Has someone offered you a huge sum of money or a valuable consignment? It's a 419 or advance fee fraud - find out how they work, and what to do to be safe.
#21616 by tamathedumdum Sat Feb 06, 2010 1:41 pm
As many of you probably know... the world of job hunting sucks. What is worse is when you find a scam while job hunting that really sounds like a real offer. What is worse than that? Well... applying for the same scam twice.... that is what is worse.


I have been looking for odd jobs here and there. But to my surprise I have managed to come across the same scam twice. I do not believe that it is a bot though. well... anyways lets just say this... I was on Craigslist.org looking for something for a job when I found this post.
GENERAL HOUSEKEEPER/APARTMENT CLEANER

Date: 2010-02-05, 2:21PM EST
Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]

We are currently seeking a Housekeeper to work part-time 7am-12pm shift with weekend rotations.

Candidate will perform a variety of housekeeping duties to include vacuuming, mopping, trash removal, window cleaning and furniture polishing.

All applicants must be able to follow directions with limited supervision and be able to lift up to 40 lbs.

Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
PostingID: 1587519845


I inquired about it, just asking what the compensation was and letting them know that I believed that I would be interested in the position.

This is what I got back.
From: Mark Robertson <[email protected]>

Hello,
Thanks for your email and respond toward the housekeeping position , I'm Mark Robertson and My wife' s name is Dorothy Robertson, she's 5 months pregnant and this is our first born baby. Am film artist and we are relocating to State from London England .. I'm coming there to do some contract basis with with minimum a year contract with possibility of extending the contract.

However, I need someone who will help me to take care of the house by doing some house work while am off to work. Someone that will also help in running some errands..

I will be offering you $400 weekly payment, i will be needing your services for 3 hours at any suitable time of yours , Mondays and Fridays. If you believe you are fit for this position in as much you will prove yourself to be a reliable ,responsible and good person, I have a financier that is based in the States and he will be handling the payment and some other expenses. I will instruct him to pay for the first two weeks before my arrival so as to secure your service

My financier will be making out a check to you before my arrival, you will be receiving an overpayment bank check which you will deduct your pay for the first two weeks and you will be using the remaining to buy foodstuffs,art galley,home appliance and other things needed in the house ,you will getting this foodstuff on the day of our arrival which is Feb.,25th 2010. Actually our flights from England will arrive at nights so you will be getting the foodstuff in the morning and making all other preparations.

I just bought the house and as soon as all the paper work is finalize and i will instruct my estate agent to mail the keys of the house to you so that you can do all other necessary preparations before we arrive, I will also email you the shopping list after you received and cashed the check okay..

You have to get all this shopping before our arrival so that we wont have to start running around when we arrive, So my financier would be needing the following Information to make out the check
Full Name:
Full Mailing address(Apt # & zip code):
Age:
Gender:
Phone number:
Acceptance of offer:

All I need from you is total honesty and sincerity. I know you will be committed to the work, You will also have a nice period of time working with my wife. I will be waiting to hear from you.

Thanks,

Mark.


Funny... a couple months back I got a very similar email which I recognized as a scam instantly as well...

From: Olivia Cox <[email protected]

Am sorry for responding late to your mail, I have been out internet for some days.Am Olivia my wife name is Regina, she's 5 months pregnant and this is her first baby. We are relocating to the City from The Scotland,I will be coming to there to work on contract basis with United States Environmental Protection Agency on a private research work So i need someone who could help me take care of house by doing some house work while am off to work.Someone that will also help in running some errands. I will be offering you $20/hr, i will be needing your services for three hours at any suitable time of yours, Mondays through Fridays.
I believe you are fit for this position in as much you will prove yourself to be a reliable and good person, We have a financier that is based in the state and he will be handling the payment and some other expenses, so he will be the one that will be taking care of your the payment, I will instruct him to pay for the first two weeks before my arrival so as to secure your service, actually i should have paid for more weeks but i will extend the payment if am satisfy with your service after the two weeks. My financier will be making out a check to you before my arrival, you will be receiving a check of $3,850 out which you will deducting your pay for the first two weeks and you will be using the remaining to buy foodstuffs and other things needed in the house,you will getting this foodstuff on the day of our arrival which is Sep.11,2009. Actually all flights from the United Kingdom arrives at nights so you will be getting the foodstuff in the morning and making all other preparation.
I will also instruct my estate agent to mail the bunch of key of the apartment to you so that you can do all other necessary preparation before we arrive,I will also email you the shopping list.. You have to get all this shopping before our arrival so that we wont have to start running around when we arrive, So my financier would be needing the following Information to make out the check
Name to be on Check
Address
City
State
Zip code
Phone number
Did you accept my offer?

