Admin Assitant/Personal Assistant Craislist scams

I have been doing some heavy duty job search and have subsequently received numerous scam replies. I am posting the ones i received in hopes of helping someone else avoid the mess they can cause. Sadly, I almost fell for the first one and thanks to this site I was saved. I even received the actual bogus check via FedEx and was amazed at the lengths these people will go to. Since I refused to participate, my account has been overloaded with other scams. Be smart and be safe!

SCAM #1:
Sunnikko Wireless Inc is seeking assistance with the "work from home initiative" to assist with accounting,typing, data entry and administrative duties online pending the establishment of our new outlets in California.

Our focus is on VOIP and other means of communication. We are dedicated to meeting the needs of independent providers around the world by leveraging today's most innovative technologies to deliver a full spectrum of high-quality services to the business community.

Duties and functions of this position.

1. Answer phone calls and take messages
2. Audit various forms of payment and payment slips for accuracy
3. Accurately input all cash received and disbursed for each day's transaction
4. Review and process travel expense vouchers for accountability and proper authorization
5. Assist in payroll

The salary is $19 per/hr .
Pay interval is weekly.
This is a full time and part time job. Overtime is 1.5 times pay.


CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES :

Your duties when work commences are to be provided by your supervisor which would be made known to you .You would be giving Logs and records of company transactions that are back dated and back logged to sort out and help to ascertain balance sheets and computer records of several invoicing and payments made in past transactions. These are the enormous logs that the company needs an extra hand for which made it necessary for the company to enable online employment with the ever growing needs.
The software you would be obtaining would entail the proper data entry and arrangements of records using alongside Microsoft Office, mostly Excel. This would help make it easier. After the logs have been processed by you, the end data would be passed on to your supervisor through the accounting software. Training on how to use the software would be made available to you after the equipments arrive..

Here is a brief questionnaire that would help us ascertain your skills and experiences.

EMAIL INTERVIEW PROCESS

There is a Training process online involved to brush up successful applicant before they can get started.The Company would like to inform you that the screening process would take a week or more, sometimes much more less but this is to give the Company enough time to ascertain the personality of each application. We would like you to kindly respond to the following Questions below to help us screen candidates.

Please answer them to the best of your knowledge:

* Have you ever worked Online with a Computer?
* What do you Understand by E-Business / Networking?
* Have you ever worked from Home?
* Tell Us why you feel you are the right person for this Job?
* Are you taking this as a primary Job?
* If you want to make this your secondary job?
( How many Hours does your primary Job Takes? )
* How Many Hours are you wiling to Devote to the Home Business Unit?
* Have you any experience in Online Business Ethics?
* Do you have an Internet Connection at Home/Printer/Fax/Scanner?
* What do you Understand by Privacy & Code of Conduct?
* Explain Petty Cash Transactions?
* Describe yourself?
*What are your personal goals?
*Can you work under pressure ?
*What is the toughest decision you have ever made ?
*What value can you add to this company?
* What is your Clerical Speed?
* Do you have knowledge on how to use the Spread Sheet, Excel and General Microsoft Office tools?
* What is your pay from your current or past Job?
* Are you willing to give your best shot at working Online?

We have a very fast and Responsive Human Resource Team that would quickly review your answers. The Board of Directors would review details for each applicant that has been approved for this job if found suitable for the position.

NOTE: Your lack of knowledge on Data Entry/Online Business Ethics/E-commerce/Bio- Data records is not a determining factor in this positions available. We have Training for every successful applicants.

I will be waiting for your detailed response so that we can move on to the next phase.


John Robinson
Head of Personnel Management
Resource for Online Staffs
Sunnikko Wireless

SCAM #2
Hello,

Thanks for applying for the post, I quite I appreciate it. I received and read your e-mail and it's reasonable and acceptable. So I will give this a go.

I'm looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable, someone with good understanding and working skills.


I am mr taylor, 54 yrs of age, I'm a lawyer by profession and I have been pretty successful in a handful of ventures I get involved in; from the Angel Investment Network in Canada and United State to various welfare and community service programs. I most very often get my hands occupied, so it is imperative for me to have a worthy assistant who can monitor and keep me up to date with my activities.

This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them. My only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so i need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings.


