Virtual Assistant - The Virtual Agent Ltd.

The PDF was sent after signing up on their Webform and came via the webform not my email address.

I just checked my fake character's email, and there were the two PDFs. Here is the email with the headers:

From [email protected] Wed, 7 May 2014 11:13:47 -0400
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for my baiting character; Wed, 7 May 2014 11:13:47 -0400
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Date: Wed, 7 May 2014 11:08:36 -0400
From: Amanda Sanders <[email protected]>
Reply-To: Amanda Sanders <[email protected]>
Organization: The Virtual Agent Ltd.
X-Priority: 2 (High)
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Virtual Assistant Paperwork
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
boundary="----------A11EE574F0DDB"

Good afternoon,

My apologies for a late reply! Please feel free to visit our website to learn more about The Virtual Agent and the services we offer to our clients (which will be typical tasks you will be performing as a Virtual Assistant): http://virtualagentltd.com.

In the attachment you will find our standard Employment Agreement and a Banking Form to fill out. We offer a 1-year contract, which is prolonged automatically, so this is permanent employment. Moreover, we are very interested in working with you for a long time: there is a great demand on experienced VAs in the job market, and it's much more convenient to work with people you have invested time and resources in, rather than constantly look for new ones.

A Banking Form is required, since you will be receiving your pay via a wire transfer from our company; plus some of the tasks may require handling finances, so the company will be sending you funds to cover all expenses in advance: our employees NEVER pay anything out of their pocket. Should you have any other job-related expenses, such as phone bills, travel fares, etc., please email them to us, so that we could add reimbursements to your paycheck, which is wired into your account every month since the start date.

Regarding the pay: as a UK-based employer we are obliged to deduct PAYE and NI from payments to our employees, that is why we require all Virtual Assistants currently living and authorised to work in the United Kingdom to provide us with their National Insurance numbers and P45 forms from previous employers. Employees from other countries will work on a self-employed basis and will be responsible for paying national income taxes themselves. Also, we pay in British pounds, so payments to Virtual Assistants from other countries will be converted to Euros.

Finally, the training: I will supply you with the materials to read, explain our general procedures, and in less than 1-2 days you will be ready for your first assignments. I will be giving you 1 task per day or even for several days to get you a better understanding of the job, and then we'll see if you can multitask.

In order to proceed, please print out the Employment Agreement and the Banking Form, sign them and email back to me (you can either scan or make photos of the signed docs). If you have questions, please feel free to send them to me, plus I will be calling you after reviewing your paperwork to continue with the employment. We're looking for people who can start working with us ASAP, there's always work to do.

--
Best regards,
Amanda Sanders
The Virtual Agent Ltd.
Call us: +44 (0)20 3290 4905

The IP address is in Romania:

inetnum: 178.157.80.0 - 178.157.83.255
netname: newHOST
descr: Your Webspace Broker
country: RO
admin-c: MA10176-RIPE
tech-c: MA10176-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: NAV-MNT
mnt-lower: NAV-MNT
mnt-routes: NEWHOST-MNT
source: RIPE # Filtered

person: Mihai Aldea
address: Newhost
address: Bucharest, RO
phone: +4021-568.15.68
nic-hdl: MA10176-RIPE
mnt-by: NEWHOST-MNT
source: RIPE # Filtered

[AlanJones]

From [email protected] with a reply-to: [email protected]:

Hi,

I saw your contacts on a job search board, and I thought that the vacancy we
currently have might suit your skills.

We are seeking for highly organized, trustworthy and results-driven Virtual
Assistants for long-term employment. Our company is operating from the
United Kingdom, and because of our working hours we require a candidate to
be living in Europe, preferably in the UK as well or in Greece, Poland,
Estonia or Romania.

As a Virtual Assistant you will be performing online research, data entry,
creating lists in Spreadsheets, documents preparation, arranging
appointments, editing ads, and keeping everything organized for our clients.

