IS THIS SCAM??!!! I NEED HELP ASAP!!

I received this e-mail after applying for a focus group:

Dear Applicant,

We Received your Resume/Application as regards the "Talk Study" Position you applied with us via Craigslist. It is unfortunate that the position has been fully occupied but we have a new position available. You need to Read the full details about what the new Job entails and reply us back with the requested details if you are interested. This is a Job that would not disturb or affect you current Job. Take your time to read the details about the new Job Position available for you. We would like to know your interest in being employed by our company, Paid Survey Incorporated.

The position is a valuable customer service tool that has gained widespread acceptance in the retail, financial services and restaurant industries, and proves highly valuable to companies that uses it to gain customer experience metrics.

You will be giving feedback of the efficiency of a prominent money transfer services preferably Western Union or MoneyGram outlet in your neighborhood as regards sending and receiving money transfers. Kindly look for one outlet you would like to give the feedback, make sure the store or outlet you choose are close to your area as much as possible, you will have to email the name and address of the location to us.

Please note that you are to act Cool, Calm and Confident through out the period which you will be carrying out your survey at the store, in order not to arouse any suspicion. You would make use of their service by making a money transfer via their outlet with the funds we would provide for you.

We would provide you with funds via Certified Check/ Money Order for you to Carry out this survey operations.

You will write a report about the customer services and also send your report back to us via Email. You will have to use the following pointers to prepare your report:

1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet
3) Smartness of the attendant
4) Customer service professionalism
5) Reaction of personnel under pressure
6) Information that you think would be helpful
7) Your comments and impressions.

As a feedback Agent, the pay is $200 per Survey you Carry out and you can carry out up to three surveys weekly. This does not affect your present Job and will only take less than 45minutes of your time per survey. Payments will be mailed out to you per task, which you will expend in carrying out all that will be required of you including your Compensation and Transportation fee. All Other Instructions will be sent out to you as soon as survey commences.

Kindly provide the below information for assessment and registration if you are interested. It is essentially important that you provide accurate information below.

Full Name:
Address (Not P.O.Box ):
City:
State:
Zip-Code:
Cell Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Present occupation:
Age and Sex :


Thanks, and we would be waiting to hear back from you.

Paid Surveys.
Marcus Castrillon
http://www.Paidsurveys.com

It's been two weeks and just this morning they fedex me my first check. Today I received this e-mail

Hello,

I am sure by now you would have received the FedEx Mail with a Check of $3,950 to complete your first assignment. I am also sure you received my previous email as per the Instruction for you to complete the First Assignment. I would be awaiting the MoneyGram survey report from you tomorrow if cannot be done today so we can move on to the next assignment. I need you to keep me updated with the status as per the completion of the assignment if it is still yet to be completed.

Marcus Castrillon.

I've already deposited the money. I also took out a hudred. I'm so nervouse right now. I need the money but I can't afford this check to boince. I haven't sent any money with money gram like thay asked yet. Is it possible they really want me to check out he customer service of Money Gram? Is there anway I can see if the check is fake? (even though I don't have it anymore) If this is a scam what do I now?

It is not just a scam. It is a crime. The. Scammers posted a bogus ad to recruit mules, whose job is to receive And forward stolen money. It is actually money laundering and could land you in jail. You need to contact your bank now and explain what has happened before they discover the check is written on a stolen account and blame you.

Should I wait until tomorrow? I took out a hundren dollars, shouldn't I put that back in my account first?

You need to make sure you have the entire cost of the check in your bank account. You also need to realize that you may be charged additional fees for the fraudulent deposit, and for any overdrafts that may result from the bad transaction.

The sooner you notify your bank the better. If you notify the bank before they discover the deposit was fraudulent, it is more clear that you were not deliberately a party to the fraud. Keep all of the correspondence with the criminals, and be prepared to print it out and show it to the fraud department of your bank and/or the police

@kimpster

What email addresses did the scammer use? Did they also give you a phone number? If so, please post them. This will help others avoid being implicated in a crime.

How long do you think it would take them to notice? i'm going to deposit the other 100 dollars tomorrow so when I call them the full amount is there. Why would they charge me if I did this not knowing it was a fake check? Do you think it would be better to do in person?

The person used this email address : [email protected]

Depending on whom the money was stolen from, it can take a few days or it can take months for them to notice. Print out all the emails from the scammer, with complete headers, and show them to the bank. Do not withdraw any money until the fraudulent check has disappeared from your balance.

The scammers will hound you for completion of the task. Do not answer them. If they call on the phone, let it ring. Do not let on in any way that you know it's a scam. Just disappear and leave them wondering.

Why would they charge me if I did this not knowing it was a fake check?

Banks don't tend to be particularly sympathetic. Dealing with fraud costs the bank time and money. They are in business to make money, not lose it. They aren't just going to absorb these costs--they are going to get that money from the customers responsible.

When you open a bank account, you agree to be responsible for verifying the legitimacy of your transactions related to that account. In the eyes of the bank, you did not do that. Even if you didn't know it was criminal, you deposited a check for thousands of dollars from random strangers that you have never met, for a "job" that has unrealistic pay and responsibilities ($200 for less than an hour of unskilled work is not a realistic pay scale.) From the bank's perspective, you did not make a reasonable effort to protect your account.

If you have a good relationship with your bank, they may not charge you--but it is important to be aware that they have the right to do so and many will hit you with fines and fees for the bad deposit. Some banks have even taken it further and basically declared the victim too high risk to deal with. They have actually closed the victim's account, banning them from opening another account in their bank. But the actions vary tremendously from bank to bank, and your history with the bank will play a big part as well. You just need to be aware of what can happen.

Do you think it would be better to do in person?

If you have a local branch you can visit, it's not a bad idea to go there with the emails as VX recommended.

[AlanJones]

Some banks have even taken it further and basically declared the victim too high risk to deal with. They have actually closed the victim's account, banning them from opening another account in their bank.

They could even go further than that and add fraud markers to credit histories - the result of that is you would have great difficulty getting any financial product (from a current/checking account through to a mortgage). It could even affect your ability to get work (or possibly cost you a job you already have).

Richard Albert ([email protected])

Same email, and this is the name and address associated with it.

Hello,

We Received your Response. We are Sorry but the Research sturdy Position has been occupied by someone else but We have another Offer/Position which is available part-time/full. This is a Job that would not disturb or affect you current Job. Take your time to read the details about the new Job Position available for you. We would like to know your interest in being employed by our company, Paid Survey Incorporated..................


I thought it seemed too fishy.
And they do not have a company website, so that was off also.

I received the same kind of email. I replied to it and the money order came in. I haven't cashed it out yet. I hope I'm not too deep in trouble. What should I do? Should I report this to the authorities? I don't want to be in any part of this. Please reply asap.

[AlanJones]

Either shred the money order or take it and all the emails to the authorities. As you've not cashed it, you've done nothing wrong.