As my personal assistant, your activities among others will include:


*Create and modify documents using Microsoft Office
*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring.
*Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them.
*Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence while I'm away.
*Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf.
*Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities..
*Basic wage is $550 a week .




QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

*Good planning, communication and organization skills
*Must be honest, reliable & dependable
*Excellent verbal & written communication skills
*Must have strong problem solving skills
*Must be organized & extremely detail oriented
*Experience working with the internet, email, MS Excel and MS Word
*Ability to multi-task and self manage/24/7 mindset
*A willingness to do whatever needs to be done is a must


NOTE: The above qualification requirements can also be learnt if you are willing to take up the challenges.


I'm sure you'll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point as I am presently in germany for a summit. I will be back in Three Weeks time.


I think you're the right person for this post, Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules. It's a part-time, work from home basis and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others. So it's a little difficult judging the exact number of hours you'll be doing per week. If you can manage your time properly, this job may even give you some extra while you do something else on the side. As I have said, I'd want us to get a head start with things as soon as possible. I do have a pile up of work and a number of unattended chores which you can immediately assist me with. I hope we can meet up with the workload eventually. Permit me to use the coming week to test your efficiency and diligence towards all this, also to work out your time schedule and fit it to mine. I really need to find the perfect person for this job and i am confident you can take up the challenges. On the long run we should have a relatively sound working relationship between us.




I'm online most of the time as I am hard of hearing so I prefer we contact each other through E-mails but if there is need for me to call, I will be glad to do that. I am glad you are willing to work with me and i promise to be a good boss. I am also glad on the commitment in working. I have been checking my files and what i would want you to do for me next week is to run some errands out to some of the orphanage home which I do every month. The funds will be in form of Cashier check, it will be sent over to you from one of my clients and i have some list to email you once you received the funds. You will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the nearest store around you so you can mail them out. I will get you more information on that.




PLEASE FILL THE APPLICATION FORM BELOW:




First Name :
Middle Name:
Last Name:
Full Street Address(not PO BOX) :
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Cell Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Email Address:





Once I have received your application form, I will get back to you with the task for next week. Please understand that you will also be paid as well as its important for me to make the necessary steps before i get back from my business trip. I hope i am clear with that?



NOTE: This position is home-based and flexible part time job, you can be in any location, work from your home doing all the activities.



POSITION/AVAILABILITY:



Position Applied For_________________




How often do you check your email:______________




Specify the hours that you will be available if my schedule doesn't work with the hours i requested


Days/Hours You will be available:




Monday ____
Tuesday ____
Wednesday ____
Thursday ____
Friday ____
Saturday ____
Sunday ____



Hours Available: from _______ to ______



What date are you available to start work?________________



Please get back as soon as possible...

Mr taylor.

SCAM #3
Organization: Geneve Today Group

Detailed Job Description – Human Resources Assistant
The primary goal of the Human Resources Assistant is to provide local customer support to our clients within North America. This includes providing convenient payment options and informing them of shipping and the terms of sale.
You will be assisting our clients within North America, the assistance to be provided will include: payment collections and customer service via email.



Your duties will include:
- Collecting Local Payments
When a buyer in the US decides to purchase an item through an online auction from our sellers he has the following payment options: pay pal, international wire transfer, international check, local certified check or local wire transfer. The quickest option of these is local wire transferring. Local wire transfers and certified checks are the options that the sales support representative will provide to the clients.



- Managing Data
Along with the payments received from buyers you will be receiving details for these sales. These details will include items sold, price, and buyer's information. You are to file and maintain these purchasing records and transactions.



- Forwarding of the Payments
Once you receive each payment you will be keeping 5% as commission and forwarding the rest to the seller or representative, whose information will be provided prior each transaction. It is crucial to complete forwarding of the payments in a time efficient manner.



- Correspondence
You will be submitting brief reports, weekly reports, and monthly reports. Weekly and monthly reports are to be done in Excel format and are to summarize all transactions completed within the week, or month.


