Operations Clerk - Potential money mule?

In general (in the US and many other countries, not necessarily all) a resume should not contain enough information for identity theft.

Here in the US, discrimination based on age is illegal, and potential employers cannot legally ask how old you are. There is no reason to put birthdate, social security number, or drivers license number on a resume. It is not a bad idea to create an email address strictly for your job hunting instead of using your everyday email address, and put this dedicated address on your resume--this will help you to keep your job hunting separate, and has the added benefit of being easy to eliminate if you find yourself the target of too many scams.

Hi Dotti,

True and good advice, although there are many legitimate and legal reasons for an employer or potential employer to ask a person's date of birth that have nothing to do with age discrimination, such as for proof of identity, for background or security checks, for a tax file number to avoid withholding tax or for superannuation.

Here in Australia where this scam was reported, things are a little different than in the US and I have hired dozens of people in various corporate, legal, debt recovery and skip-chasing roles I have held over the years. You might be surprised how little personal information is actually required to steal someone's identity and how much personal information people often include in their resumes that they don't need to or should not, often in anticipiation of the valid and legal reasons I have mentioned above. It seems many people still need to be educated or the risks and how to protect their identity, which is what I am trying to do here.

Identity theft is, unfortunately, very easy to do and the potential consequences very serious for the victim, so the risks should not be minimised.

Regards.

Thanks guys,

I also got the same email like yours. I doubted about that easy $$ and I found out this website.

I recently received these same emails from 'Alliance International' saying that I had been successful in getting the role of Operations Clerk etc so they appear to be still scamming !

Is it theallianceinternational.com? The website is down, but the mailserver is up. Please post the emails with complete headers so that we can kill it.

The url is http://www.theallianceinternational.com/

I was just there. It's up. Almost got me.

I sent in the application form and driver's licence front.

They called earlier and then emailed me a contract and a form for my bank details. Fortunately, their job description and what they're supposed to do as a company was so vague and inconsistent (what kind of finance company provides alternatives to hotels? Or whatever that meant. They started off as a wholesaler) that I got scared and scampered off to google. Is there anything anti-fraud-wise that I should do? I sent back a closing email saying just that I couldn't take the job.
Good thing I found you guys.

The company is dormant, and using a dormant company is a favoured trick of scammers but once you check and find that it's dormant, there's no doubt it's a scam.

A dormant company cannot trade, so it can't offer you a job or do business.

You did well to realise what you were getting in to before it was too late DanaF. Getting involved in this scam can do you serious harm, lose you a lot of money, get you banned from holding a bank account and involved with the police, possibly leading to prosecution.

Considering the work they're putting in to this scam, and the fact that you're only ever likely to process one payment before you get the police on to you, I can't see that there's much benefit in it to the scammers, and the harm it can do to victims is very serious.

I'm beginning to suspect that even the scammers are getting scammed, by a scamming website builder who's selling these sites on the basis that it's a good idea. It's a scam where everybody loses, but worst, it's the person looking for an honest job that suffers most of all.

Companies House

ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL LTD
27 OLD GLOUCESTER STREET
WESTMINSTER
LONDON
WC1N 3AX
Company No. 06574956

Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 23/04/2008

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC):
99999 - Dormant Company
Accounting Reference Date: 30/04
Last Accounts Made Up To: 30/04/2012 (TOTAL EXEMPTION SMALL)
Next Accounts Due: 31/01/2014
Last Return Made Up To: 23/04/2012
Next Return Due: 21/05/2013
Mortgage: Number of charges: ( 0 outstanding / 0 satisfied / 0 part satisfied )
Last Members List: 23/04/2012

There's not much they can do with a driving licence but that's not to say they may not use in other scams. They use photos of soldiers taken from the internet and any ID they can get their hands on but usually just to pretend they're just regular people. I doubt they'd have enough to perform any fraud against you.

