Overpayment Scam - Pay Check - [email protected]

[AlanJones]

This is an Overpayment Scam. You will be sent fraudulent cheques or Money Orders to pay for an item that you are selling. You will be paid more than you were asking for the item you are selling and you will be asked to forward a certain amount of the check that you receive to a shipping agent or similar. The cheques will eventually be found to be fraudulent by the bank and the money will be debited from your account. If you get involved with these scammers, you will lose money and may also face investigation for fraud.

The email is received from [email protected] and you may well be told to forward the money to one of their associates in the US.

You may well have been told that your cheque is on the way and been given a tracking number for the check. If you receive the cheque please destroy it.

If you have been directed here following a phone or email warning - could you PM me and give me a hint as to who you are (I don't need your name or personal details just give me your ZIP code). I have a large list of potential victims of this African scammer and his US based associates and want to match up those who have been sucessfully warned.

EDIT: Updated details of the scam following further investigation and contact with a potential victim.

[AlanJones]

Information received from another potential victim has revealed that they are also using the email address [email protected].

They also appear to be targetting trucks and cars being sold via CraigsList.

[AlanJones]

Further research shows that they are also using the email address [email protected] and the following is sent with the checks

To Whom It May Concern,

Dear Sir/Madam, This is an important notice and instructions about this check you have received. You are advised to send an email notification to the secure payment department via EMAIL provided below to verify this check# and further instructions about the check before you proceed to process the check at your bank.
Please contact the secure payment department via EMAIL : ( [email protected] ) for check verification and further instruction on the check you have received.
We appologize for any inconvinience this may cause but we wanted to confirm with us that the right owner of the check got it to avoid any problem proccessing the payment at your bank.
Once again you must send a notification EMAIL to: " [email protected] " when received this check
"PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THIS LETTER & ABOVE INSTRUCTION TO SEND THE EMAIL NOTIFICATION TO AVOID ANY PROBLEM"

Thanks for your co-operation.
Secure Payment Department

[only1thing]

[email protected]

just tried to offer me a job by saying the original job i applied for was no longer available.

[The Enchantress]

Welcome to Scamwarners only1thing. My advice is to delete and ignore.

As Alan has posted previously this scammer is using that mail address.

Could you please post the mail you received. That information will alert and save others from being scammed.

If you have any questions or concerns please post and a support team member will be glad to help you.

[kenziiex]

Hello,
I want to just reply briefly because I do not have much time... But - I have received the same "job offer" as others that have posted on this thread.

I'm worried. What should I do? Do I just reply to this person and say, "Hey! Don't send me anymore checks?" I had a sketchy feeling about it from the very beginning because all of this is done with cash. I'm on no payroll... I've kept every envelope that I received the checks in, every amount needed to be sent, and every person/address that the monies are supposed to be sent to. Now, when I say every, I only mean 4 times.

But please. Please, inform me!

[The Enchantress]

Welcome to Scamwarners kenziiex.

I am rushed for time myself, but please read these guides;

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... f=9&t=3237

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... f=3&t=3230

My advice is simple - cease all contact with this scammer - keep all your mails and correspondence.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Could you please post more information about this - and any questions or concerns - we will help you all we can.

[kenziiex]

Ok, but what do I do now.. Do I contact the police to let them know ahead of time that I have been scammed? ... I don't want to get into any trouble for this. I've already read some articles about this happening to a grown woman. She was arrested, handcuffed, taken to jail, booked, photographed, and strip searched. I'm 20 years old. That's going to traumatize me.

I feel completely mislead. And I don't want it to be a cost of me. I want it to be THEIR cost.

[kenziiex]

Well, my account is debited $2350. Great.

[The Enchantress]

Hi again - I can understand your worries.

Yes the very best thing to do is report this to the police ASAP.

Be completely open and be prepared to show them all the evidence.

Keep every scrap of evidence for them to help them realise you are a scam victim and NOT a criminal.

You can even direct them to this website - and others that carry similar reports.

Please let us know how you get on - we will help all we can.

[ivelinaa]

Hi,
I also was sent an e-mail by [email protected] offering me a job yesterday. I didn't really think if it's a scam or not and forwarded my contact information. Then I received an e-mail saying that they need to know if they can trust me with their funds and asking how often I am on-line. I responded to that too. I was told that they will tell me more information today. I haven't received anything so far, but I want to know, what should I do if they start sending me checks over the e-mail? Should I e-mail them that I'm not interested in the job anymore and ask them to not send me anything any more?

[Michelle]

Welcome to Scamwarners ivelinaa.

As posted previously this a scammer is using that mail address.

My advise is to tell him that you are no longer interested in working for him. He is trying to incriminate yourself by using you as part of his scam

Could you please post the mail you received. That information will alert and save others from being scammed.

If you have any questions or concerns please post and a support team member will be glad to help you.

[ivelinaa]

This is the first e-mail I got:
"Dear Applicant,
We received your resume and application for the post that we advertised on Craigslist on the 21st of November but we are sincerely sorry to inform you that this position is no more available.Our HR Managers have gone through your resume and due to some certain factors you have been picked as one of our possible candidate to be one of our Accounts Receivable Clerk which is the post that is available right now that is if you are interested.

ABOUT US:
We strive to ensure quality from crop to counter. To that end,Fountain Group of Companies
requires the highest standards and specifications, not just for product ingredients; every detail of production, transport,delivery, preparation and service is also exhaustively monitored. A focus on quality permeates every aspect of the business. Fountain Group of Companies standards lead the food industry, and we continue to wok with government and health officials to investigate improvements. Fountain Group of Companies also recognises the importance of a balanced diet and life-style and continues to seek quality new products which satisfy customers expectations for taste and value. We are independent and privately owned. We serve the entire United States , Your primary task for now, as an Accounts Receivable Clerk of the company is to coordinate payments from clients and help us with the payment process. You are not involved in any marketing. You would be responsible for receiving payments after we have offered our professional services to our numerous clients. After this has been done the customer has to pay for the service but in most cases we make our clients prepay for services. About 90 percent of our clients prefer to pay through Certified Checks or Money Orders drawn from the United States based on the amount involved. We have decided to open this new contract -to-hire job position for solving this problem pending the time that we will open a branch office in this area.

