Friday, November 30, 2012

Fake Buyer Scam: Pedro Alvex

Hi Kathleen,

I just had the same situation happen but I was contacted and requested for catering food. I “Googled” some of the info he gave me and it came up with your website.

It sounds exactly like the stories in your website so I thought I would add mine to alert people they have many scams!

I’m actually still in contact trying to get his visa number so I can alert Visa of this fraud.

As you may notice he is requesting to pick up catering at 11 am for an event in Ontario, …which he doesn’t even spell properly…

Thank you so much for having this web page!

Susana

First Email:

From: Pedro Alvex [mailto:alvexpedro@yahoo.ca]
To: undisclosed recipients
Subject: hello

My name is Pedro Alvex and i will like to order for cup cakes for 400 people for an upcoming event kindly advice if you can handle that ..

Regards.
Pedro

Second Reply:

From: Pedro Alvex [mailto:alvexpedro@yahoo.ca]
To: Susana
Subject: Thanks for the prompt response

Thanks for getting back to me .. I will be interested in the white chocolate cup cake so please advice on the cost for each cup cakes and let me know the total cost for it .

The event will be taken place on the 30th of this month, so kindly advice if you can have it ready by then ..

You don't need to worry as i have a shipper agent who will be coming over for the pick up of the order from you.

do you accept credit card as a mode of payment?

waiting to read back from you ...

Regards.
Pedro.

Third Reply:

From: Pedro Alvex [mailto:alvexpedro@yahoo.ca]
To: Susana
Subject: Re: Thanks for the prompt response

Since you don't have the white chocolate i will go for the vanilla chocolate and let it be regular size

I want you to please do me a favor as i have a shipper agent who will be coming over for the pick up of the cup cakes from your end but he made it clear to me that he doesn't have credit card facilities to run his charges through so i will urge you to add the sum of $1350 to the total cost of the cup cakes (which is $2572 ) and kindly run it on my credit card so as soon as you have it charge you can then go ahead and send the shipper agent fees to them as they have some other stuff to pick up for me in regards of the event .. Kindly get back to me so we can proceed.. I am hearing impaired so i wont be able to call you to give you the card but can only email my credit card

Will be waiting to read back from you ..

Pedro.

Fourth Reply:

From: Pedro Alvex [mailto:alvexpedro@yahoo.ca]
To: Susana
Subject: Re: Thanks for the prompt response

Hi Susana,

I am unable to down the file you sent to me cos i don't have a pdf application on my laptop so i will urge you to send the document to me using a wordpad so i can be able to fill the form and get back to you ..

I will be sending you my shipper agent details so as to know when he will be coming over for the pick up but the event start from 11: 00 am in the morning and i want the cup cakes to be here before that time.

I await the form so we can proceed..

Regards,
Pedro

Fifth Reply:

From: Pedro Alvex [mailto:alvexpedro@yahoo.ca]
To: Susana
Subject: Re: Thanks for the prompt response

The event will be taken place at Cambridge Ontarioso he will be coming from there as he has some other stuff to pick up for me for the event .. I still cant open the file you sent to me .. please check and send it to me through wordpad.

Pedro

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Can Any Scammer Spell?

There are a couple of things I love about the below exchange that someone forwarded to me for posting. The first obvious thing is this particular scammer couldn't figure out how to correctly spell their own fake name. Curse that 'is it i-e or e-i?' english grammar rule! How do you Americans spell that darn nickname for Jennifer? Ha. That is so funny. Poor scammer misspells the fake first name and tips many potential victims off that something is not right. No one has the name Jennei. Oh, maybe someone buckin' the name rule does, someone trying to be different than every other Jennie, but spelling the name Jennei certainly threw up the Red Flags.

I also love the way this artist kept the scammer 'on the line'. Really, time is money to a scammer and the more time you can keep a scammer engaged, the less time they have trying to get other victims. Love how this scammer was strung along.

