Welcome, sybille

Hi, i'm sybille i wrote to 419Eaters about my experience, i just discovered them last night and all were a big help, and they told me about this place
Below is what i wrote them

I did a stupid, stupid thing. I applied for an online job offer, that turned into a "scam419" thing, which i only now know exists, having read up on it after the fact. I also learnt about you guys, too--that's why i'm writing. After immediate and extreme bad vibes, i replied that i don't want the job, which of course is nonexistent. They still UPSed me a paper with email instructions to do that 'fund transfer' thing. Haven't opened the packaged; haven't acknowledged any further emails--just sitting and stewing in my stupidity. Should i be concerned? Do they come to your house? Can someone steal/scam your identity with your adfdress and phone number and, yes, my age (no birthdates) Is there something i can do to prevent it? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for listening, hanging my head in shame amongst the pros

If anyone is interested to read the 'letter of instructions' i'd be happy to post it but being a total newbie to forums of any sort i do not know how.

p.s....i'm from canada

Hi Sybille and welcome

Absolutely no need to be sorry about your second posting.

I am very happy to hear that you realized this was a scam, prior to parting with your money. Please don't hang your head in shame. These scammers are good at what they do.
They will not come to your house. These scammers are interested in one thing, your money.
They can also not steal your identity with the very little information you have provided them with.

Yes please do post your scammers information, so that others may find it online when doing research on the "job offer"

Hi Sybille,
Welcome to ScamWarners!

As I said over on Eater, you have nothing to worry about. The scammers are not going to come after you simply because you twigged to the scam. It happens to them every day when people like you are paying attention and listen to the bad feeling they get after replying to the initial scam letter or after receiving the cheques/ money orders.

As Julia said, it doesn't sound like you've given them enough information for identity theft. Had you given them your social security number or bank details, then there would be cause for concern.

As for posting your story, simply go to the "Personal accounts of scams" forum and start a new thread. You can copy/paste the emails you received there, just remember to remove your email address when doing so.

Again, welcome.

Hi sybille, and welcome to ScamWarners. I have split off your posts from the welcome thread so that we can address your concerns fully, and put your mind at rest, I hope. If you want to add the emails you received, please do.

You've done exactly the right thing so far. You've spotted the problem, looked for information, and ignored the scammer. Just keep doing that, and you'll be fine. The first thing is to stop beating yourself up. You are dealing with a professional conman who is well-practised at lying, and who preyed on your need for employment, so you are not the one who should be hanging their head in shame, he should. As for the package, you've already had some sound advice at Eater, but it bears repeating here. Take it to the police or your bank, and tell them you think it's fake checks. They will be able to alert the person whose account is being abused, and also try and trace the scammer, although there's not much chance of the latter, I am afraid. The scammer will not turn up at your house, and the chances that they have enough to steal your identity are also slim. If you are worried, ask your bank to change your account numbers, and keep a close eye on your credit rating - any unusual activity connected with identity theft will probably show up there early on. I found two sites with information about checking on your credit rating in Canada:
http://www.cibc.com/ca/loans/article-to ... eport.html
http://www.canlaw.com/credit/credit.htm

and there is a US government site with advice about id theft here:
http://onguardonline.gov/idtheft.html

I hope this assists you, but please post any questions you may have - we are here to help.

^^^ I third that. Scammers are too busy trying to find easy targets. One hint of a problem and, though they may contact you again to try to sway you, they've got other fish to fry. Some scammers can be persistent, and may try from other email addresses, but on the whole they will give up fairly easily if they think they've been sussed.
And can I just say, don't feel stupid, some of these job scammers can be very very convincing.
Edit: And welcome

Hello Sybille, I can only echo the others above me: you did the exact thing we always advise people to do: stop all communication. As for your safety, there is no money in scaring you or coming to your house, so the scammer will leave it at a few frantic phone calls if he has your number and emails.

Please be aware that it is possible that you will receive loads of scam emails on that email address from now. I would suggest that you open a new email address and only share it with family and friends. Also, it is good advice to get educated on scams, so you will recognize them for what they are when you receive the email. Browse around this forum and 419eater and you will see loads of examples.

If you have an email exchange with the scammer it would be nice if you could post it here (please do XXXX out your own name and email address). Leave his email address in tact. That way, somebody googling his name or email address will see your post and be warned of a possible scam.

At the risk of sounding like another echo, I have to say that you shouldn't take this event too hard, sybille. In fact, you can even feel a little proud of yourself!!! Lots of people fall for these scams - you didn't!!! You managed to bail out before too much damage was done, so well done for that.

As stated ad infinitum here and elsewhere, you're in no trouble either legally or physically. What you need to do now, is to read up about the different types of online scams so that you'll be even better prepared if you receive another one.

I'm sorry you've been scammed. Please don't feel stupid. These scammers have taken months, maybe years to perfect their craft of spinning lies. Some of them even go to school to get psychology degrees to help them scam more effectivly. They've taken the trust that you put in them and abused it. I know it will be hard to trust people at first, but it takes time to heal.