Allen Engineering Belarus job opportunity

Last week I received an email from the following fake email address [email protected] with a great job offer, that was a good deal for me. After read it carefully I understood was a scam because the form and the fake manager behavior was really suspected. Although my doubt I went ahead with the instructions he sent me, I filled the company application form, I did the skype interview with the fake manager and finally I signed the contract.
After that he asked me to provide for mu accommodation just for the first three months probationary period then I will be able to move in the company residential quarter, so he suggested a fake apartment rental service to provide to my accommodation as a proof for my permanence in Belarus for the visa work papers.
When I contacted the apt rental service they asked me to make a payment through the Western Union Money Transfer and when I did not do that I sent to the fake manager another reservation I made in a hotel, but obviously the hotel reservation did not guarantee a proof for the Belarus Visa system so he pushed me to go back to the apartment rental service he suggested to me.
Everything happened just in 10 days and I have been waiting for their money request to post my advise to avoid to somebody else will waste his time with the fake job offer.

I have attached for you the email with the fake manager:

RE: Application for Engineers
USA Application
x
Allen Engineering [email protected]

Jan 17

to me
Dear Alessandro,
We have gone through your resume and we want to bring to your knowledge that we are actually in need of workers of your type among other positions. After reading your resume, we are impressed with your qualification and experience.

Regarding the pay package, it will be as follows:

The initial pay will be 75 USD per hour of work and 8 hours of work per day; Monday to Friday, overtime during weekends.

The location of the projects is in Belarus, South Africa, Thailand and Cameroon. Also attached to the mail is an application form, kindly fill the application form and send back to us. If your application is accepted and we employ you, we will process your visa and work permit from this end. Also, your transportation fare will be covered by us. that's to say we will pay your flight from your current country of residence to where you will work. You will be on probation for three months during which we will pay your salary normally. When you confirm your acceptance of our job offer (by filling the application form attached to this email) we will also send the contract form which you will read through and sign indicating acceptance of the terms and conditions.

When that is done, you will give us a copy of your passport, and proof of accommodation so that we will process your visa with ease from this end. When that is done and everything ready, we will pay your air ticket so that you can come and start work without any delays. So when you submit your application form and sign a contract with us, we will direct you to an apartment rental service here where you will make your reservation and obtain proof of accommodation from them and send to us to help us apply for your work visa.

NB: We shall conduct a skype interview for final decision.

During these three months of probation, you will take care of your accommodation/housing expenses. After this probationary period (of three months) if you provide satisfactory services, you will then sign a long term employment contract with us and we will provide accommodation for you in our company residential quarters where we accommodate all our permanent staff. This accommodation at our company residential quarters will then come to you free of charge. You will then pay only for your bills (electricity, water, and phone). Internet services for all staff residing at our company residential quarters are free of charge. We have a few apartment rental agencies around us which we always recommend strongly for all our employees, where they can get their accommodation during the three months probationary period.We always recommend these because they are of good standards, very safe/secure and at the same time, moderately priced.

If you finally take full time employment with us, upon completion of this initial construction phase of the project, you will either remain any of the mentioned countries or you will be sent to one of our offices either in Other European countries as the need may be. Please bear in mind that if you are taken for this job, we will expect you to report for the job without any avoidable delay.

Now, take time and go through the application form (attached to this email), by filling and sending the application form to us as soon as you can. Respond as soon as possible, letting us know your stand point regarding this job. Then if necessary, We will sign and send a contract form for you, making you a worker for our company, and your salary start counting from your start date.

The management
Thomas Nutterfield
Allen Engineering
Site : http://www.allenec.com
Belarus Branch Office
[Word]
me

Jan 20

to Allen

Dear Thomas,

thank you for your email and for the opportunity you are giving to me.

I am really interested in the Engineer position and I have attached the application form for you.

I am a 12 years experienced engineer and I have a great education. I am very motivated to work and to grow up with your company. In my over decade of experience I have further developed my attitude to solve and sometimes to anticipate the project problems under pressure.

I have planned to relocate myself in the States and I am looking for a position that will utilize my vast knowledge and experience obtained over a decade of intense work, in the areas of civil and environmental engineering, working in a multidisciplinary environment that will allow me to utilize my existing skill set as a designer, manager, and construction supervisor on hydraulics, natural gas and transportation infrastructures while continuing to expand my knowledge in areas where I am less acquainted.

I like very much my current job and the life quality where I am working is very good. At the same time after 12 years of experience as an engineer and as project manager I need a great challenge for my professional growth and the opportunities offered in Italy at the moment are not as stimulating as I wish. Although my current job is satisfactory, I made this important decision because the achievements that I could find with your company are appealing to me. I am very hard working and I am flexible to work over time when the deadline is closing to fit the company needs. I have a strong communication skill.

I am available immediately to start working.

I would like to work in your company and I would be available to meet you in person or on skype, can you send me your contact number to schedule a time to talk about my qualifications and your job opportunities?



I am looking forward to hearing for you.



Best regards


2 Attachments
[PDF]
[Word]
Allen Engineering

Jan 20

to me
Dear Alessandro,
We received your filled application form with all necessary answers. We shall conduct a skype interview and only after the interview we shall tell if you will be joining the company. You can find and add us in skype and give us a schedule when to conduct the skype interview.

Skype ID; Allenengineering11
Country: Belarus

Also send us your Skype ID and , state/city. We look forward speaking with you.

The management
Thomas Nutterfield
Allen Engineering
Site : http://www.allenec.com
Belarus Branch Office



Allen Engineering
[email protected]
me

Jan 20

to info, Allen
Dear Thomas,
thank you for your email and for your availability.
Today and Tuesday I will be travel around, I will be available to arrange the interview on skype Wednesday around 12 PM (Italian time zone), does it work for you?
Can you send me further information about the position by email, please?Can I check on the Allen Engineering website or on the Nyaro contractors website?