Here is an example of a brief report:
Date: August 2, '09
Buyer: John R. Smith
Item: Jowissa Men's Watch
Price: $ 1,921.27
Commission 5%: $ 96
Fees: $ 75
Total Forwarded: $1750.27
Forwarded to: Sean Davids,Whitefield ,United Kingdom
Reference Numbers: 23497839


- Fees, and Transferring Procedures
All fees are covered by the company. The fees for transferring are simply deducted from the payments received. No client will contact you during initial stage of the trial period. After three weeks of the trial period you will begin to have contact with the buyers via email in regards to collection of the payments. For the first three weeks you will simply receive all of the transferring details, and payments, along with step by step guidance from your supervisor. You will be forwarding the received payments through wire service.



-Salary
During the trial period, you will be paid 1,800USD per month while working on average 3hours per day, Monday-Friday, plus 5% commission from every payment received and forwarded. After the trial period your base pay salary will go up to 2,400USD per month, plus 5% commission.




-Taxes
You will receive a monthly invoice stating your total income. All applicable taxes are covered by the company.



TO APPLY:

Kindly fill out your personal information below and send to this email ([email protected]) for immediate consideration of this position so you can get started as soon as possible



FULL NAMES:
ADDRESS: (Include Apt # If Available)
CITY,STATE,ZIP CODE:
HOME PHONE #:
MOBILE PHONE#:
EMAIL ADDRESS:




NOTE: ALL YOUR INFORMATION SHOULD BE SENT TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] (ATTN: Samuel Strartford)


The employee,acknowledged the Trial and Detailed Job Description
and signed _______________
(First Name and Last Name of Employee)

SCAM #4
Good morning ,How are you doing and how are your family members ? Very well this is to update you that the payment to begin your first assignment and also for your first week*s pay has been mailed out to you.You will be recieving the check this morning. Below is the tracking number and the amount on the check ....


Tracking Number : 793454162270
Amount ; $2850
website: http://www.fedex.com
INSTRUCTIONS TO FOLLOW.
*************************
Once you receive the check,First of all i want you to head right away to the bank ,Have it cashed,Deduct your first weeks pay which is $500, Deduct Extra $100 as petty cash for the office and proceed to the nearest western union outlet around you to make payment for my painting shoppings.
Total deduction: $600
Balance to send ; $2,100


Below is details of my client who i am purcashing my latest paintings from. Once you have made the payment at the western union office ,you will then email me the details of the transaction via email and then i can contact my client with the details so she can mail the pkg to you and you can have it on Monday.

SELLER*S WESTERN UNION DETAILS
*******************************
Name.. Andre Tarkington
Address.. 3102 Emerson Drive
City.. San Francisco
State... CA
Zip code.. 94193
EMAIL ME BACK THE FOLLOWING WHEN DONE:
****************************************
MTCN number(10 digits):
Amount sent:
Sending charges:
Sender Name:
Sender Address:

Thats basically all needed to do to complete your first assignment.Very simple instructions.


Will be expecting to read from you this afternoon with details of payment from western union .
Good luck with your first assignment.


Regards.



Mr Ben Gate
This Ben Gates actually gave me a phone number! (707)693-4407


As you can see these people are everywhere (yet not in the country at the moment, lol). I have compiled a long list of names and emails but the one thing I have found is they ALWAYS have poor grammar and/or misspelled words this indicates to me a sketchy understanding of English.

Hi Geekusa

Welcome to Scamwarners

Thank you for posting these scam emails, it does help to prevent many people from being scammed.

One request for any more that you post, could you please post each new scammer in a new thread, it makes it much easier for victims to find the information they are looking for and it makes it easier for us to help them.

If you have any questions, please ask

Hi. I just received a check for $4800 by mail by someone who send me an email about their payment personnel position. I'm pretty sure it's a scam, but I don't know what to do with the check. Should I send it back?

Hi mgsoriano,

I'm certain it is a scam, there are no legitimate jobs asking you to process checks through your own account. Don't bother to send the check back to the scammer. You can just tear it up or mark it as fraudulent and turn it over to law enforcement (though they may not be very interested).
There is a slight chance that the check will be written on a stolen account, if you'd like to contact the paying bank and notify them that would save the true account holder from further headache if this is the case.

I'm glad you spotted the scam, please read the information on check scams and employment scams here on the forum and let us know if you have questions.

Thanks! I really do appreciate the help. The names on the emails are Samuel Strartford(samukwu@genevetoday) and Thomas Wood ([email protected]). Hope it helps someone else.

