Fake job opening message from Lael Nelson

Lael Nelson emailed me the other day and I left the message unread until today.  Why would I do that as a job seeker?  Lael is a crook, plain and simple.  Anytime I see the generic “job opening” email subject line, I save the message for later. This message had all the scam job keywords. I’m slightly disappointed that he didn’t try harder.

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From: Lael Nelson (zosyq@netvigator.com)

Subject: Job opening / (0539365195409)

Hello ! The mail forwarding team is looking for shipping/receiving Operator.

No enrollment fee. The average monthly salary is $1500.

Job Duties and responsibilities:

– Must be able to work on flexible schedules – the position is home-based
– Receive and mail incoming shipments. Auditing incoming packages for damages.
– Complete all paperwork in a timely and accurate manner.

Qualifications:
– Applicants must be mature – 21 years and older, able to work independently, prioritize the work in an accurate and efficient manner, permanent access to Internet.

In case interested please reply with data asked below so as to make sure we have your name and other information correctly.

– Your Full Name:
– Your Country, State:
– Your Contact number:

Please note: If you do not receive a call or email from our company, your information will be kept in our record for future consideration.
Thank you.

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See that last note?  It’s not unusual for employers to make similar statements.  Make no mistake, though, Lael or his representative will likely call or email with either a job or interview offer.  Once the scammer thinks you’re hooked, they try to reel you in.

Price Thornton, Kane Benjamin, Hamilton Fitzpatrick, Ivor Collins, and Beck Allison sent almost identical messages and some share the same reply to address.

Lael Nelson and company think you’re not smart enough to see through the lies. Prove them wrong.

Fake Packaging Manager position

Online job search websites are blessings and curses.  The sites make it easier to find companies that hire workers with standard, flex time, and telecommuting schedules and gives job seekers and employers to connect from anywhere in a company’s territory.  The curse is the possibility of scammers finding potential targets from the user pool.  While some scammers target employers, others target job seekers.

A typical job scam making the rounds involves shipping or reshipping packages for companies that are just starting to break into the North American market.  If a potential employer says a home-based position involves shipping and receiving, it’s fake.  You’ll either give your information to a criminal or become an unwitting accessory to crime.

This is one of the newer scams appearing in the spam folder.

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From: Wallace Campbell (kitamura@adepoplanners.com)

Subject: Equal opportunity , (425611831837309)

Good day.

Our company is happy to pitch this new great vacancy of “Package Manager”.

This position is designed exclusively for home-birds. If you are able to be home from 9am through 5pm, this job is designed especially for you.

You will have to work with parcels. You will have to receive parcels, repack them and send them to the end addressee. This job is hassle free and it is ideally suited for housewives
, elderly and others who either work from home or are at home during daytime hours.
There will be no heavy packages. Most packages contain toys and clothes.

You need no money to apply.. You will not have to spend any of your money generating income with us. All work-related expenses are on us.
To work for our company you will have to have a Internet ready PC
, a cell phone and means to print necessary documents.

The amount of money you will be earning depends on the quantity of parcels you will be processing.
During the probationary period people which are employed by us make up to $150/week.

If you are interested, please contact us via email.

P.S. To qualify, all you have to do is to remain from 9am to 5pm. You must meet this condition or, this job is not for you.

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Home-birds?  Interesting term for a potential employer to use in an introductory email.  Wow, up to $150 a week during probationary period.  Even if you think this one might be legitimate, are you willing to risk it for that little?  Granted, the scammer decided to forgo the typical high salary hook, but offering starvation wages is not the way to get a bite.

There are NO legitimate home-based shipping and receiving positions.  None.

Be safe.

The Better Business Bureau Dispute Phishing Email is Still Out There

Oy, they just don’t stop, do they?  Instead of sending the typical job, delivery, bank, or inheritance message, these scammers are using the an organizational name and logo to trick victims into compliance.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has been around for years, and no one wants a bad report floating around for potential customers or partners to see.  Scammers know it, and are sending messages to any and every home and small business owner out there.   This is what I received:

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From: Jmchuree@aol.com ( likely an innocent victim, but better safe than sorry)

Subject:  Your Urgent Response Is Required

To whom it may concern: Re: Case # 727760572255 The Better Business Bureau would like to inform you, that one of your clients has recently submitted to us a claim relative to their dealings with you. Please use the link below to carefully read the information about the complaint: http://www.bbb.org/ In order to save your time and good customer relations, we encourage you to let the BBB know about your position in this matter in writing by January 31, 2012 . Your unwillingness to promptly pay attention to this issue may affect the Reliability Report we give to consumers about your company. We hope to hear from you shortly. Sincerely, Stephanie Jones Dispute Counselor snieves@utah.bbb.org

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Trademarks | Find a BBB | BBB Directory © 2012 Council of Better Business Bureaus

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If you receive this message, The BBB advises you to delete it from your inbox and again from your trash.  Better safe than sorry.

 

It’s That Time of Year – Fake IRS Notices Are Out and About

It amazes me when I think of how much spammers put into their schemes.  They harvest emails, but they can do that fairly easily with software, a purchase, or a hack into a legitimate mailing list.  It takes a certain level of intelligence and arrogance to think people will fall victim to their charms and shell out their cash.  I’ll admit, I’ve fallen for scams before, but those entailed finding work.  Some of the newer crop of scams are different.  They give the appearance of coming from an authority figure of some kind such as a police department or the IRS.

This time a year a lot of people are thinking about filing those tax returns and dreaming of spending that Taxmas cash.  The scammers know it and are targeting any and everyone who may file.   This is the goodie I received today:

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From: IRS.gov (messageid91208@irs.gov)

Subject:  Tax Notification for (insert email address here)

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) United States Department of the Treasury After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive your tax return.

Due to invalid account records we were unable to credit your account. Please submit a verified tax return request as soon as possible. Your tax return request form is attached to this email.

After you submit the tax return request, please allow us 4 to 12 working days in order to process it.

Regards,

Internal Revenue Service

January 17th, 2012 (6:38:56 p.m.)

Document Reference: (8945776449).

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And of course, there’s an attachment I’m supposed to download, complete, and send to them.  Using an irs.gov email address is a smart move on their part, but what they don’t realize is that people do not fall easily for suspicious emails when it comes to the government or the bank.  I know I would check it out another way before I downloaded anything.

To make it easier for people to check out the claims, the IRS has posted notification of the scam and clarify how they operate.   The IRS does not contact taxpayers by email and has asked that anyone receiving the fraudulent message forward it to phishing@irs,gov.  While no one really likes paying taxes, people like being ripped off by criminals less.

Be safe and Happy Taxmas!