David Hunt/Richmond Art Group Scams

I woke up this morning to a job offer in my junk mail from 'David Hunt' and thought it wise to alert everyone to one more scam targeting job seekers using on-line job-search portals.

Subject: "RE: Financial Processing Agent needed - 1500 GBP/month"

"Dear

> To: *******@*****.co.uk
> Subject: Financial Processing Agent needed - 1500 GBP/month
> From: [email protected]
> Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 02:56:04 -0400
>
> Dear Miss ****** ******,
>
> We came across the CV that you have recently posted on totaljobs.co.uk. After initial review of your qualifications we feel that you might be a good fit for a position in our company. If you are interested in possessing of new expertise, starting a new career or simply receiving a better compensation, we would be pleased to take you on. Presently, we are seeking to feel a part-time position of Payment Processing Agent with Richmond Art Group Ltd
>
> We provide one month paid training period. During this period, you receive unlimited on-line training and support. A personal supervisor will be assigned to guide your training. At the end of the training period, the personal supervisor will make the final decision whether or not to extend a permanent offer. Your training is critical to your success, so please take it seriously, and with the same gravity that you would a physical training session.
>
> Your salary during the training period will be 1500 GBP per month plus 8% commission from each transaction. Total income, with the current volume of clients, will be about 3000 GBP per month. After the training period, your base salary will increase to 1800 GBP per month, plus 8% commission.
>
> My goal is to spark your interest. In the present economy, our position offers training, support and a pay scale comparable to entry level positions that normally would require a traditional 40 hour work week. I hope you will explore, compare, and then contact me with your questions.
>
> If you would like to learn more, please email us your updated contact information at [email protected]
> Our human resource managers will contact you within 2 business days.
>
> I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!
>
> Kind regards,
>
> David Hunt"
>

I received the same one
How do you know its a scam?

yeah i got that as well ......... these people build up the hopes of people who are in serious need of a job, they should be stopped ................

Welcome tinyfleur and zoaldan!

It's sad that they prey on people looking for work, but these scammers truly have no conscience and are incapable of empathy.

Zoaldan,

If you look around the forum, you will see dozens of virtually identical "job offers." Some of them seem pretty realistic, some even go as far as to hold "interviews" by chat and have potential "employees" take tests. Many of them pretend to be art galleries/companies.

The simple truth is, there is no such thing as a legitimate job as a work-at-home payment processing agent. We are living in a global economy. All of these jobs involve using an innocent individual to cash their fake checks or collect and distribute money received through fraud. All of them turn the "employee" into an accomplice to a crime, and could put the employee in jail.

If you really think about it, even if we didn't know what the intent was, these jobs simply don't make sense. The risk is simply too high. Why would a "company" trust their legitimately earned money in the hands of strangers who could simply take it and walk away? Why lose all that money in WU fees and "payroll" when there are plenty of services that allow international companies to receive payments from customers? Those services are less expensive and more reliable than paying an unknown individual to take money and forward it. Why would it cost less in taxes if they ran the money through a third party? It would still be income, unless they were trying to hide it from the tax authorities (which would put the "employee" in the middle of yet another crime.)

Hi Tonyfleur and Zoaldan,

To add to what's been said already, I've had my profile on totaljobs for the past 4 years, and usually you'd have a company call/send you a letter confirming that your profile is being assessed. And they'd ask you to log onto their genuine website to get more info or fill out a formal application form. Or at least that's how I got my present job.

I was almost suckered in this morning as I woke up and thought, Yippee! no more drudgery at my office, I am off to earn some decent bucks. Being a bit cautious by nature I decided to check the online reviews for the company, and it's rep: 'David Hunt' and 'Richmond Art Group', turned up nothing UK-based, the closest to that description is a gallery in Canada!

So I googled the job role 'payment processing watchamacallit' and stumbled upon this site. That's when I decided to post my email, as I realised it bears some similarity to most of the scams described here.
So here goes, I am back to a life of drudgery once more - and I count myself lucky I did not quit my day-job in a fit of insanity

Thank you for all your replies. Of course I thought about being a scam and I have looked on Google for the company (that's how I got to this website) and came empty handed. It certainly looks and behaves like a scam but I am wondering....what do they have to gain? They ask no money so the best that they can get is my name and my phone number (which can be found from job sites)...and all of us know that if they get to the stage of asking you money MOST of us will say f*ck off

While a couple of variants ask you for money up front, this type of scam typically doesn't--but it is actually much more dangerous than the type that does.

The way this scam generally proceeds:
-They will offer you the job.
-They will tell you that you are receiving payments from customers, usually by check (though there are variants involving bank transfer).

What will really happen:
-They will send you one or more actual checks. Your job will be to deposit the checks into your bank account (sometimes they will have you open a new bank account), wait for the checks to clear, then transfer most of the money to them, keeping a small percentage for yourself. Most often you will be physically withdrawing the money and sending it by Western Union.
-The checks you are sent will be fake. They may be good enough fakes (e.g. written using real bank account info that was phished) that the bank doesn't ID the fake right away.
-After 5 days, if the bank hasn't ID'd the fake, they will give you the cash because it is required by law, NOT because the check has cleared.
-a few days to a few weeks later, the check will finally be confirmed fake. The bank will come back after YOU for the money, as you deposited the check. They will take the full amount of the check from you, (it's perfectly legal for them to do this) plus they will charge you all kinds of fees for the bad deposit. If they want to take an extremely hard line, they will call the police, and have you arrested for fraud.
The scammer, who is safely in another country, has walked away with the money, leaving you in a heap of trouble.