Your First Primary task (Collection of Payments):
1. Receive payment from our Customers or Clients.
2. Cash Payment 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, you have a lot of free time doing another job, because this job is part time, you'll
get good income .But this job is very challenging and you should understand it. We are considering
your application because you satisfy our requirements and we are sure you will be an earnest assistant till we start running our branch office in your state.

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 dollars monthly depending on time you
will spend for this job. You do not need any capital to start.
-You can do the Work easily without leaving or affecting your present Job. The employees who make efforts and work hard have a strong possibility to become managers. Anyway our employees never leave us.But the problem we have is trust but we hope we can trust you. Get back to us with the requirements below if you are interested so that we can add your mailing address to our Regional database and forward it to our customers for them to send payments after conducting background checks.

All filled requirements should be forwarded to the company's email address which is
([email protected])


REQUIREMENTS:

Full Names_______________
Mailing Address(P.O.Box Not Accepted)_________________
Apt Number if available_____________________ ____________
City__ ___________________
State____________________
Postal Code______________
Phone Number____________________
Email Address____________________
Present Occupation (If any)_______________


Once again,all filled requirements should be forwarded to the company's email address which is
([email protected])

Your response to this email is needed, so that we can reconfirm your mailing address details we have in our database. We will be updating you as soon as the payment is being sent to you and you will be directed as to where to have the remaining 90% of the money sent to, after the deduction of your 10% pay on any payments received and processed by you. A swift acknowledgement of the receipt of this email will be appreciated. thanks For Your total understanding and moral cooperation. Fountain Group of Companies is an equal opportunity employer!

Regards,

Peter Anderson
Personnel Manager
Fountain Group of Companies"

[ivelinaa]

Then I got this one, after I responded to the first one:
"Congratulations!!! You've qualified for our Part-Time Job Offer Accounts Receivable Clerk.Please we will like to know how honest you are? Can we trust you with our funds? Also we will like to know how often you get on the Internet? This job requires much checking of your email.Hope to hear back from you as soon as possible because we would like you to start working with us as soon as possible.

Regards,
Peter Anderson"

And the this morning I got this:

"Hello Ivelina,
Please get back to us to confirm that you receive this email.

One of our client has issued out payment in your name via UPS.
The check will get to your place tomorrow morning which is Thursday or latest on Friday so please watch out for the package.As soon as you get the payment,take it to your bank.If you can cash the check instantly then do so but if you cannot cash it instantly then have it deposited. After cashing it,deduct your 10% commission from the funds and send the rest of the funds by Western Union Money Transfer to the name and address below


Name: Magna Stone
Address: 23 CAMBERWELL GREEN,
LONDON SE5 7AA
UNITED KINGDOM

After sending the funds,you will now get back to us with the western union money transfer details for the transaction that is the MTCN(control numbers) and amount that was sent.You are to deduct the western union transfer fees from the funds that you will be sending. Western Union stores are spread all over the places.

When sending the funds at western union store,send them in money in minutes so that the recipient can receive the funds immediately.

Please confirm to us if you understand this message.
Hope to hear back from you soon.


Regards,
Peter Anderson "

I responded that I'm no longer interested in the job...

[ivelinaa]

I also got a couple more different e-mails, but similar concept and different e-mail addresses. First one:

"Detailed Job Description – PERSONAL ASSISTANT


I got your resume and it has been reviewed, I did appreciate it, So I will give this a GO !

I'm looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable to work very well and with good understanding.

This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them,my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings.As my Personal Assistant,your activities amongst other things will include;

*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring. Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them.Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence while I'm away.Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf. Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities..
Basic wage is $550 Weekly

I'm sure you'll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point,as I am presently in Australia, I will be back in Three Weeks.
I think you're the right person for this position,Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules, it's a part-time work from home and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others, so it's a little difficult judging the exact number of hours you'll be doing per week.If you can manage your time properly,this job may even give you some extras while you do something else on the side. As I have said, I'd want us to get a head START with things as soon as possible.I do have lots of works piled up presently and a number of unattended chores which you can immediately assist me with, I hope we can meet up with the workload eventually. Permit me to use the coming week to test your efficiency and diligence towards all this, also to work out your time schedule and fit it to mine. I really need to find the perfect person for this job, I'm confident you can take up the challenge and on the long run we should have a relatively sound working relationship between us.. I'm online most of the time as I am hard of hearing so I prefer we contact each other through E-mails,but if there is need for me to call, I will be glad to do that.I am glad you are willing to work with me and i promise to be a good boss. I am also glad on the commitment in working.I have been checking my files and what i would want you to do for me this week is to run some errands out to some of the orphanage home, I do that every month.A payment in form of a Cashier Check/Money Order will be sent over to you from one of my clients and i have some lists to email you once you received the funds,You will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the Orphanage at any nearest store around you so you can mail them out. I will get you more information on that,I will like you to get back to me with your Contact Details such as:

Personal Information
First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Residential Phone Number:
Mobile:

The employee,acknowledged the Detailed Job Description
and signed _______________
(First Name and Last Name of Employee)


Once I have received your contact information, I will get back to you with the task for this week,Understand you will also be paid as well as its important for me to make the necessary steps before i get back from my business trip back to the states. Hope I am clear with that.

Get back as soon as possible.
Betty Palmer "