by FrenchAuPairGirl
Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:54 am
Hello everybody,
I am 23 and come from France. I have been scammed by scammers who pretended to be an american family from San Francisco, USA. They also reach me towards the american agency who was supposed to organize the proceedings for my visa au pair and my arrival in San Francisco.
The given names were : Karen and Mark Lewis, and supposed living address : 151 Commonwealth Avenue, San Francisco CA 94118. They were pointed in another topic i unfortunately didnot see on this website : viewtopic.php?f=42&t=28154&hilit=karen+mark+lewis
They viewed my profile on a website linking families and young people willing to become au pair abroad (is this website a serious one ? No idea, i pointed the scam to them anyway) easyaupair.com. So they contacted me and we made acquaintance through emails. I emailed the Lewis family to this email address : [email protected]. They sent me the same photographs as they did for another scammed personn (two blonde little girls with birthday cake and fat parents).
And i discovered that the emails were exactly the same as the one sent to viewtopic.php?f=42&t=20853&hilit=gloria+weidner and viewtopic.php?f=42&t=14484&hilit=gloria+weidner and viewtopic.php?f=42&t=21760&hilit=gloria+weidner.
After a good deal of questions, etc, they address me to the agency responsible for the coming of their former au pair : Au Pair Life agency (http://www.aupairlife.webs.com/). I contacted them on this email address : [email protected]. A certain Gloria Weidner was attached to follow my case, and i corresponded all through with her.
I contacted the former au pair, Erica Borg (a fake one obviously), asking lot of questions. She replied to me in a very student and youngish way, saying to not worry the family was "alright", as the kids, but (weird thing i thought at the time but i passed my way) they "really hate liars" she warned me.
I received a phone call one sunday evening from an unknown number, it was the father who talked with me some 5 or 10 minutes maybe. He mainly assured me how happy they were to my coming, etc.
I always thought they all were very friendly and all of that, but it seemed to me the american or californian way so i did not wonder.
I had to send money to begin the proceedings for an au pair visa to the agency. I was told to use Moneygram, a money transfert agent. The receiver was as follow : Receiver Name - Gloria Weidner ; Receiver Address - 842 Mahone Ave, Bismarck, North Dakota, 58503. A name and address which comes out each time in these au pair scams. I don't know if the person is real anyway.
I signed a contract edited by my "employers". I sent scans of my passport, a passport photograph, postal address to the au pair life agency. The contacts with family was continued during christmas and new year days. At the beginning of january the agency sent an urgent email saying that the law reinforcement forced me to suscribe a more effective health insurance and to open a bank account in USA. I was defiant but not enough, and finally sent more money to the same informations. Having no news for more than one week, i finally found your website and discovered the horrible truth, too late for me although.
I went to the Police. It seems that the scammers switch all names of family and agency (except dear Gloria Weidner) and email addresses, in each case. As i sent personal informations, as the scan of my passport, i hope there will not be no further consequences. I hope my testimony will help others to avoid same misadventure.
I am 23 and come from France. I have been scammed by scammers who pretended to be an american family from San Francisco, USA. They also reach me towards the american agency who was supposed to organize the proceedings for my visa au pair and my arrival in San Francisco.
The given names were : Karen and Mark Lewis, and supposed living address : 151 Commonwealth Avenue, San Francisco CA 94118. They were pointed in another topic i unfortunately didnot see on this website : viewtopic.php?f=42&t=28154&hilit=karen+mark+lewis
They viewed my profile on a website linking families and young people willing to become au pair abroad (is this website a serious one ? No idea, i pointed the scam to them anyway) easyaupair.com. So they contacted me and we made acquaintance through emails. I emailed the Lewis family to this email address : [email protected]. They sent me the same photographs as they did for another scammed personn (two blonde little girls with birthday cake and fat parents).
And i discovered that the emails were exactly the same as the one sent to viewtopic.php?f=42&t=20853&hilit=gloria+weidner and viewtopic.php?f=42&t=14484&hilit=gloria+weidner and viewtopic.php?f=42&t=21760&hilit=gloria+weidner.
After a good deal of questions, etc, they address me to the agency responsible for the coming of their former au pair : Au Pair Life agency (http://www.aupairlife.webs.com/). I contacted them on this email address : [email protected]. A certain Gloria Weidner was attached to follow my case, and i corresponded all through with her.
I contacted the former au pair, Erica Borg (a fake one obviously), asking lot of questions. She replied to me in a very student and youngish way, saying to not worry the family was "alright", as the kids, but (weird thing i thought at the time but i passed my way) they "really hate liars" she warned me.
I received a phone call one sunday evening from an unknown number, it was the father who talked with me some 5 or 10 minutes maybe. He mainly assured me how happy they were to my coming, etc.
I always thought they all were very friendly and all of that, but it seemed to me the american or californian way so i did not wonder.
I had to send money to begin the proceedings for an au pair visa to the agency. I was told to use Moneygram, a money transfert agent. The receiver was as follow : Receiver Name - Gloria Weidner ; Receiver Address - 842 Mahone Ave, Bismarck, North Dakota, 58503. A name and address which comes out each time in these au pair scams. I don't know if the person is real anyway.
I signed a contract edited by my "employers". I sent scans of my passport, a passport photograph, postal address to the au pair life agency. The contacts with family was continued during christmas and new year days. At the beginning of january the agency sent an urgent email saying that the law reinforcement forced me to suscribe a more effective health insurance and to open a bank account in USA. I was defiant but not enough, and finally sent more money to the same informations. Having no news for more than one week, i finally found your website and discovered the horrible truth, too late for me although.
I went to the Police. It seems that the scammers switch all names of family and agency (except dear Gloria Weidner) and email addresses, in each case. As i sent personal informations, as the scan of my passport, i hope there will not be no further consequences. I hope my testimony will help others to avoid same misadventure.
