment scams. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml

One thing they do not say is that scammers use money transfer services such as Western Union or Money Gram to receive money from victims. Along with not paying for referrals to employers or clients, do not use a bank account set up by or for you to deposit checks sent to you.

The Federal Trade Commission is the nation's consumer protection agency. The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection works For The Consumer to prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace. The Bureau:

* Enhances consumer confidence by enforcing federal laws that protect consumers
* Empowers consumers with free information to help them exercise their rights and spot and avoid fraud and deception
* Wants to hear from consumers who want to get information or file a complaint about fraud or identity theft

Bubbles, former Scamwarners moderator.

Rest in Peace 24 June 2015.

Gone, but never forgotten.

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