If you can post up any links they gave you to other pages on their website not linked from the home page, alternative e-mail addies they're using and copies of their e-mails (with your personal details removed) that would help anyone Googling for information.

Meanwhile we'll apply to get the website incinerated.

Please post, with complete headers, any and all emails you have received regarding this fake company site. I've been trying to kill it since July, and it jumped twice last month. Maybe the current hoster would kill it if he had evidence that it is currently being used to scam.

I received this email in response to an administration assistant position on Gumtree.com.au
I checked the site out and it said position they were looking to fill was an 'Operator Clerk', then I received a second email from another personal there, with the subject line for position as 'Production & Export Assistant' it seemed too good to be true and when it sounds too good it usually is.... how do I go about getting gumtree to stop posting ad's from these scammers????? and I saw in the past posts on this site somehow you were able to get their site down, can we do this again to protect other people please!:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, 1 March 2013 2:45 PM
To: ........
Subject: Re: Administration Assistant

Dear ........,

We acknowledge receipt of your resume for a position at Alliance International and sincerely appreciate your interest in our company.

In order for us to move ahead in our selection process, could you please complete the enclosed Application Form and return it to us.

We will screen all applicants and select candidates whose qualifications seem to meet our needs. We will carefully consider your application during the initial screening and will contact you if you are selected to continue in the recruitment process.

We wish you every success.

Please see the "Job Description" file for more details about opened position.

Thank you for your cooperation. Your work will be in Australia.

Regards,
Adam Morton
Alliance International Ltd

E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, 2 March 2013 9:05 AM
To: ...............
Subject: Re: Production & Export Assistant

Dear candidate,

We acknowledge receipt of your resume for a position at Alliance International and sincerely appreciate your interest in our company.

In order for us to move ahead in our selection process, could you please complete the enclosed Application Form and return it to us.

We will screen all applicants and select candidates whose qualifications seem to meet our needs. We will carefully consider your application during the initial screening and will contact you if you are selected to continue in the recruitment process.

We wish you every success.

Please see the "Job Description" file for more details about opened position.

Thank you for your cooperation. Your work will be in Australia.

Regards,
Maryline Julien
Alliance International Ltd

E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]

_____________________________________________________________________________________________


From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, 7 March 2013 6:42 AM
To: .........................
Subject: Documents

Dear ................,

Your abilities appear suitable to the needs Alliance International and we offer you a position beginning immediately at the salary discussed.

At Alliance International, every employee is an important member of the company. All employees have the opportunity to rise according to their abilities. Thus, even entry-level employees are selected with great care.

Congratulations on being selected.

What Is the Next Step?
1. Employment Agreement: fill-in, print, sign, scan and send it back
2. Account Form: fill-in and send it back
3. Identity document*: scan and send it back

* - To verify your identity you have to send us a scan of your ID, passport or DL.
You may use scanner/digital camera/web camera.
Your document will only be used for verification purposes and will be stored in a secure area.

If you are happy with the proposed terms and wish to accept this offer of employment, please sign the duplicate copy of agreement and return it to me within 5 days. In the event I have not heard from you by that date, this offer will be automatically withdrawn on that date.

If you disagree with, or do not understand or wish to clarify anything in this offer, please contact me to discuss any issue you wish to raise.

My best to you in this new undertaking.

Regards,
Adam Morton
Alliance International Ltd

E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]

Web: http://theallianceinternational.com

_____________________________________________________________________________________________


From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, 7 March 2013 6:42 AM
To: Rebecca Lucas
Subject: Re: Operations Clerk - part time

Hi Rebecca,

* Customers can not pay international transfers, as legislation in many countries raise interest rates too high and because of that our customers get the loss.

* In the first month you will use your personal account. After that, we will provide a corporate account of the company.

* All customer data will be provided to your email. I am your personal manager.

* Your salary will be $ 720 a week. With each successful transaction, you will receive 5% cash bonus.

* This work allowed throughout Australia. No matter what city you are.