Whoa!!!
almost fell into scam#3!!
anyway, can anyone tell me how do they "scam" if u worked for them

Local wire transfers and certified checks are the options that the sales support representative will provide to the clients.

You will receive certified checks from so-called customers. Your job is to deposit it into your bank, wait for it to clear, then withdraw and transfer money to the scammers.

The problem is that the checks are fake. They will be good enough that the bank doesn't immediately recognize the fact. In 5 days, if they haven't discovered the fake, the bank will issue the cash, you will take out the money and send to your "boss." What you may not know is that later, when they realize the checks fake, your bank legally can take the money back out of your account, and charge you for any bounced checks as a result, hit you with additional fees for the bad check, and even report you to local police to be charged with check fraud.

Occasionally, the scammer will have you receive money transfers from WU or moneygram. In this case, the money will be real, but it will come from victims of another scam, who generally think they are buying something, making a deposit on a rental, or donating to a charity. When the victim doesn't receive the item or discovers they don't have a home, the police will be contacted, and all trails will lead straight to one person--you--and again, you could be on the hot seat for criminal charges.

Thank god I found their email is fishy, so I tried to research about the company and nothing was found, also the email domain, that's how I found here. Thanks!!

Hey everyone,

I am really glad that I googled before I replied to the email. Here's another name to add to the list of the same scammer. Brian Alexander. I received the following email this morning and it seemed a little fishy. I didn't think an employer would simply email back without any sort of follow up phone call. Then when I looked up bits of the email itself, I found you guys. I think it's awful that scammers prey on people who are simply looking for a job. I just graduated from college and really do not have time to be scammed. I'm just really glad there are websites like this one which warn you.

Hello,
I got your resume and it has been reviewed and i did appreciate it,so I will give this a GO!
I'm looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable to work very well and with good understanding.
This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them,my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings.As my Personal Assistant,your activities amongst other things will include;
*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring. Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them.Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence while I'm away.Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf.Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities..
Basic wage is $400 Weekly

I'm sure you'll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point,as I am presently in Canada and i will be back in Three Weeks time.
I think you're 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's a part-time work from home and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others,so it's a little difficult judging the exact number of hours you'll be doing per week.If you can manage your time properly,this job may even give you some extras while you do something else on the side.As I have said, I'd want us to get a head START with things as soon as possible.I do have lots of works piled up presently and a number of unattended chores which you can immediately assist me with,I hope we can meet up with the workload eventually. Permit me to use this week to test your efficiency and diligence towards all this, also to work out your time schedule and fit it to mine.I really need to find the perfect person for this job, I'm confident you can take up the challenge and on the long run we should have a relatively sound working relationship between us. I'm online most of the time as I am hard of hearing so I prefer we contact each other through E-mails,but if there is need for me to call, I will be glad to do that.I am glad you are willing to work with me and i promise to be a good boss. I am also glad on the commitment in working.I have been checking my files and what i would want you to do for me this week is to run some errands out to some of the orphanage home, I do that every month.A payment in form of a Cashier Check/Money Order 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 so you can mail them out. I will get you more information on that,I will like you to fill the requirements below:

All Filled requirements should be forwarded to my personal email address which is ([email protected])

Full Names:
Mailing Address(P.O Box not accepted):
Apt Number if available:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Home Phone Number:
Cell Number:
Email Address:

The employee,acknowledged the Detailed Job Description
and signed _______________
(First Name and Last Name of Employee)

Once again,all Filled requirements should be forwarded to my personal email address which is ([email protected])

Once I have received your contact information, I will get back to you with the task for this week,Understand you will also be paid as well as its important for me to make the necessary steps before i get back from my business trip back to the states.Hope I am clear with that.

Get back as soon as possible.

Regards,
Brian Alexander

Hi deltazeelady, welcome to Scamwarners.

I am glad that we were able to help you to find teh truth about the email you received.

