ODESK - Invitation to Interview for: Project Aide

Hello,

How are you doing today, Hope fine? there are no problems with location... your job will be based on your location.

Detailed Job Description:

My name is Tracey Williams... I am 65 years old, married with 4 children. I am a relatively successful entrepreneur and huge investor in the real estate market, which tends to be my main source of income. I am looking for a trustworthy and reliable individual who works well and understand orders.

I have been a financial planner for over 25 years now and am also a private research journalist. I travel often within and outside of STATE working on various independent projects. This is why I need someone who can help keep me up to date with all of my activities, especially while I am away and amidst my busy schedule. My previous personal assistant is currently unavailable for health reasons and I am keen on finding an efficient, motivated, organized individual who can communicate well and is able to multi-task under pressure.

This position is home-based and flexible. Working for me is a test of following instructions. As my Personal Assistant, your activities among others will include:

· Creating orders, pick slips, invoices, and credit memos

· Running personal errands

· Scheduling programs, flights, and meetings and keeping me up to date with them

· Acting as an alternative phone correspondent while I am away

· Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf

· Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities

· Basic wage is $400 weekly

I am sure you understand how busy my schedule is on a daily basis. Currently, I am in Europe meeting with partners. I will be back in three weeks to arrange a formal interview with you. I think you are the right person for this position. Please note that this position is not office-based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules. It is a part-time job, and some weeks you will be busier than others, though pay stays constant. Like I said, I think you are the right person for this job, and think we should get a head start this week. I have a lot of work piled up that I will need help catching up on immediately. I would like to use this coming week to test your efficiency and diligence, and to work your schedule around mine. I am hard of hearing and usually stay in touch through email, I am glad you responded to my ad in such a timely manner and look forward to working with you and promise to be a good boss.



A payment inform of a Certified Check will be sent over to you from one of my clients and i have some lists to email you once you received the funds, You will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the Orphanage at any nearest store around you then mail them out. I will get you more information on that, I will like you to get back to me with your Contact Details such as


First Name:

Middle Name:

Last Name:

Street Address:

City, State and Post Code:

Home & Cell Phone(s):

Occupation (if any):


Once you respond and I receive your contact information, I will let you know necessary information on what to do. I look forward to working with you.

Kind Regards,

Tracey Williams

Thank you for posting this scam. The check would of course be fake, leading to a whole host of problems for the "employee" in the long run.

Could you post the email address the scammer used?

Thanks for posting!! I received an invitation to interview with the EXACT SAME message.

Sent by: Catherine Smith at [email protected]

Same here. Catherine Smith, email address [email protected].

The check is clearly fake. This is not legitimate.

Welcome to Scamwarners,

Thank you for the update. You can give the fake check and envelope to banks fraud dept or give them to your local Post Office. Print out the emails and give them to whomever you choose to report it to.

Wish I could've seen this sooner, THANK GOD I didn't deposit it!! Mine went by Jacqueline Sharon Smith and I got the same exact message

I received exact same name and letter as the others. Staying far far away from this!

Are they still using the same email address?

At least with me, the scammer waited two months before sending me the check. I had to go to the bank to make sure that it was a scam check.

Hello everyone!
Just wanted to update this as they changed the project name (the messages are exactly the same).
oDesk invitation to interview for: Office Coordinator, client name on oDesk is: Trajac (Tracy Smith)
The email address they are using now is: [email protected] and they go by the name Jacqueline Smith.

Wow. I wish I saw this sooner.....I received the exact same message from Trajac/Jacqueline Smith ([email protected]). But unfortunately, I wasn't discerning enough and now my bank account is going through closure. TT.TT ....what do I do? Can anyone give this frazzled college student advice on how to go about this situation....
AND EVERYONE ELSE, PLEASE DON'T END UP LIKE ME.

Wow. I wish I saw this sooner.....I received the exact same message from Trajac/Jacqueline Smith ([email protected]). But unfortunately, I wasn't discerning enough and now my bank account is going through closure. TT.TT ....what do I do? Can anyone give this frazzled college student advice on how to go about this situation....
AND EVERYONE ELSE, PLEASE DON'T END UP LIKE ME.

Your best bet is to plead stupidity. <------seriously, not a dig
Make copys of all communications, emails, etc. maybe even some of the posts you have read here.
Explain to them you thought it was a legitimate employment opportunity, and show them the correspondence that you have printed out, showing them there was no actual intent to defraud anyone on your part.
That is about the only defense you have, by being truthful and honest with them.
Good luck, hopefully they will not prosecute you.

Wow. I wish I saw this sooner.....I received the exact same message from Trajac/Jacqueline Smith ([email protected]). But unfortunately, I wasn't discerning enough and now my bank account is going through closure. TT.TT ....what do I do? Can anyone give this frazzled college student advice on how to go about this situation....
AND EVERYONE ELSE, PLEASE DON'T END UP LIKE ME.

Your best bet is to plead stupidity. <------seriously, not a dig
Make copys of all communications, emails, etc. maybe even some of the posts you have read here.
Explain to them you thought it was a legitimate employment opportunity, and show them the correspondence that you have printed out, showing them there was no actual intent to defraud anyone on your part.
That is about the only defense you have, by being truthful and honest with them.
Good luck, hopefully they will not prosecute you.

