An interesting one follow up – PAX LLC

I responded to a job post for an Academic Exchange Coordinator position on June 2 expecting it to be a scam.  Oh man, is it ever!  These crooks are not only looking to hit up job seekers, but have no qualms about ruining the reputation of a legitimate organization in the process.

Without an interview or a review of my references or resume, Victor Carabut of PAX LLC, not PAX the non-profit academic exchange organization, sent me a copy of an coordinator agreement to complete.  Before receiving an official job offer, I am supposed to share my social security number and banking information; but sharing a driver’s licence number and/or passport info are optional.

In the ad, my duties would entail meeting students at the airport and transporting them to their host’s home.  In the email, I do that, but also receive payment for academic services.   I’d be paid $500 a month plus 3% of the program fee.

This guy used the legitimate organization’s logo and address on this agreement, but changed the phone and fax numbers to suit his needs.  The website he mentions in the email, paxllc.net, is a clone.  I ran a WHOIS search and found the administrative contact using the legit address but different phone and fax numbers.  “Heidi Guerrero,” I see you!

PAX LLC
Heidi Guerrero
+1.2815062758 fax: +1.8008566733
14 Willett Avenue
New York NY 10573
us

DNS:
ns3.cnmsn.com
ns4.cnmsn.com

http://whois.domaintools.com/paxllc.net

Here’s a little more interesting information.  The contact number used on the clone site (347-826-4983 ) has been used by scammers before.  Ever heard of Intaro Safe Business Group or UNIS Holding Group?  Only potential victims and fraudwatchers have.  Thanks Bobbear.co.uk for sharing!

http://www.bobbear.co.uk/intaro-safe-business-group.html
http://www.bobbear.co.uk/unis-holding-group-inc.html

I’ve contacted Pax.org and forwarded the email, link, and copy of the agreement.

This isn’t new, unfortunately.  Scammers frequently clone a legitimate business in order to catch potential victims off guard.  Victims think they have found a legit position and stop digging for information.  By the time they realize they’ve been scammed, the crooks have made off with the victim’s funds, identities, and self-esteem.

Never let a familiar company name keep you from doing the research.  Don’t stop with the URL the contact person shares.  As always, if any of you have been contacted by these crooks, please share.

 

Happy Canada Day!

Just thought I’d send a little love to our northern neighbors.

 

Another Money Transfer Assistant Position

Niadeline Lewis (I doubt that’s her real name) has a position for me.  Supposedly she found me through Career Builder and thinks I’m the right one for the job.  Silly, silly scammer.

Here’s a summary of the red flags:
1) The position title changes within the message.  You would think the scammers would get this right by now.

2) The salary is $2,000 a month plus 5% of each payment processed for 2-3 hours of work and education and status do not matter. .

3) Job responsibilities include wiring money to them and having a checking account.

4) Most contact will be via email with occasional phone calls.  This wouldn’t be that much of a big deal except for the fact that this “company” is asking you to hand over your bank account information.

5) Direct quote: “We do not ask any personal information and we run business according to laws of the United States of America.”  Yeah, right as they ask for your banking information.

Ah, they make me giggle.  I’ve forwarded the scam to Career Builder and have included nuartinez@gmail.com and ni.adelinelevis@live.com on my list of addys to ignore.

No matter how tight things get, please do not fall for this.  They will get their money while you are left with the overdraft fees and possible legal ramifications.

 

Spammity, spam, spam

It’s sad, really, but a fact.  A lot of the scam job posts making the rounds are posted simply for the spammer to pad his/her spam list.  I’ve been deleting more spoofed messages from myself lately than I ever have, and the increase just happened to coincide with the last message I sent to a scammer requesting more information.

Let’s not even get into the spambot blog comments that I’ve been deleting lately.

Don’t worry, spammers, my delete-happy fingers aren’t tired enough to let you in any more than you already are.

Have a great weekend, all.