I also love how this artist, in a more ironic turn of strategy than anything else, proceeds to ask the scammer to reveal all kinds of identity information, like their social security number - just like the scammers do. Funny! Most scammers are not U.S.-based and so will not have a social security number and I doubt a scammer would begin providing their information (they make it all up anyway), but I love the humor this artist had in asking.

After the artist let on they knew it was a scam, there was one more lame attempt to see if the scam was really over and you almost get the sense this scammer was so upset they could barely type. And then there was no further contact and the scammer did, in fact, move on to seek out other victims.

But it was fun while it lasted.
Hi Kathleen

Thanks for all the work you do towards informing artists about internet scams. I wanted to share with you my latest predator-turned-victim...I love messing with them.

Susan


On Nov 7, 2012, at 5:56 PM, Jennei Brown wrote:

Hello,

Your work is most creative & desirable, so much talent! I am interested in purchasing some of your unique items. But before i place my order i will like to inform you that my method of payment is Via my U.S issued credit card Account. Please let me know if you can assist me with these items and do not forget to include your webpage in responses to my email. Mind you i will be having my shipping agent coming to pick up the order directly from your location cause i already have some Large merchandise with them in Which they Will be shipping together to me here in Norway.

Kind Regard,
Jennei Brown.

Jenney-fanaffairantique No
21 Hegdehaugsveien,
Oslo, NO-0507,
Norway.
Tel: (+47) 022336203
Email: Jennei.s.complex222@gmail.com
Webpage: www.fanaffairantiquefans.com

-------

On Thu, Nov 8, 2012 at 9:06 AM, susan wrote:

Thank you so much. I am sure I can help you with the items you like. Which paintings are you interested in?

-------

On Nov 8, 2012, at 1:17 PM, Jennei Brown wrote:

Hello Susan,

I got you response,So below here is what i will like to order from your stock.

Chinatown
acrylic on paper
23×26 framed
Qty...1

Big Cascade
acrylic on paper
28×28 framed
Qty...1

Dog Park
36″ x 48″
Qty...1

Please kindly get back to me with the total estimate of this order, so  you can get the items ready for shipment. I will email you my U.S. issued credit card information for the payment. And my shipping agent will be coming to pick up the order directly from location cause i already have some large merchandise with them in which after picking up the items, they will then deliver it to me here in Norway, please let me know the size and weight of items for shipping reason.

Regard,
Jennei Brown.

-------

On Thu, Nov 8, 2012 at 5:58 PM, susan wrote:

Dear Jennei
I am so excited that you like these pieces. I have just recently had a price increase and the following works are priced as follows...

Chinatown $1800
Big Cascade $1800
Dog Park $2800

Total $6400

I think you will be very happy with these choices.
Best,
Susan

[PS: Kathleen - I more than doubled my prices here and she asked nothing about that! Too funny.]

-------

On Nov 8, 2012, at 6:12 PM, Jennei Brown wrote:

Hello Susan,

Thank for your response, yes i'm very happy with these choices. but i will like to go for the "Chinatown" and "Big Cascade" for now cause that is what i can afford for now when next i will be ordering i we go for the "Dog Park" i admire you jobs they are one of a kind.

Please kindly get back to me with the new total cost of this order, so  you can get the items ready for shipment. I will email you my U.S. issued credit card information for the payment. And my shipping agent will be coming to pick up the order directly from location cause i already have some large merchandise with them in which after picking up the items, they will then deliver it to me here in Norway, please let me know the size and weight of items for shipping reason.

Regard,
Jennei Brown.

-------

On Fri, Nov 9, 2012 at 10:40 AM, susan wrote:

Hi Jennei

Your total is exactly $6400.
No shipping fee since you are picking up.
Please provide me with your credit card number, expiration date, social security number and US mailing address...all of which you would need in order to have a US issued credit card :)

Thank you so much!
Susan

-------

On Nov 9, 2012, at 4:14 PM, Jennei Brown wrote:

Hello Susan,

I got your response, but i want to be clear with the total cost. did you mean that the total cost for the  "Chinatown" and "Big Cascade" is $6400. Like i said i don't want the "Dog Park" for now so you have to deduct the money  "Dog Park" and get back to me with the new total cost so as to proceed with the order.

