The best employment scam I've ever seen...

Ok, so here I sit, scammed, ticked off, and broke. These people almost deserve my applause for doing such a good job. Here's the initial email that I received after doing a legitimate job search:
Dear Applicant

The Human resources have just reviewed your resume due to the one posted on http://www.spotlight247.com . You are now scheduled for an interview with the hiring manager of the company. She is Mrs. Heidi Klum,you are required to setup a yahoo mail account(mail.yahoo.com) and a yahoo instant messenger (http://messenger.yahoo.com).After this process is done,you are to add up her yahoo id ([email protected]) to your yahoo buddy list for the interview.

Interview Date: Tomorrow 08/19/2010
Interview Venue: Online Via Yahoo IM(9am your time)

We have openings for Data Entry,Admin Assistant,Receptionist,AP/AR positions
The job duties include:
********************
Collecting of clients payments , processing/posting clients checks in account, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and other various clerical and accounting functions as needed and candidate must be computer literate
Compensation: $20 per hour
Working time: Mon-Fri 9am-2pm
Benefits include: Health Insurance, Dental,holidays and lunch off paid etc...
NOTE: Full time is position is open

Announcer: Mark Willington
Avila Solutions

The best employment scam I've ever seen...continued. I had my interview via yahoo messenger. Now, keep in mind that I am injured, awaiting a disability score and have never worked from home before, but I know people do it so I wasn't sure how it worked. After about 3 hours into the interview, and they asked very legitimate interview type questions: what r your strengths/weaknesses...etc. They even asked about doing direct deposit for my paycheck and to test them I replied that I would rather receive a paper check and then maybe later I could set up direct deposit. They replied that this was fine and the never flinched. Anyway, that's when they told me that since I was going to be entering data into their database i would need some software. This software would be shipped to me on a laptop and reimbursed in my first paycheck. Seemed reasonable. So I paid $250 via WU (now I realize the WU thing should have tipped me off). Later she said in the conversation that she forgot about some timekeeping software I would need. Since I was going to be an hourly employee, again, this made sense. I paid $300 via WU and the costs were to be reimbursed with my 1st check on the 20th. She told me to show up online Saturday to meet w/my direct supervisor. I did. Again, after a little while into the conversation, I was told I would need more software for my training and that again it would be reimbursed with my 1st check on the 20th. This went on for a few days. When I finally sat at home, waiting on my fed-ex delivery for an entire day that did not show, I questioned it. I was told, just be patient, it would be there. At 5pm when it wasn't I again questioned it. This was when the other shoe fell. I was told that it would take another $800. This is when I went ballistic. Needless to say, to cut this short, I am now out my last $1709, I have no job, no laptop and no hope. I called the FBI, the FTC, the attorney general's office where they are located, the media and even Judge Judy. No one is interested in helping me. And so you don't think I'm a total idiot, yes, I googled the company before I got started and their website seemed legit.

Welcome to ScamWarners. I'm really sorry to hear about what has happened to you. As you've already found out, there is almost nothing that law enforcement can do in these situations because the scammers hide behind the anonymity of the internet and often operate from countries where law enforcement coordination is next to impossible.
You mention that there is a website? Sometimes scammers will direct you to look at a legitimate website that they aren't affiliated with to try to make themselves look legitimate. Other times, they set up fake sites to try to appear legitimate. Please do post a link to the website so that we can take a look at it. If it is fraudulent we can get it shut down.
By the way, Heidi Klum is the name of a famous model. Had you tried to do a search for that name you'd have been buried in Google hits regarding the model.

The original email message you posted looks like the typical check processing scams we see. In those, the scammer will ask you to process checks through your own bank account. The checks are fraudulent and you end up responsible for any that you have processed. You're out any money that you send back to the scammer. The version of the scam you've described, with the scammer telling you to pay fees for a laptop and software is a different type than we usually see.

Please do be on the lookout for any checks mailed to you from this scammer. If you receive any, do not process them. They will be fraudulent and you'll get in trouble financially or even possibly legally for trying to bank them. Also be on the lookout for any other emails regarding this situation. Scammers will often target people they've already stolen from, using a new name and email address, and pose as an agency that can help you get your money back or get the scammer caught. It's a vile form of scam known as a recovery scam. Feel free to ask here regarding any suspicious emails you receive.