There is another variant using transfers--i.e. you open account, they transfer money in that you either withdraw and send or transfer to another account. In the end this is the same scam. The money will either come from a phished account or from a victim of another scam. Again, once the scam is discovered, the trail will lead straight to you, and you will be accountable for the money, and for criminal charges (in this case money laundering).

In one other variant, you will actually have a job printing checks for them, supposedly for payroll or accounts payable. They will give you the details and have you print the checks and send them.
In reality, the checks will be fakes, the recipients victims, and once again, you will be in a position to be charged with a crime.

Thank you for your warning.
I received the same email titled from David Hunt with the subject line AMtotaljobs.co.uk Job Match onTue, March 22, 2011 12:48:10 from Richmond Art Group Ltd. Company today with just some little different details although i didn't make my profile get publicly viewed. The email is stated exactly as follows:

Dear (stated my user name on totaljobs website),

After reviewing your CV at the totaljobs website, we believe that you are a good fit for a Payment Processing Position in our company.

We are a large company headquartered in the UK. The main field of our business is bringing makers/ owners and buyers of art together, including the search of clients and matching the most impossible wishes and offers.

The position we are offering is part-time job, with a flexible schedule. You are to spend on average 2-3 hours a day (Monday-Friday) telecommuting from the comfort of your home.

NOTE: Internet access and e-mail are required.

Richmond Art Group Ltd covers all expenses--there is no need to invest your own money. This is not a MLM or pay-to-work position.

Once the employment contract is signed, you'll be employed a training period of one month. During this time frame, you'll receive all the necessary instructions and training from your supervisor. One week before the trial ends, your supervisor will be making his/her decision regarding whether your performance has been satisfactory enough to offer full time employment.

During the training period, you'll be paid 1500 GBP a month. In addition, you'll keep 8% from each money transfer processed. Total income, considering the current volume of clients, will be up to 3000 GBP per month. After you successfully pass the training period, base salary will be increased up to 1800 GBP per month.

If you are interested in this job offer or would like to learn more, please forward your updated contact information to: [email protected].


Regards,

David Hunt
Richmond Art Group Ltd Company

Yes, I have got the same email, even at the first look I suspect that there is something unclear like that I not posted my CV on "CVcentral.co.uk", and salary for student was to hight for only 2-3 hours of work.

Hi to all

I received this email this morning, which led me to a google search - and then this thread;


Hello Mr ------------,

We have received your lead from CV Central Staffing Agency (http://www.cvcentral.co.uk). Based on the information provided, we believe that you might be a good candidate for this part-time position.

Going to school? Stay at home parent? Unemployed? Need that extra income?

Richmond Art Group Ltd opened up 3 new positions that need to be filled immediately!

Health benefits, great pay and short hours are just a few of great benefits that come with this position.

If you’re interested in such an opportunity of high earnings, independence and full benefits, please reply to this message and our manager will e-mail you from our corporate e-mail address to discuss this employment opportunity in details.

To expedite the communication process, please fill in the required information below:

=======================FORM======================
Forename: _____________________
Surname:________________________
Country of residence:______________________
Contact phone:________________________
Preferred call time:_____________________
=======================FORM======================

Sincerely,

David Hunt
Richmond Art Group Ltd.

After reading all the above posts, I checked my spam and found this;


Good day,
I am Barrister David Hunt, a solicitor at law.
I am contacting you again to inform you about a dormant account
in a tune of Thirty Million Great British Pounds Sterling belonging
to my late client who shares similar surnames with you.

I was given an ultimatum from the Bank to provide a member of the
family,and I have written several letters to his embassy to locate
any member of his family but all efforts lost. I want to present you
as a surviving family member to enable you put a claim to the funds.

Please indicate your interest for more information by responding to my
private Email account: [email protected]


Regards,
David Hunt.


BEWARE!!

Welcome to ScamWarners zajjac and UnhappilyUnemployed, we are pleased that information posted here was helpful to you. Hearing your story helps others too. We appreciate you being part of our effort to warn and educate people about scams.

Yeap i just woke up to this 'Job Offer'! I generally believe that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is... My cynical side prevails it seems!
Here is a copy of the slightly different e-mail i recieved:


My name is David Hunt and I represent Richmond Art Group Ltd.

We have received your lead from CV Central Staffing Agency (www.cvcentral.co.uk). Based on the information provided, we believe that you might be a good candidate for this part-time position.

Richmond Art Group Ltd, a leading factoring company between original art buyers and sellers, is currently seeking out new employees to join our team.

We are searching for part-time independent agents nation-wide.

Here are the job requirements in brief:
Availability (online and on the phone) for 2-3 hours a day Mon-Fri
Confident PC user
24/7 Internet and e-mail access

To grab your attention, we offer:
- Salary: Monthly gross starting salary of GBP 2,300 - GBP 4,500 (Including base salary and percentage)
- Free training
- Benefits: Standard benefits for salaried-exempt employees, including health, dental, life and disability insurance

If you feel, you can meet our requirements; contact us with your updated contact information at [email protected].

To expedite the communication process, please fill in the required information below:

=======================FORM======================
Forename: _____________________
Surname:________________________
Country of residence:______________________
Contact phone:________________________
Preferred call time:_____________________
=======================FORM======================

Yours faithfully,

David Hunt
Richmond Art Group Ltd.

Bastards!!!

Welcome to Scamwarners.
That was clearly written by someone who has no idea of a reasonable starting salary for a part-time clerical job.