 

An interesting one arrived in my inbox today

I know it’s a scam, but it’s different.  Very little information was included in the message, but one of the duties involved meeting students at an international airport and transferring them to a designated address.

As soon as I learn more, I’ll share.

 

DTS Global – another money transfer scam

These people will never learn.

Shelley Barley <shelleynoyryu1989@hotmail.com> has “aVacancy open.” In addition to the grammatical mistakes unbecoming of professional correspondence, she spells out exactly what the position entails:

Customer service manager duties:

First of all you are responsible for transactions preparation and distribution; also you must provide promptness of all operations. All orders from customers must be received and processed by you in person or by mail/phone. You must report for each transaction and collect them for monthly reports, ensure all payments are disbursed in time.

Remuneration includes base salary – about 2k-3k USD and commission rate (5% for each transfer), PLUS we reimburse all your cell phone and banking expenses.

If you receive a message from Shelley or dtsglobalcv@gmail.com, delete it.

 

More on Lion Collection

Well, they finally returned my request for more information, and it made it even clearer that the ‘company’ is not legit.

According to  Manager Johan Weber, “Lion Collection” Ltd (that’s the way he writes the company name, in quotation marks) has been around since 2000.  The company employs “skilled professionals with a deep knowledge of handicraft business” and created a new position to improve service quality.

When I was first contacted, the position was Customer Support Manager.  Now it’s a Customer Service Manager vacancy.    In addition to the position title change, the salary has increased.  The $2,000 starting salary increases to $,4000 after a month, but there is also an opportunity to earn $8,000 and a % from orders if my successful work results in a promotion to expert consultant.

Crazy salary, eh? And tempting, but here’s the kicker:

“Customer Service Managers communicate with the cleints, too, but this is a superficial communication, not demanding professional knowledge.”

A legal, legitimate position that pays that salary, part-time, that does not require professional knowledge?  Not possible.

A WHOIS search shows that the IP is located in Kiev, has five changes on four name servers, four IP changes on three name servers, and 88 other sites are hosted on this server.  The number of other sites hosted on the server is not as much of concern as the domain creation date – March 20, 2009.  Remember, this is supposedly an established company.

My take on the situation is the scammer sent out several messages regarding the position and only created the domain and built the website after receiving inquiries.  To keep ‘applicants’ in the dark regarding his/her true intentions, the employer keeps position and job duty information to a minimum until  applicant information is received.

It seems all I’d have to do to be hired is agree to the job terms disclosed in the message (there were none) and move on to completing paperwork.

Another one to avoid.

 

Another Scammer – Lion Collection

These crooks don’t give much detail about the position in the initial email because they want you to fall for it.

$2,000-$4,000 a month part time?  Yeah, that’s legit.

Here are the email addresses and names used:

• Arlene McCollough <bakerpazuf95@consultant.com>
• leehayden@yahoo.com
• johannw9@googlemail.com

 

Earth Hour is coming – March 28, 2009!

And this Green Biz Mama will be participating, just like last year!

I started living a greener life before it became the thing to do.  I recycle, reduce consumption, walk or take public transportation whenever I can, use my canvas bags, etc.  Before partnering with Shaklee I made a lot of my own household cleaners.

It makes my family a little crazy at times, but they understand why I do what I do and that every bit helps.

So, will you join me this year?  All you have to do is shut off the lights for an hour starting at 8:30 pm your time.

http://www.earthhour.org/

 

Another payment processing scam: LPA

They just don’t get it, do they?

Hilda Javier andersonzekop@popstar.com

ltmtrjob@gmail.com 

"You will get: 5% of each completed transaction($7000 - $9000 per week In the
initial probation period), plus after you prove yourself as being trustworthy "
and productive, these amounts may increase."

Just like the others running this scam, they will send you a check to deposit and ask you to send all but a percentage to
them via wire transfer.  By the time the check you deposited bounces, they will be gone and you will be out of luck.  

Don't fall for it.