Thanks,
Jennei Brown.

-------

On Fri, Nov 9, 2012 at 5:03 PM, susan wrote:

Hi Jennei
Oh so sorry! You are right - your total will be $3600. Big difference!
Thanks,
Susan

-------

On Nov 12, 2012, at 3:49 PM, Jennei Brown wrote:

Dear Susan,

Thanks for the total quote of my order which is ($3,600..00) is quite correct and okay by me and I'm ready to pay the bills. I shall inform my freight forwarder who will be coming to pick up the order to hold on and come immediately you inform me that the items are ready for pick up then i can give you a call on that day to get the items packed for pick up and they will call you on their arrival at your address. Also I want you to help me Charge another ($2,750.00) from my credit card for the freight forwarder who will be coming to pick up my ordered items from you. The ($2,750.00) that will be sent to the freight forwarder is for the shipping of my order and other items i ordered from different part. ($200) for the transfer fee and for your efforts. Please note that i should have given the shipping agency my credit card for him to deduct the freight charges but he told me that he doesn't have the facilities to charge or debit credit card, so that's why i bring my vote of confidence in you and i want you to assist me in this measure, so i want you to transfer the funds to him after you have make the charges and the money charged from my credit card is in your account, then you can now make the transfer to the agent via western union. I will have love to do this my self but there are no western union here around me cause i am out of town to monitor my estate construction at a remote village, So the charges you will deduct on my credit card will be:

Order Fee: $3,600..00
Agent fee: $2,750.00
Transfer Fee with shipping fee: $200
Total: $6,550.00

Note that my credit card will be charged for the amounts above.So kindly do get back to me if you are in the office right now so that i can email you my credit card details,then you can charge the full amount and transfer the shipping company fee to them via western union so as to proceeding the shipment. And as soon as the shipping agency they received the shipping fund, they will schedule the time for the pick up and then come to your facility for the pick up.

Warmest Regards,
Jennei Brown.

-------

On 11/13/12, susan wrote:

You may email me your credit card information.

-------

On Nov 21, 2012, at 10:15 AM, Jennei Brown wrote:

Hello Susan,

I got your response and sorry for my late in respond.I want to confirm if i can go ahead and forward my credit card account to you so as to run the cost of the goods and the shipping altogether as i have explain to you earlier.So kindly get back to me with a feedback.

Thanks,
Jennei Brown.

-------

On Nov 21, 2012, at 11:17 AM, Jennei Brown wrote:

Susan ,

I got your response and i want to thank you for the assist,I'm really grateful and i deeply appreciate.Below here is the credit card details due to the card limitation.So you are hereby Authorize to charge to the lowest limit of the card so as to get the total due and meanwhile i can go ahead and contact the shipping agent in meantime that the order will be ready for collection to make the necessary arrangement.

Card Type: Master Card
Card Number:  5491-2370-0623-6767
Exp Date: 09/2013
Cvv: 423

So as soon you have run the full charges on it and as soon it's has been approved kindly get back to me with a feedback so as to forward the shipping company bank details where the shipping fee will be transferred to.So i will be waiting to read from you as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Jennei Brown.

-------

On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 12:14 PM, susan wrote:

Thanks for sending the number.
I have reported it as stolen to USAA Federal Savings Bank.
Sucker.

-------

Hello Susan,

   What do you mean by that?
he's this how you do business? and who told you that the credit card is a stolen one!!!

Thanks,
Jennei Brown.