Thank you for posting it, by doing so you will help others to avoid being scammed

You seem to have things under control but if you have any questions please feel free to ask

Hi,

I too have recently been the recipient of a 'scamming' employment parasite. I have been applying for jobs on Craigslist and thought this email was a legitimate response to one of the ads I sent my CV and covering letter to. Unfortunately I know realize it is just another scam. I did respond to the email with some of my details but no financial info so I'm pretty sure I will be ok. I will include the first and second emails here so that future people will not be scammed. It is also interesting to note that this scammer is 'evolving' his/her jargon.

to XXXX XXXXXXX <[email protected]>
date Sat, Oct 9, 2010 at 2:49 PM
subject Re: Craigslist: Administrative/Executive Assistant
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com


Hi,
My name is Scott Garner, I am an attorney and been practicing for 30 years now. I am 54 years old with three kids and happily married but wife is died. I am in dare need of a personal assistant that can
handle my official and personal needs when I am not around. The job is on part time basis and it may turn around to be a full time one in the future if the need be. I travel a lot because of my kind of work, interaction with some international organization and my position in the field because I am an international lawyer and I have a license to practice in just Four states
in the Canada. I am presently in Europe for a three weeks summit and will need some work done before getting back. Your work details are as follows:

* Printing and sending out mails for me.
* Help make hotel or flight reservation while I provide all my personal and delicate information to secure booking.
* Handling and monitoring some of my administrative files and financial activities.
* Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring.
* Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence when I'm away.

I hope you understand the job details very well and some shall be discussed in full as soon as we move on. The most important thing is trust and proper accountability, which I believe it will resolve itself as time goes on. The basic wage again is $500 weekly and I want you to understand that paying this kind of wage means you need to do my work or the duties assigned to you perfectly.. I hope you will be a very good and commendable personal
assistant that I can trust because my work may come in at anytime . For documentation and confirmation with regardless of the information on your resume, I will need you to provide me with the information below:

First Name.................
Last Name...................
Physical Address ............
City....................
State.....................
Zip Code.................
Cell phone number.............
Home Phone number.............
Present occupation.............
Age............................
Email Address...................
Do you have full office equipment ?


I believe you have accepted the job offer as soon as I receive this information from you and I will also put you through a week trial assignment to determine your work rate and efficiency in carrying out duties. You shall help with buying and mailings of some basic children needs to some foster home. I do this once every month and will want you to handle that for me
this time around. You shall be sent funds to purchase all these items and also be paid for the trial week, I can also give you some other duties to do apart from that during the trial week. I hope I have been able to express in details all the things involved . Thanks and waiting for your response.

Cheers
Scott Garner Esq.

Hi Scambust3r and welcome here. I'm sorry to hear you were targeted but glad you caught on so quickly. You're right, if you just stop contact and the info on you is that which a scammer could probably find publically, you should be safe.

Can you please include the email address the scammer is sending this from? Also, this is a separate scammer than earlier in the topic so after you're done posting the info, I'll split this off onto a new thread of its own. Thanks for taking the time to post the info here. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Edit: Nevermind about the split, I see now that this topic has several scammers listed on it.

Wow! You mean I am not working for Scott Garner?! Thanks Scambust3r for sharing - he does't even change his format or content. Call me mean, but I am seeing how far he will take this scam.

FYI: [email protected] ~ or ~ [email protected]

I have been in contact - he does not respond very quickly. I have done one minor task for him. No, no payment forthcoming. I ensure I have control when working online (use PayPal - don't give out personal info that can't be found online, etc). I am upfront and ppl can find me - don't let these scammers hide!!

So... as of today, our lawyer Scott Garner has changed professions. I emailed, requesting to complete the task assigned earlier and he replied with another job offer:

"Hi -----,
How are you today? I just want to introduce you to a job if you don't mind, I am a Certified Payroll Specialist (CPS), I use to encounter a lot of stress when going about my daily payroll activities because I also work as a chartered payroll specialist for many companies. ..."

He must be a very busy person!

To note - also watch for the name Brian Hedenberg (at gmail and hotmail) he's getting into the same business!

Welcome WeNeedScamwarners - nice name

If you play with scammers, then that's dealt with at 419eater, and no problem with that - I do it too, but it's got a risk if the scammer has your real life details. If you do it well he may retaliate. They can't usually do anything terrible, but if you take a few easy precautions you can torment scammers until their brains fry without them being able to trouble you at all.

I only say that because you mention taking it beyond the point you know it's a scam. The cheque counterfeiters get mean if they send you fake cheques as it costs them time and money and they can make threats which are laughable if your details are all fake. I've received death threats too which can be unsettling if they know where you live.

I've had mailboxes mail bombed by irate scammers but I never use my main ones to deal with them.