All i need from you is total honesty and sincerity. I know you will be committed to the work,You will also have a nice period of working with my wife. I will be waiting to hear from you
Thanks


Well, needless to say, I haven't fallen for a scam as of today. But I do wonder if there is anymore information about these simply because they are particularly annoying being that they look so real and honest at the beginning for someone who is sincerely looking for work.
Advertisement

#21618 by Michelle Sat Feb 06, 2010 2:08 pm
Welcome to scamwarners.com tamathedumdum

Thank you for listing the details.
.
This is a fake cheque scam.

The scammer wanted to send you a (counterfeit) cheque or money order for far more than you were expecting and hoped that you would cash it, and send a fictitious third party (that would be introduced later) a large portion of the money before your own bank or cashing agent realised that the cheque or money order was bad and pursued YOU for the return of the FULL AMOUNT, possibly pressing charges against YOU for attempted fraud and money laundering.

#39951 by Jimmy Dragon Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:41 pm
Oh great, I just replied to the same email only he clams to be a government worker.
Okay so he is sending me the cheque with supposed keys to me. I should just rip up the cheque then and forget it?
#39953 by Dotti Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:19 pm
Whatever you do, the important thing is that you don't attempt to deposit or cash the check, as you would be committing fraud. You can rip it up, take it to the police, or write FAKE on it in BIG letters with permanent link, and use it as an educational tool.

Need to post photos? http://scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3219
Are you a victim of a romance scam? Read here for advice and FAQ's.
#57212 by FishieLPKaulitz8 Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:38 pm
Funny. I've been looking for work since the middle of May, and I just got the same email... Except the guy said he was from Canada.

How are you doing? i got your email with the provided information and
showing interested wanting to work as a house keeper for me i will
like you to get updated and come to an agreement before i proceed with
any further arrangement,me and my family are going to be in the city
on the 4th of July and we going to be in the city,and we do have our
financier in the state who is going to handle the payment of your
service by issuing out a check payment of $2950.45 and you will have
to deduct out your first week service fee and you be helping to send
out the rest of the money to our Furniture who is to deliver some
furniture to our apartment,i would have instructed my financier to
issue out the Furniture payment to them but our financier could only
issue out a check to one person.So i need to be sure you are in good
acceptance with this before i let our financier to send the check to
you,let me know if you can help our family and i assure you enjoy your
time working with my family.

FYI: I need you to reconfirm your provided information


Yeah... I already gave him my mailing address, but nothing too personal, such as my bank number or social security number. I suppose I just rip up the check, eh?
#57214 by Arnold Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:40 pm
Yes. Or write FAKE on it and keep it as a souvenir. One way of stopping the scammer from contacting you again is to tell him your bank told you it was a fake.

#60917 by klimovich Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:03 pm
I got same letters from Mark Robertson and after that money check TODAY. :D
2.850 Canadian Dollars . FUNNY :=)
#61005 by capchap Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:25 am
We have also received a check for $3,900.00 US drawn on an Indiana Bank, but mailed from Canada with no return address. The remitter of the check is "Richard Allen Morris", also with no address. The e-mail that is being used to communicate with us is: [email protected]

The check is drawn on the Bank of Richmond in Richmond, Indiana, USA. We have contacted them for further instructions. We are also staying communication with the e-mail communicator.
#61008 by Arnold Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:31 am
Welcome to Scamwarners.
I have no doubt that the check is fake, and I take it that you have been asked to send some of the proceeds on by Western Union or Moneygram. There is never a genuine reason to ask someone to do that.