Scam Email: Mark Peters

This is a pretty classic exchange of emails between a scammer and their potential victim, until the victim realized it was a scam in time to not lose any money. Notice how the email changed because one email was just hijacked but the actual "reply-to" went to a gmail account the scammer was using. That way, they can communicate with their potential victim but keep the sense of legitimacy and the victims often don't even notice this change. and see how the scammer waits a few steps to lure the victim deeper into the scam and then has a long email to begin to re-direct the victim towards the heart of the scam - overpaying with a counterfeit check or stolen credit card (and trying to have a whole fake story as to why the check will be so much more than the amount owed) and asking the victim to forward the difference to a shipper (who doesn't exist) via wire transfer (so that when the scammer picks up the money, it is gone and untraceable).
From: Mark Peters [mailto:mark@markpeters.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 20 November 2012 11:03 PM
Subject: Order Inquiry

My name is Mark Peters,I want to place an order in your store,I will like to know if you ship to Philippines. Do you have credit card facility?Get back to me with your website.I will await your prompt response.
Best Regards,
Mark

On Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 6:12 PM, Janice wrote:

It would depend what you were interested in ..........if a painting unframed this is easy if glass work would depend on the size of the piece

Janice

 From: Mark Peters [mailto:auszza@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 20 November 2012 11:03 PM
Subject: Re: Order Inquiry

Email me with the prices of the birds below
Nature, Panel 6mm glass 50 x 70 cm
Emu Panel - 84cm x 32cm
Robins on Red - 40cm x 40cm
Jabiru - 38cm x 38cm

On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 2:36 PM, Janice wrote:

I do not ship framed, this is better done after you receive them

These are all original paintings and the sizes are as follows before framing

Emu panel - 106 x 37 cm            $350 AU + postage
Robins - 106 x 37cm                  $350 AU + postage
Jabiru - 77 x 28cm                   $300 AU + postage

And not sure which nature one you are referring to

Janice

From: Mark Peters [mailto:auszza@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 21 November 2012 6:41 AM
Subject: CONTACT SHIPPER

Dear Janice
Good to read back from you . below are the Items I want to order

Emu panel - 106 x 37 cm   
2 qty

Robins - 106 x 37cm
2 qty

Jabiru - 77 x 28cm
1 qty

SHIPPING ADDRESS
8221 Paseo de Roxas,
Makati City, Metro Manila.
Philippines  , 1226

Concerning the shipment,the likes of UPS,FEDEX and POST OFFICE always don't take care of the charges down here. Charges like handling,customs duties,tax etc. I have experienced such situation before and I don't want to be the victims of such a thing again. I will be glad if you contact this freight forwarder Lintel logistics for shipping quote.The shipping company will arrange the pick-up of my order from your store,so you don't have any stress to face in shipping processing at all.Here is their email address (lintellogistics@yahoo.com) ,Not that I can't deal with the shipper directly,but they always prefer to deal with the store where they will be doing the pick up in other to reduce the customs duties and other charges.They have a way of preparing their shipment documents whereby the custom duties payment on this goods will be reduced and if I wanted to pay for the custom duties and other charges, at times it is 40% of the whole package amount.I do trust Lintel logistics ,if not I wouldn't have recommend them for my shipment.They are very reliable and fast.They will take care of everything including Handling, Customs duties,Tax, Insurance etc.Contact them to obtain a quote and get back to me in the format bellow:

COST OF THE ORDER
COST OF THE SHIPPING FROM LINTEL LOGISTICS
TOTAL COST (ORDER + SHIPPING)
Once I have these details from you, I will get back to you with my
credit card information,so you can charge and make the necessary
shipping arrangements.
Regards,
Mark

NOTE:The freight company will need these 5 information to get you a quote,so provide them with the details bellow:

1)My Customer's ID # :BWA45479ZQ
2)Delivery Full Address:
8221 Paseo de Roxas,
Makati City, Metro Manila.
Philippines  , 1226
3)Pick Up Full Address : PROVIDE YOUR ADDRESS
4)Weight Of The Consignment : PROVIDE ORDER WEIGHT
5)Momentary Value Of The Consignment : PROVIDE ORDER TOTAL COST

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Scammers Love the Holiday Shopping Season

Scammers love this time of year. People are distracted, in the most intense shopping season of the year, and looking for the best deals. Easy pickin's for scammers. They use "hooks" to lure in their victims, like offering a free or cheap iphone 5 or LCD TV - things that people desire and are looking for. But these are just the hooks. There is no iphone "prize" or deep discount, there is no TV. The scammer is either trying to get cash out of their victims (small shipping fee or taxes) or they seek to steal identity information by getting people to fill out surveys that ask the user to provide WAY too many details about their themselves - account numbers, passwords, social security numbers.