This is a unique opportunity for those who need to work from home and get
extra income. It is a permanent part-time role, approximately 6 hours per
day except weekends and holidays. We offer a set monthly salary of 2,650
GBP, accumulative bonuses for individual performance, holidays, sick leave,
reimbursement of position-related expenses and a benefits package.

We are looking for the following from our Virtual Assistants:

- Demonstrated command of written and spoken English is essential!
- Proven written and verbal interpersonal skills.
- General knowledge of with Microsoft Office: creating and editing documents
and tables.
- Ability to efficiently multi-task.
- Ability to manage your time sucessfully and meet deadlines.
- Willing to start ASAP.

If you possess what it takes to get hired by our company, please respond
with a short message stating why you would consider the role of a Virtual
Assistant and your current location in Europe. I will send your message to
our hiring manager, who will be able to follow up with more details on the
position to selected candidates. Also, if you know someone who might be
interested in it, we would be grateful for a reference!

--
Best regards,
VA Team

Some emails from Amanda Novak - [email protected]

Hi,

Thank you for your interest in the Virtual Assistant position with Virtual
Assistant Workshop! We are a team of experienced virtual assistants with
headquarters in the United Kingdom and employees practically in every part
of the world! Due to the seasonal increase in the number of clients, we're
looking for new Virtual Assistants to join our team.

What Do Virtual Assistants Do?

Virtual Assistants perform the same functions online as personal assistants
to individuals, businesses and especially disabled persons. We do NOT sell
anything, advertise or actually pick up groceries or laundry for the clients
and meet them in person. Typical tasks for a Virtual Assistant may include
the following:

- Managing email correspondence: sorting and answering messages;
- Booking tickets, scheduling appointments, arranging meetings;
- Performing Internet research on locations, services, products;
- Transcribing voice/video recordings, typing and editing documents;
- Assisting with billing, sending out payments, delivering bills, etc.

Since a person in this position will be working from home, they will need to
have a computer with the access to the Internet; however, no special
software is required for purchasing, standard office programs and a default
web browser would be sufficient. In order to work as a Virtual Assistant,
one must also have a working phone number, which can be used for job-related
calls.

Typical Work Day of a Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant shifts take 6 hours and start at 9am GMT, Monday to
Friday; we are closed on weekends and national holidays. A typical day
starts with logging into the corporate website and receiving a list of tasks
for the day. Each Virtual Assistant is assigned to a supervisor, who
provides instructions and any additional information or materials needed for
the completion of the tasks. A supervisor will call Virtual Assistants and
monitor their activities during the day; by the end of the day Virtual
Assistants prepare a short report on the completed tasks and send it to the
supervisor and log off.

Compensation and Benefits

We offer a base salary of 31,800 GBP per year paid monthly. In addition to
the guaranteed fixed salary we also offer flexible bonuses based on your
individual performance and clients' feedback. In other words, if you
successfully perform your tasks, manage to meet deadlines, assist multiple
clients and they are satisfied with your services, your average pay per
month can be doubled with bonuses. We also offer a 3-week vacation, paid
holidays and sick days as well as an opportunity to get relocated to our
head office in the UK in 6 months, if you demonstrate outstanding results
and performance.

To apply for the Virtual Assistant position, please reply to my message and
let me know when you would be available to get started. I will forward you
the employment documentation for review as well as answer your questions.
Please note that neither our company, nor our affiliates require any entry
fees, investments or other payments in order to ensure the employment!

---
Best regards,
Amanda Novak, Team Lead
Virtual Assistant Workshop Ltd
Call us: +44 (0)1227 39 2674

Good morning,

My apologies for a late reply! Please feel free to visit our website to
learn more about Virtual Assistant Workshop and the services we offer to our
clients (which will be typical tasks you will be performing as a Virtual
Assistant): http://vaworkshop.co.uk.

In the attachment you will find our standard Employment Agreement and a
Banking Form to fill out. We offer a 1-year contract, which is prolonged
automatically, so this is permanent employment. Moreover, we are very
interested in working with you for a long time: there is a great demand on
experienced VAs in the job market, and it's much more convenient to work
with people you have invested time and resources in, rather than constantly
look for new ones.