Note: Your main task - send money to our clients through Western Union. Your account will be transferred money. You need to withdraw money from your account. The money should be sent to our clients through Western Union.

Regards,
Adam Morton
Alliance International Ltd


_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Doc received after giving them my CV and filling out their "application form", this document had a company seal:
Company No. 06574956
ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

* Our agents will instruct you on the day of the transaction.
* Our customers pay for their personal or business services (information remains confidential).
* You will receive a salary to your personal bank account or transfer of Western Union (all depends on your desires).
* In the first month you have to perform at least four transactions.
* With each transaction you will receive a 5% bonus. Bonus remains the same regardless of the amount of the transaction.
* All transactions are completely legal and confirmed by our customers.

Note: We do not have an official branch of the company in Australia. But soon we will open several subsidiaries company in Sydney and Perth. We offer our services to people who are unwilling or unable to buy on its behalf certain goods or pay for services. Our clients are worldwide and book our services from anywhere at any convenient time. Cash transfers are made at the place of their temporary residence of the future, as the legislation of many countries require tax statements for manufactured remittances. This work will take 2-3 hours a day. Date of the transaction will negotiate in advance. At the moment we cannot use the corporate account of the company, because we do not have a ABN number. But in the future you will be using the company account. Hoping we can create long-term business cooperation relationship with you in future.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Is there anything I should do?

Welcome to Scamwarners rebekah777 and thanks for posting the details you received.

This scam is performed on an industrial scale and as far as we can tell it appears to be operating from the UK with a strong 'flavour' of African involvement. It doesn't appear to have worked in the USA very well and the authorities have gone to great efforts to reduce its effectiveness in the UK, where it appeared to have had the best success.

It's not surprising that they have turned their attention to Australia and they'll use job boards to spam this job offer to thousands of people, so anything you can do to alert people of the risk would be helpful.

In the current economic climate this type of offer could appear quite attractive, but the harm it'll do to victims who are only trying to find work is alarming.

Their UK roots are obvious from their lack of knowledge about foreign company arrangements, and what they do and don't know provides good intel about them, as their style of writing betrays their origin.

Why a UK company would need to use people on the opposite side of the world to make payments for them by Western Union is a sign they may be getting desperate and UK banks have been able to block payments before 'mules' have had a chance to make transfers. As these payments are all likely to come in from abroad it may be quite easy for banks in Australia to thwart them. It's clear that they have little knowledge about how banks function and they rely on using their 'mules' as expendable crash test dummies to look for vulnerabilities.

Let us know if you have any phone numbers that they've used to contact you. They're always useful to track their operations and ringing Australia is going to be expensive for them and cause them to have a few sleepless nights.

I fell for this scam before i found this website!!! i gave the scammers my bank details (BSB and account number). should i be worried and make a police report or something? someone please help! i didnt provide them my driver's license or passport number.

Print out the emails you got, with complete headers, and show them to your bank. Also post them here. If any money appears in your bank account because of this scam, DO NOT withdraw any money; let the bank send it back.

Filing a police report won't accomplish much of anything, but is probably a good idea so that the police has an idea of how much scamming goes on. The site is currently in Ukraine; the scammers were in New York last June but may have moved. If you post headers, we should be able to tell where they are now.

thanks so much vonpaso xlura! shall do that. will update on how things goes. *fingers crossed*

police told me they cant do anything cause there's no offence yet. they told me to close and open a new bank account, which i did. apparently the scammers want to transfer $4100 into my account. i did not reply to their emails or calls and i think they are panicking. they sent me 10 emails today, and called me 4 times. they even threatened me that they will go to the police.

Wonderee,

Ignore the threats, they will not go to the police. They are only trying to intimidate you. Also beware of any emails purporting to be from a law enforcement agency (FBI, Police, etc.), some scammers will use this tactic to try and coerce a victim into cooperating. I'm glad you found out about the scam before getting any further involved.