Be VERY careful because in addition to all the legitimate "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" sales, scammers will also be putting up fake pages and sending out fake emails targeting these phrases and trying to trick unsuspecting people to respond to their fake ads.Yes, we want great deals online, but check and double-check and triple-check you are really at the right website and not a fake website. Do not go to websites via links in emails, even when they offer a great deal. That deal can also be found, if it is real, by opening a new browser and typing in the main url yourself and search around for the holiday specials. Yes, it is extra work and not as convenient as just clicking on a link in an email, but it is SO much safer.

And on the other side of the equation are all the small businesses selling online during this season - scammers also run their fake buyer scam as often as their little keyboard typing fingers can send out the emails. Sellers: NO WIRE TRANSFERS! I can not emphasize this enough. Do NOT use wire transfers under ANY circumstances. Scammers *need* this in order to steal your cash and disappear without a trace. Do not accept any checks or credit card payments for more than the amount or agree to forward money to anyone in behalf of a buyer via wire transfer. Just do NOT do it!

Gift cards - this is the season for scammers to try and sell gift cards that have been stolen and are worthless. This is super rampant this time of year. If its not properly activated at the store register, it is a worthless piece of plastic. Don't buy these from sources you don't know, don't buy gift cards on Craigslist or eBay, don't buy "discounted gift cards" from some third party, and if you get a gift card, check at the register FIRST to see its value and if its valid before shopping.

Yes, the season of shopping will kick into high gear this week... but also be on the lookout, because scammers also kick into their high season of trying to steal money from people.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Are Scammers As Dumb as They Seem?

Something that always amazes me is how dumb scammers appear to be. They hardly even try to correct the grammar in their emails. They don't seem to care a lick about spelling or formatting. Their sentences often do not even make any sense. Their made-up names often are gender confused or they'll use a typical last name as their first name - when clearly it is a last name. They use the same fake name and email addresses for long periods of time. They seem to use the same templated content over and over and over and over again. They make up stories that often are too unbelievable, and they use dollar amounts for "inheritances" or prize money that are so outlandish, it seems too fantastical.

And I think to myself - how can scammers be so stupid?

And then I thought - are scammers really as stupid as they seem to be?

They seem to be making millions and millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims and they don't even have to clean their act up. They can put in a minimum of effort, not even make sense, have all their formatting off, and their story nonsensical - and still they are making millions and millions of dollars. They can send the exact same "story" out to hundreds of thousands of people and use this same story over a long period of time - years in many cases, and still they make millions and millions of dollars. They evade the authorities and get people from all over the world to wire them money and people keep doing this even though wire transfer is the one way their money will disappear and be untraceable once the scammer has picked it up from Western Union or Money Gram or some other wire transfer service.

So the really sad thing about this is the fact that scammers are as successful as they are doing the crappiest of jobs that they are.

I really do not think victims are dumb. I think scammers exploit some very nuanced weaknesses in people - that they are in a fast-paced society and don't take the time to read everything before acting. They don't take the time to check things out from independent sources online (more people are now, but clearly not enough). People are moving fast and not checking the details.

The other weakness scammers exploit is the tendency people have to trust what is in front of them. If their bank has sent them an email saying their account has been temporarily suspended for suspicious activity and click here to verify your identity - way too many people just naturally believe that email is really from their bank and they need to click on that link and verify their identity. It never occurs to them that the email is all made up to look like their bank but a scammer is behind it all. People just wanna believe.