A Banking Form is required, since you will be receiving your pay via a wire
transfer from our company; plus some of the tasks may require handling
finances, so the company will be sending you funds to cover all expenses in
advance: our employees NEVER pay anything out of their pocket. Should you
have any other job-related expenses, such as phone bills, travel fares,
etc., please email them to us, so that we could add reimbursements to your
paycheck, which is wired into your account every month since the start date.

Regarding the pay: as a UK-based employer we are obliged to deduct PAYE and
NI from payments to our employees, that is why we require all Virtual
Assistants currently living and authorised to work in the United Kingdom to
provide us with their National Insurance numbers and P45 forms from previous
employers. Employees from other countries will work on a self-employed basis
and will be responsible for paying national income taxes themselves. Also,
we pay in British pounds, so payments to Virtual Assistants from other
countries will be converted to Euros.

Finally, the training: I will supply you with the materials to read, explain
our general procedures, and in less than 1-2 days you will be ready for your
first assignments. I will be giving you 1 task per day or even for several
days to get you a better understanding of the job, and then we'll see if you
can multitask.

In order to proceed, please print out the Employment Agreement and the
Financial Form, sign them and email back to me (you can either scan or make
photos of the signed docs). If you have questions, please feel free to send
them to me, plus I will be calling you after reviewing your paperwork to
continue with the employment. We're looking for people who can start working
with us ASAP, there's always work to do.

-- Best regards, Amanda Novak, Team Lead Virtual Assistant Workshop Ltd Call us: +44 (0)1227 39 2674

XXX,

My apologies: I planned to call you this afternoon, but got immersed in
meetings and have only returned to my desk now. I will make sure to call you
tomorrow though, if that's OK with you.

Now, to start working as a Virtual Assistant, you need to get registered at
our Web Panel first, where you will receive all training documentation and
tasks. Please follow the instructions:

1) Visit the following link: http://vaworkshop.co.uk/panel/

2) Once a page opens, click at the 'Registration' link. We don't provide you
with a ready login (username) and password, since it would be more secure if
you create them yourself.

3) The 'Registration' link should get you to the first registration screen.
Please create a username that you will be using, type and confirm your
password and provide a valid email address in order to receive notifications
about new tasks and messages at the Web Panel. Once you're done, please
click at the 'Next' button below.

4) The second registration screen requires you to provide your first & last
name, along with a middle name or initial (should there be any, this is not
mandatory). The system would also ask you for your date of birth, just to
make sure you're over 21 and can work with us. Simply select the month, year
and day of your birth from a drop-form; once you're finished, please click
at the 'Next' button below. Contact information, such as your address and a
phone number is also needed.

5) If you did everything correct, your registration should be successfully
completed. Just click at the 'Login' link and log in using the username and
password that you created. As soon as you have registered, you will need to
log into the Web Panel every day, it will be your work interface. Please
don't forget to log in once you have registered!

I will send you a welcome message during the day, which would require your
reply, so you need to log into the Web Panel again to receive and answer it.
Your profile may seem a bit empty at first, however, I will add training
materials and information to get you started tomorrow.

-- Best regards, Amanda Novak, Team Lead Virtual Assistant Workshop Ltd Call us: +44 (0)1227 39 2674

I wish I had found you earlier.

I was contacted by Amanda Novak with the exact same messages. I was also asked to organize a honeymoon for a British couple as my first task which I did. But as a second task I was asked to carry money from my bank account through either Western Union or Moneygram.

I ended up with a frozen bank account holding the amount of 1027,30 EUR which probably was stolen from someone. I frozed the account myself as the bank proposed that I did for security reasons. Today the transaction was disputed by the other bank and the money is required back of course. I have lost about 17 EUR to receive and to send the money back. At least I wasn't charged with the whole amount above which is better I guess.

I received this one.