#61035 by began steele Fri Aug 05, 2011 3:55 pm
Well done. You have just discovered an interesting way to WALLPAPER YOUR HOUSE FOR FREE!
Let's say it was you who wanted a cleaner. You put an ad in the internet and a SOMEBODY emails you. They give you some details over the internet and then you tell them "Fine, heres a cheque." You wouldn't do it so why should they? The reason is that you use real money and they don't.

We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. ~~ George Orwell.
#67548 by country32 Mon Sep 19, 2011 4:04 pm
Well i guess just slap me and call me stupid. i cant believe this. i knew that it was too good to be true. my husband and i are struggling financially right now, and i always say stay positive god will provide. well this was our answer to get bills paid. i got the email from this so called mark robertson this morning. i was so excited because my husband and i do have a licensed and insured housekeeping business that hasnt exactly got off the ground yet. i blame that on the way the economy the way it is. so when i got this email i was ecstatic. this was the ticket to get our business off the ground. i am so glad i decided to look on the internet to see if it was real or not.
#67551 by Arnold Mon Sep 19, 2011 4:40 pm
Welcome to Scamwarners.
Initially believing a scam doesn't make you stupid. If everybody did what you did, and do some internet research, there would be a lot fewer victims.

#161915 by dinofossil Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:53 pm
I Just got this one off Craig's List, Then I sent this web page as an E-MAIL replay to this idiot. :laugh-s:

:beer:





http://www.scamwarners.com • View topic - Housekeeping Scam




From: Thomaks Tura
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 7:14 PM
To: xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: House Cleaning

Hello,

Thank you for your timely response, the house is a two bedroom unfurnished apartment.. My Financier in the states will be responsible for handling the payment. I will be arriving to the states by APRIL 17TH...I will like you to know you will be responsible for general cleaning of hallways (dusting, vacuuming and mopping), doors, windows, pick up trash in common areas, sweeping and changing light bulbs etc.I am a consultant currently working with WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (W.H.O), so I want you to know that my client will be sending you the payment in form of business check, which you will get soonest,because
i don't want any delay about this cleaning , i want the house to look as clean as possible..I will be paying you $350 if you are willing to help in cleaning the house.More so, i will need your reputable trust and favor ,i have made arrangements with a painter to paint the rooms
for me prior to my arrival So my client will be sending you a check of ($2500) so you will take out $350 plus extra $50 for yourself and send the rest $2050 to the painter via western union which i will be giving you the painter's information where you will be sending the money to
as soon as i get it from her and the tracking # for the check from my client,,You may be wondering why the painter money is much , Just that he will be buying some items which he will use in painting the house, like the paints brush and so on ... So i will want you to email me your full name and address for the check to be delivered to you on Tuesday,please do email me your full correct address and don't send a P.O box , so that the payment wont get lost ....
HERE ARE THE DETAILS I WANT YOU TO EMAIL BACK SO THAT THE CHECK CAN GET YOU:
First name...................
Last name....................
Address Line 1...............
City.........................
State.........................
..
Zip/Postal code..............
Age.............................
Home phone...................
Cell phone......................
Current position in Occupation...........

Hope all this arrangement is Okay with You , if so do email back as soon as possible so that i can make the arrangement for the check asap, don't make any mistake when sending your details because i don't want the payment to get lost. The Keys to the house and the address is already with the painter and she will update you as soon as the funds are sent to her, I will really appreciate your effort and i strongly believe you will enjoy working with me..

Thanks and God Bless
#161926 by dinofossil Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:01 pm
And this one is a real classic: From Care.com They hide everywhere :laugh-s: :=)