So scammers have the luxury, for now, of not even having to make sense or present an email with correct sentence structure, spelling, or formatting. Their story doesn't have to make sense. They can throw any huge number out there of how much you've won or inherited from some Nigerian prince. They can say anything they want and put an absolute minimum amount of effort into it, and they will still make a bundle of money from their victims. That is why there are so many scammers. It's a dream job.

When are you - people - going to get off this bandwagon and not make it so easy for a scammer to take your money or identity or passwords online? What will it take to move the awareness of enough people so that it actually becomes difficult for scammers?

Why am I going on a rant like this on a Saturday morning? Because I am going to post an email below that I received and the scammer was SO dumb that he pasted the entire message of his scam all in the Subject line and left the content area blank. Scammers have these templates and software that push out their spam email and this scammer couldn't even paste his spam content into the correct field of his spam software. And yet... I wonder how much money he'll successfull make on even this email....
Reply-To: [mrabrahammaluba@yahoo.co.jp]
From: "Abraham Maluba"[mrabrahammaluba@yahoo.co.jp]
To: mrabrahammaluba@yahoo.co.jp

Subject: IAm a ex-banker from Benin Republic. A family friend Mrs. Linda Calsabay who happens to be the wife of a late banker and my former boss intimated me on her intention to invest the sum of USD12.6M in a foreign country, being money left for her family by her late husband who died recently. Iam soliciting on her behalf for you to help her invest and manage the money properly in your country, her areas of investment interest includes but not limited to real estate and hotel.Get back to me for more info please.


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Email Scam: Vague Support Email Scam

Here is a scam email that intentionally is SO vague that some people will click just to see what the heck it is about. Be careful about that. Regardless of the content of an email, do NOT click on links in an email that you are not sure where they are going (often the actual destination is different than the visible destination - scroll your mouse over the link without clicking and look to the lower left portion of your screen in the status bar to see what the actual destination is).
Return-Path: support@rainbowfocus.nl
FROM: Support Center (noreply@message.rainbowfocus.nl)
Subject: Support Center

Thank you for contacting us, your information arrived today.

Alright, here's the link to the site:

Proceed to Site  [this is linked and actually goes to: dietblueline.com]

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Regards, Alana Kane, Support Team manager.
 


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Scam Email: Fake Red Bull Job Ad

Here is an email I received that clearly was a scam email. Always be suspicious when an email for a job opportunity (or something to make some extra money) comes unsolicited AND tries to collect a whole bunch of information on the first email. I've seen this one a lot - make money to drive around with ads on your car. I glanced at the full headers and sure enough, the REPLY-TO was different and revealed the real email account receiving replies from unsuspecting potential victims. So it has nothing to do with Red Bull but this scammer is hoping to trick some young people who drink Red Bull and wouldn't mind having some cash to put ads on their car. Truth is there will be no ads, but only the loss of your identity information and probably some cash later in the scam. The check they promise in this email will SURELY be counterfeit and they'll ask you forward part of it to someplace else via wire transfer, losing your own good money.

Be VERY careful of any unsolicited opportunities to make money. It is almost always a scam.
Reply-To: [tradefeettable@yahoo.co.jp]
From: "RedBull"[user@redbull.com]
Subject: RedBull Job Ad - Get Paid To Drive
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Hello,

We are currently seeking to employ individual’s world wide. How would you like to make money by simply driving your car advertising for RED BULL.

How it works?

Here’s the basic premise of the "paid to drive" concept: RED BULL seeks people -- regular citizens,professional drivers to go about their normal routine as they usually do, only with a big advert for "RED BULL" plastered on your car. The ads are typically vinyl decals, also known as "auto wraps,"that almost seem to be painted on the vehicle, and which will cover any portion of your car's exterior surface.

What does the company get out of this type of ad strategy? Lots of exposure and awareness. The auto wraps tend to be colorful, eye-catching and attract lots of attention. Plus, it's a form of advertising with a captive audience,meaning people who are stuck in traffic can't avoid seeing the wrapped car alongside them. This program will last for 3 months and the minimum you can participate is 1 month.