From: Steve Miller <[email protected]>
Date: 20 November 2014 at 18:14
Subject: Virtual Assistant's position

Thank you for your interest in the Virtual Assistant position with Virtual-Helper! We are a team of experienced virtual assistants with headquarters in the Chicago and employees practically in every part of the world! Due to the seasonal increase in the number of clients, we're looking for new Virtual Assistants to join our team in Australia.

What Do Virtual Assistants Do?

Virtual Assistants perform the same functions online as personal assistants to individuals, businesses and especially disabled persons. We have a wide range of tasks, after training period Virtual Assistant is free to choose his favourite tasks. We do NOT pick up groceries or laundry for the clients and meet them in person. Typical tasks for a Virtual Assistant may include the following:

- Managing email correspondence: sorting and answering messages;
- Booking tickets, scheduling appointments, arranging meetings;
- Performing Internet research on locations, services, products;
- Transcribing voice/video recordings, typing and editing documents;
- Advertising and selling different digital goods or electronic devices;
- Assisting with billing, sending out payments, delivering bills, etc.

Since a person in this position will be working from home, they will need to have a computer with the access to the Internet; however, no special software is required for purchasing, standard office programs and a default web browser would be sufficient. In order to work as a Virtual Assistant, one must also have a working phone number, which can be used for job-related calls.

Typical Work Day of a Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant on full-time contract shifts take 6 hours and start at 9am; for part-time contractors - 3 hours though business hours, Monday to Friday; we are closed on weekends and national holidays. A typical day starts with logging into the corporate website and receiving a list of tasks for the day. Each Virtual Assistant is assigned to a supervisor, who provides instructions and any additional information or materials needed for the completion of the tasks. A supervisor will call Virtual Assistants and monitor their activities during the day; by the end of the day Virtual Assistants prepare a short report on the completed tasks and send it to the supervisor and log off.

Compensation and Benefits

We offer a base salary of 42,800 AUD per year paid monthly. In addition to the guaranteed fixed salary we also offer flexible bonuses based on your individual performance and clients' feedback. In other words, if you successfully perform your tasks, manage to meet deadlines, assist multiple clients and they are satisfied with your services, your average pay per month can be doubled with bonuses. We also offer a 3-week vacation, paid holidays and sick days as well as an opportunity to get relocated to our head office in the US in 6 months, if you demonstrate outstanding results and performance.

To become a Virtual Assistant, you need to finish the training program and get Virtual Assistants Certificate.
We do not have an interview - all applicants join the paid training program of one month. We pay 25 AUD per hour during training period, with 6 hours per day on full-time and 3 hours on part-time basis. Payment is processed once a month, or upon completing the full course (120 hours), with full coverage of expenses, if beared, by trainee. Each applicant will be trained and assisted by personal supervisor. After finishing the training period trainee receives Virtual Assistant’s Certificate and is able to work on permanent basis.

We have reviewed your resume and it fits our criteria. If you are ready to join the training program, please reply to my message and let me know if you want to go full-time or part-time and when you are available to start. I will forward you the employment documentation for review as well as answer your questions. Please note that neither our company, nor our affiliates require any entry fees, investments or other payments in order to ensure the employment.
--
Best regards,

Steve Miller
Human Resources Manager
Virtual-Helper.com


Is this also scam?

The domain is registered by hidden for two years, with over a year in the future. Hidden registrations and short registration terms are typical of scam sites. Usually they aren't registered for more than a year in the future, but this one looks scammy. It's loading slowly. I'll look around a bit. The domain is in the process of being reported for fraud.

ETA: Street address is in Chicago, Illinois; phone number is in Alabaster, Alabama.

ETA2: The grammar is not that of a native of Illinois, Alabama, or Australia. It looks like that of a Slav. Could you post the complete headers of the email so that we can check?

I fell for one of these. Anyone have a suggestion on how to get out of it? Should I ignore them or call them out?

thanks.
Scott

Ignore all further messages from the scammer, and post what he has sent so far, including email addresses and website URLs.