Thanks for taking the time to post and tell your story, the information may help others from losing money to this same scam.

the website is http://www.avilasoft.com; I sent a message via their contact us hoping that maybe someone was using a legitimate website for their illegitimate means, but I have received no reply. I also sent a letter to the address that was listed. But again, no reply. The Better Business Bureau had no complaints listed on the company, but I did find out later that the phone number that was posted was bogus. I have since found a real cell phone number for the owner of the website url. Thanks for your input.

Undoubtedly a scam site.

Domain name: avilasoft.com

Registrant Contact:
AvilA Solutions
Avila Solutions ()

Fax:
1 Kessler Farm Dr.
Nashua, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03063
US

Administrative Contact:
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy ()
+1.1
Fax: +1.54
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy, DOMAIN PRIVACY Domain Privacy
DO

Technical Contact:
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy ()
+1.1
Fax: +1.54
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy, DOMAIN PRIVACY Domain Privacy
DO

Status: Active

Name Servers:
ns1.pipedns.com
ns2.pipedns.com

Creation date: 29 Aug 2009 17:11:35
Expiration date: 29 Aug 2011 17:11:00
Website Title:
Avila Solutions: Consulting l Outsourcing
Title Relevancy
80%
Meta Description:
AvilA Solutions is in Consulting, Outsourcing, Technology, Strategic Staffing, and software Services.
Relevancy:
100% relevant.
Meta Keywords:
software consulting, developer, programmer, development, it outsourcing, avilasoft, strategic staffing, staffing solutions, software services, hiring, consultancy, contracting, 90 10 billing, h1b jobs, corp-corp, h1b employer, sponsor, staffing service, h1b transfer, green card, java, j2ee, net, erp, qa, oracle, developer, sql, unix, testing, sap, programmer, dba, dbm, corp, usa jobs
Relevancy:
13% relevant
SEO Score:
87%
Terms:
291 (Unique: 165, Linked: 72)
Images:
1 (Alt tags missing: 1)
Links:
20 (Internal: 20, Outbound: 0)
Similar Domains:
A Vilar | Avila S Garden Art | Avila Stem | Avila Quimica | Avila Retail | Avila Products | Avila Retirement | Avila Surfboards | Avila Sistemas | Avilaria | Avi Larch | Avila Solucoes | Avila Tampa | Avila Tec
AboutUs:
Wiki article on Avilasoft.com
Alexa Trend/Rank:
#5,476,060: for the last three months.
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click to view seo text browser



ICANN Registrar:
ENOM, INC.
Created:
2009-08-29
Expires:
2011-08-29
Updated:
2010-08-30
Registrar Status:
ok
Name Server:
NS1.PIPEDNS.COM (has 398,403 domains)
NS2.PIPEDNS.COM (has 398,403 domains)
Whois Server:
whois.enom.com
General TLDs:
AvilaSoft.comavilasoft.com whois (registered and active website)
AvilaSoft.netavilasoft.net whois (registered and active website)
AvilaSoft.orgbuy avilasoft.org (never registered before)
AvilaSoft.bizbuy avilasoft.biz (never registered before)
AvilaSoft.infobuy avilasoft.info (never registered before)
AvilaSoft.usbuy avilasoft.us (never registered before)
Server Type:
Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.15 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635
IP Address:
69.175.12.226 Reverse-IP | Ping | DNS Lookup| Traceroute
IP Location:
United States - Illinois - Chicago - Singlehop Inc
Response Code:
200
Domain Status:
Registered And Active Website
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Undoubtedly a scam site.

Domain name: avilasoft.com

Registrant Contact:
AvilA Solutions
Avila Solutions ()

Fax:
1 Kessler Farm Dr.
Nashua, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03063
US

Administrative Contact:
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy ()
+1.1
Fax: +1.54
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy, DOMAIN PRIVACY Domain Privacy
DO

Technical Contact:
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy ()
+1.1
Fax: +1.54
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy
Domain Privacy, DOMAIN PRIVACY Domain Privacy
DO

Status: Active

Name Servers:
ns1.pipedns.com
ns2.pipedns.com

Creation date: 29 Aug 2009 17:11:35
Expiration date: 29 Aug 2011 17:11:00

It must be scam, but I am 100% sure Avila Solutions no where related to this.
Please be sure that http://www.avilasoft.com is legitimate website. In Avila Solutions 25 people are working and they are providing consulting services.
Thanks,
Aarti

What's interesting is that I have sent an email twice to the contact us portion of avila's website, hoping that someone was using their good name and I have received no response. I would think they would want to defend themselves.