Hello, How are you? I hope all is going on fine over there.I didn't get to e-mail you as fast as i was suppose to e-mail you,when you read my e-mail finish,i'll prefer you e-mail me back to my personal e-mail tesapadilla at ymail dot com I'm Tesa Padilla,my husband is late,he passed some few years ago, and I have a son and a daughter,my son is 10 years old of age,while my daughter is 7 years old of age,they are friendly kid,seriously they won't give you any problem,they both stays in Ireland with my parent.... I came to United State 2 years ago,i came to work on contract basis with United States Environmental Protection Agency on a private research work,now am relocating to Oak Park MI South Dakota(US) because i was just transferred to Oak Park MI from South Dakota ..I just got a new apartment there,which i included in my profile,you should have seen it and i will put the address again below,i heard that my son is sick in Ireland,am planning on going to Ireland to take care of my son and then bring them along back to United State,so i will be staying in my new apartment with my family(my son and my daughter)....Here is the apartment address below again: 21627 Stratford Court,Oak Park MI 48237,i hope its near to you... So i need someone who could help me take care of house by doing some house cleaning and arranging work and taking care of my children while am off to work just a little babysitting and . I believe you are fit for this position in as much you will prove yourself to be a reliable and hard working person,(Monday-Friday) no weekend for now,we can talk on that later,am paying $25/hr,and we need you to be working 6 hrs daily... We are going to arrive by the second week of next month,You will start working on same day we will be arriving.You will help us to arrange and clean the apartment in the morning of our arrival date,I can tell the estate agent to mail the keys to the apartment to you so that you can be able to clean it on the day before we arrive. I want to know if there's any equipment that you will need me to provide, if there's any let me know how much it will cost. I know you will be committed to the work,you will also have a nice period of working with us and you are welcome to our family.Let me know if you are still interested....I will like you to e-mail me to my personal e-mail, tesapadilla at ymail dot com .. I will be expecting your e-mail in my personal e-mail,i do check my personal e-mail always unlike my e-mail on care.com,am going to close my profile on care.com as soon as you accept the job offer... E-mail me to my personal e-mail and let me know if you are interested... Hope to read from you Thanks Tesa Padilla [email protected]
#231341 by Apay11 Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:11 am
Here I am trying to find part time work to pay my rent and of course this position works great for me and my crazy schedule. But I knew something seemed fishy. Glad I found this page.

"Hello,

Good morning, hope you had a wonderful night? I have gone through your
resume. I am glad to tell you that i am okay with your interest as
regards the job, also for accepting the offer. I have contacted my
wife concerning the job and for other purpose which she might need you
for, which she told me is okay by her,i believe you are fit for this
position in as much you will prove yourself a reliable and good
person.

I'm Brian and am happily married to a lovely wife Mrs Anne Lewis, We
have Two kids ages 10yrs ,8yrs and we are expecting another baby
because my wife is pregnant now.

We are relocating from Canada to United State for contract basis with
our crews, on United State Environmental Protection Agency on a
private research work.

So We need people who could help us on our houses everyday. You will
be working 4 hour everyday at your convenient time and we will be
offering you $300 plus $25 gas fees Weekly, I hope 4 hours is enough
to work on one of the 4 houses with consisting of a 3 bedroom house
with one master bedroom and two standard size rooms, with One Living
room and a kitchen as well. I believe you are fit for this position in
as much you will prove yourself to be a reliable and hard working
person,

I want to know if there's any equipment that you will need me to
provide, if there's any let me know how much it will cost, I would be
spending about 1year for the contract job, so we would be needing your
services for that time as well if am satisfied with the services you
rendered.

We have a financier that is based in the states and will be making out
check of $1,445.70 out of which you will be deducting $300 for the
advanced payment and you will be using the the remaining to buy
Groceries/Food Stuffs and other things needed in the house, you will
be getting this Food Stuffs before our arrival date which is before or
on the 25th of December.

You will start working on same day. You will work on your assigned
apartment in the morning of our arrival date, I will tell the estate
agent to mail the keys to the apartment to you so that you can be able
to work on it the day before we arrive. I will instruct him to pay
$300 for your first week Advanced payment before our arrival to secure
your service. Actually i should pay for more weeks but i will extend
the payment if am satisfy with your service after the two weeks.
Payment method is strictly by check

So my financier would be needing the following Information to mail out
the check.

Name to be on Check
Address
City
State
Zip code
Phone numbers

Did you accept our offer?

I know you will be committed to the work,You would also have a nice
period of working with us and you are welcome to our family , I will
be waiting to hear from you

Regards,
Brian Lewis "

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 102 guests