Ahhh...I assumed that that would be the only possible solution. Thank you so much for your advice; I will do that asap.

Now the invitation is for a Project Coordinator. I found this forum searching for smithjacqui gmail because I thought it was strange that the client immediately wanted a reply to the gmail account.

I declined the invitation and noted that it was spam, then included in the comments that I didn't think it was legit. It is relatively concerning that this client has a verified payment method on Upwork, as this is usually the first red flag.

In my experience, another red flag is if there are an unusually high number of applicants and they are all, or mostly, client initiated.

I am going to also flag the job posting as inappropriate, whatever good that may do.

I'm glad this forum is available because I don't think the user forum on Upwork allows specific client info to be shared.

I hope this info, and my actions on Upwork, keeps someone from being scammed. We have to educate as many as we can.

I received the exact same invite and she is trying to convince me it is not a scam! She even wants to meet peronally in 3 weeks. Says she is aware of this site but still denies it is a scam. The following are the emails so far...

These are from [email protected]
I dont understand but anything with the last name smith then am aware, if not then thats copyright.

On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 9:02 PM, xxxxxxxxx wrote:
Can you explain how your letter word for word has been around for years with various names? Just wondering.
 
Sent from my LG G Flex, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
 
 
------ Original message------
From: Jacqueline Smith
Date: Tue, Jun 23, 2015 3:00 PM
To:xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject:Re: Job
 


I have seen this link, you not the first person to send me this link.

When i return to the States, Ill let you know and we will meet in person.

Ill arrange to meet you okay.

Ill let you know in 3 weeks time.

On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 8:58 PM, xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
If this is not a scam, please follow this link and explain. I was interested but this is disturbing..
 
viewtopic.php?f=34&p=206618
 
Sent from my LG G Flex, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
 
 
------ Original message------
From: Jacqueline Smith
Date: Tue, Jun 23, 2015 2:54 PM
To:xxxxxxxxxx
Subject:Re: Job
 


I am not into scam, people think its a scam when you ask them for their contact details.

Its okay if you not interested.

On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 8:44 PM, xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Never mind. This has been reported on a scam site. I will report this to Upworks. Do not contact me again. 
 
Sent from my LG G Flex, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
 
 
------ Original message------
From: Jacqueline Smith
Date: Tue, Jun 23, 2015 2:08 PM
To: xxxxxxxxxx
Subject:Re: Job
 


I am not into playing games okay, so stay positive.

Let me know if you interested so we proceed.

On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 7:25 PM,xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I am just a bit wary if someone sending me money to purchase unspecified items for an "orphanage". 
I do not mean to offend but this is the same email I received a year ot so ago.
 
Sent from my LG G Flex, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
 
 
------ Original message------
From: Jacqueline Smith
Date: Tue, Jun 23, 2015 11:06 AM
To:xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject:Re: Job
 



Hello xxxxxxxx,


How are you doing today, Hope fine? there are no problems with location... your job will be based on your location.

Detailed Job Description:


My Name is Jacqueline Smith... I am 65 years old, married with 4 children. I am a relatively successful entrepreneur and huge investor in the real estate market, which tends to be my main source of income. I am looking for a trustworthy and reliable individual who works well and understand orders.

I have been a financial planner for over 25 years now and am also a private research journalist. I travel often within and outside of STATE working on various independent projects. This is why I need someone who can help keep me up to date with all of my activities, especially while I am away and amidst my busy schedule. My previous personal assistant is currently unavailable for health reasons and I am keen on finding an efficient, motivated, organized individual who can communicate well and is able to multi-task under pressure.


This position is home-based and flexible. Working for me is a test of following instructions. As my Personal Assistant, your activities among others will include:


· Creating orders, pick slips, invoices, and credit memos

· Running personal errands

· Scheduling programs, flights, and meetings and keeping me up to date with them

· Acting as an alternative phone correspondent while I am away

· Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf

· Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities

· Basic wage is $400 weekly


I am sure you understand how busy my schedule is on a daily basis. Currently, I am in Europe meeting with partners. I will be back in three weeks to arrange a formal interview with you. I think you are the right person for this position. Please note that this position is not office-based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules. It is a part-time job, and some weeks you will be busier than others, though pay stays constant. Like I said, I think you are the right person for this job, and think we should get a head start this week. I have a lot of work piled up that I will need help catching up on immediately. I would like to use this coming week to test your efficiency and diligence, and to work your schedule around mine. I am hard of hearing and usually stay in touch through email, I am glad you responded to my ad in such a timely manner and look forward to working with you and promise to be a good boss.


A payment inform of a Certified Check will be sent over to you from one of my clients and i have some lists to email you once you received the funds, You will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the Orphanage at any nearest store around you then mail them out. I will get you more information on that.


Let me know if interested so we proceed.


Kind Regards,

Jacqueline Smith

On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 1:40 PM,xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi Jackie, 
 
What exactly is your job opportunity?
 
xxxxxxxxxx
 
Sent from my LG G Flex, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
 

Everyone on Upworks please just beware. Thanks for reading.