Can you post the headers of the emails you received from the supposed Avila rep?

I am starting to think that Avila Solutions is a scam. I applied for a job with Sterling Visa on 8/5/'10. I had to apply on www.spotlight247.com I got an e-mail that very, same night. I was told that I would be having an online interview with Heidi Klum. It was going to be on 8/6/'10, at 9:00 a.m. my time.

I had the online interview, thinking that it was the Sterling Visa employer. I passed the interview, and was hired on the spot.

Heidi chatted with me on 8/9/'10. She said that I would have to pay for the software. It would cost $273. I had to use www.westernunion.com The total cost of that was $300.

Heidi asked me the next day, if I have a time tracker. The answer was no. I asked how much that would cost. It would cost $300. My father gave me the money. I couldn't use the Walmart Moneycard for www.westernunion.com Dad had given me another $300. I paid for it on 9/2/'10. Cominique Jones drove from New York, NY to deliver the laptop. Heidi told me that Dominique Jones picked up the money. A few days later, Heidi asked me to resend the money. Dominique didn't have the money that I sent. I used Money Gram at Walmart. I called Walmart. Since I sent the money to New York, NY; it could only be picked up in New York. Heidi had me resend it to Faye McCurdy in New York. That transaction was $296.

I had to send more money after that, to have the laptop delivered. The shipping and handing for FedEx was $250. That transaction was $273.

Heidi told me that I would be receiving the laptop on 9/7/'10 at 5:00 p.m. I was supposed to be getting my $872.90 back too, including both ATM surcharges of $1.95 each. The laptop and money never came.

Avila Solutions has got to be a scam! Heidi kept telling me that Avila Solutions is not a scam. I asked her how many people work there. The answer was 43. I asked if they are all happy. The answer was yes. They are all happy and working. I asked if they were just as skeptical as I have been. The answer was yes, most of them were.

I was hoping to make good money. I guess I won't be. Nobody wants to hire me.

That's a terrible story gameshowaddict and I can't do anything to make your situation right regretfully.

It's why we exist, in the hope to reduce the numbers of people who suffer from the actions of these scammers, and why those of us who are members of 419eater are ruthless in our approach to them.

As you know now, it was all lies to get money off you and I understand that the damage goes much deeper than plain loss of money. You have to put it to the back of your mind and get on with life. I've had kidney cancer and life goes on, and there's no good reason to allow a cheap slimeball to cause you more pain by dwelling on it. You either let it grind you down, or decide to try harder with lessons learned. I'm not a life coach, and that's not our job, but the world is full of basta**s, and it's time well spent learning how to recognise them, and how to deal with them.

How did you find out what the cell phone number is? I contacted the Sheriff's Department, after I didn't receive my laptop or money at all on 9/7/'10. The deputy would like to be able to investigate further, if he could have a phone number to call.

removed email address so it can't be abused by spammers and scammers. The user can be contacted by pm. - dotti

The problem with trying to investigate scammers is that usually everything they say is a lie, so it's often impossible to track them down. What we need is copies of the e-mails and, importantly, the headers so we can see who and where the mails are coming from.

I have turned up some interesting information but I can't post it until I know it's connected to the scammer, otherwise it could be libellous.

Of course you must remove your personal information - such as name and e-mail address. I'll record what I've discovered so far but posting it publically before I know it's connected would be foolish and misleading.

When I chatted to Heidi Klum, I e-mailed the conversation to my regular e-mail address. I have them printed out. I sent a summarized letter and copies of the Money Gram receipts to Money Gram today. The bank told me not to mail the Yahoo IM conversations, unless Money Gram asks for them. The stack of papers is REALLY thick. I don't know if Money Gram will give a refund, or not. Refunds are usually processed within 30 days, after receiving a letter requesting a refund.

I don't have your e-mail address to forward that stuff to. I have the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Legal Action of my state, the bank, the Sheriff's Department, and my boyfriend's lawyer cousin all involved with this.

I found some interesting information, too. I Googled the Executive Chairman's name. He is Executive Chairman of Avila Therapeutics. I called the Sheriff's Department about it. I wanted him to find out if that Executive Chairman works for both companies. Avila Therapeutics has a number to call. The receptionist said that the two companies are not related to each other.