You will be compensated with $300 per week which is essentially a "rental"payment for letting our company use the space no fee is required from you RED BULL shall provide experts that would handle the advert placing on your car. You will receive an up front payment of $300 inform of check via courier service for accepting to carry this advert on your car.

It is very easy and simple no application fees required contact email along with the following you are interested in these offer.

Full Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip code:
Age:
Current Occupation
Other email address
Make of car/ year:
Telephone numbers:

We shall be contacting you as soon as we receive this information.

Mrs. Jennifer Brooks
Hiring Manager,
RedBull(TM)

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Internet Scam: Fake Facebook Missed Activity Email

Here is an email I received that looks like I am missing stuff on Facebook and I should click on the link to see what I missed. But it is a scam.

Notice the 'From' email address. It is not a Facebook email. When I moused over the button links that say 'Got to Facebook' and 'Check Notifications', the actual destination link is tdginc.com/boats.html. Not a good sign! And when I viewed the email headers I saw this:

Return-Path: susan_kenney@a132.radicenter.eu

So that is where replies will likely go. But the scammer isn't after replies. They want you to click on those links. DON'T! I know, all the Facebook users moving too fast who do not want to miss a single thing will click on those buttons, but I'm here to tell you - do not do it!

Log into Facebook yourself - from a new browser window where you type in the facebook url yourself and see from there what you may have missed. The below email is a total scam.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Internet Scam: Fake Walmart Job Opportunity

Here is an excellent example of how a fake job ad for Walmart looks like. First of all, this came unsolicited to me, so that was a tipoff - to me. But to someone deep into a job search might not realize that and this is what the scammer is hoping. Secondly, always view the email message headers and see if the REPLY-TO is different than the FROM email address. When they are, that is often a big sign it is a scammer. Thirdly, I'm not completely convinced there are ANY legitimate mystery shopper jobs (and if there are, they are certainly drowned out by the hundreds of thousands of scammer mystery shopper ads).

What this email would turn into, if I were to fall for it, would be a check cashing scam. They would send you counterfeit check(s) to do your shopping, ask you send a portion of the check to some other entity (sometimes they say another office), ALWAYS via Western Union (so watch out for that), you would deposit the check(s) and then use your own good money to do the actual shopping, only to find out later that their original check was fake and the bank has withdrawn that money from your account. You are out your shopping money AND the money you forwarded via Western Union.

Sometimes, the scammers are lazy and just go right for the Western Union part by saying they are a company that has been hired to secretly test the quality of Western Union's service, so they will be sending you a check and you keep a portion for yourself and wire the rest back to them and send them a report on the quality of the service. Of course, no one has been hired to do anything and you are out the money you wired back to them because their check will turn out to be counterfeit.
Received: from xolido36.xolido.com ([193.127.98.3])
From:    Wal-mart (admin@walmart.com)
Reply-To: [walmart@superkingston.us]

Subject: Re: Job Opportunity

Will you like to Shop and Get Paid? You can earn as much as $2,700 monthly
working while carrying out a mystery shopping survey assignment for our company?
Shop details include dining out in restaurants, and carrying out secret survey
reports on Financial Institutions, and feeding us back with the activities that
transpires between you and the shop attendants. This is a form of feedback
mechanism to check on the activities of our staff for job performance
evaluation.

TO PARTICIPATE; KINDLY FILL IN THE FORM  BELOW

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YOUR FULL NAME(s):

FULL RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: Street Number/City/State/Zip Code.

Cell/Home/ Telephone Number:

Alternative Email Address:

We are well registered by the appropriate authorities and we are licensed to
operate under legal and licensed organization of the better business bureau,
Working with our company guarantee's you a safe relationship and licensed
establishment.

Your response would be highly appreciated.
 
Regards.
Task Co-ordinator
Gary Lockrey
WALMART SURVEY INC.