I am looking forward to hearing back for you.

Best Regards


Allen Engineering

Jan 20

to me
Dear Alessandro,
We shall conduct your skype interview on the mentioned date and time. You should check the Allen Engineering website.

Regarding your job description, you shall face the following tasks;

Description: Project Engineer

Project Engineer : Completes engineering projects by organizing and controlling project elements.

-Develops project objectives by reviewing project proposals and plans; conferring with management.

-Determines project responsibilities by identifying project phases and elements, assigning personnel to phases and elements, reviewing bids from contractors.

-Determines project specifications by studying product design, customer requirements, and performance standards, completing technical studies, preparing cost estimates.

-Confirms product performance by designing and conducting tests.

-Determines project schedule by studying project plan and specifications, calculating time requirements, sequencing project elements.

-Maintains project schedule by monitoring project progress, coordinating activities; resolving problems.

-Controls project plan by reviewing design, specifications, and plan and schedule changes; recommending actions.

-Controls project costs by approving expenditures, administering contractor contracts.

-Prepares project status reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends; recommending actions.

-Maintains safe and clean working environment by enforcing procedures, rules, and regulations.

-Maintains project data base by writing computer programs, entering and backing up data.


We look forward talking to you.


The management
Thomas Nutterfield
Allen Engineering
Site : http://www.allenec.com
Belarus Branch Office
me

Jan 21 (13 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,
Thank you for your email and for your cooperation.
I have checked in Allen Engineering website and I have not found any opening position.
Can you send me the position link, please? So I could apply for the Project Engineer on your web site and I could check further information about the job duties

I signed in your web site and I filled my profile information putting my skipe account information for you.

I am looking forward to hearing back for you.

Best Regards


Allen Engineering

Jan 21 (13 days ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
Accept greeting from Allen Engineering, first you have to learn to follow instructions, Allen Engineering is a merging company, working in collaboration with other companies with projects. If you clearly read the advert details online then you will not asked such question. We expect you to find and add us in skype, we shall proceed from there when we get the skype details.

me

Jan 22 (12 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

Thank you for your email and for your greeting.

I was just checking as our better convenience for which office in the mentioned countries my profile matches better your requirement.

Can we reschedule our skype interview for tomorrow Thursday 01.22 at 12 PM (Italian Time Zone)? Does it work for you?

I will contact you in skype tomorrow a few minutes before our scheduled time.

I am looking forward to hearing back for you.

Best Regards

Allen Engineering

Jan 23 (11 days ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
We shall schedule our skype interview as you ealier mentioned. As i told you before, find and add us in skype. So make sure you're there and on time.

me
Jan 23 (11 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

I requested your skype contact 1 hour ago and I have been waiting for your call since 12 PM as earlier mentioned.

Let me know when you will be available for our interview.

I am looking forward to hearing for you.

Best Regards

me

Jan 23 (11 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

I have just found your skype call, when you contacted me I was not online.

Let me know when we could reschedule our interview.

I am looking forward to hearing for you.

Best Regards

Allen Engineering

Jan 25 (9 days ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
We shall conduct your skype interview same time as you earlier mention on Monday 27th.

me

Jan 25 (9 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

For monday 27th at 12 PM (Italian Zone Time) works perfectly for me.

Best Regards

Allen Engineering

Jan 28 (6 days ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,

After the preview of your CV/Resume, Interview and application details, we have considered your application and accepted it. I am thus pleased to inform you that we have decided to give you the job. So please find attached to this email your contract of employment which you need to print out, sign and send back to us, indicating acceptance of the terms and conditions. You will be working at the projects in Belarus.

We will also like you to send a clear scanned copy of your passport, with any supporting documents that will facilitate us securing a visa for you to come and start your work on the start date that we have put for you, as per your contract. As such, when we receive the employment contract signed by you, and your passport copy and any supporting document, we will send your visa application to the immigration department with immediate effect. We will expect you to arrive here around 2 days (or at least 24 hours) before your start date so that you can get properly settled in and ready for work. So you should understand that time is of the essence. Get back to us with the signed employment contract, and your passport and we will go from there. Have a good time and we hope to read from you as soon as you can.



The management
Thomas Nutterfield
Allen Engineering
Site : http://www.allenec.com
Belarus Branch Office
[Word]

me
Jan 28 (6 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

Thank you for your email and for the opportunity you are giving me.

I have read the contract and after signed I will send it back this afternoon with a scan copy of my passport.

I would like to ask some questions for you to allow me to better understand our agreement:

- Can you give me the exact office location in Belarus and the staff residential quarters?
- How much is the tax amount in Belarus for my expected salary?
- Shall I open a bank account in Belarus or can you provide to transfer the weekly payment to my Italian or American bank account?
- How you have earlier mentioned do you provide to pay my flight from my current country of residence to the office location?
- During the paid holiday do you provide to pay my flight from Belarus to my country?

I hope to hearing back for you as soon as you can so I could arrange my relocation in the best possible way.

Best Regards

Allen Engineering

Jan 29 (5 days ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
To answer your questions, there is nothing like staff residential quarters for probation workers, in one of our previous message you're responsible for your accommodation only after the probation period we shall give you apartment. Tax reduction is 5%, the money can be transfer to your American/ Italian bank.

We shall pay your flight to come begin your work we don't pay for your flight during holiday's.

me

Jan 29 (5 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

Thank you for your email and for your availability.

Can you answer to my further question I have earlier asked about the exactly office location, please?

I have already known I ought to provide to my own accommodation and I would like to know where is the office to find one that fits my needs.

I hope to hearing back from you as soon as you can.

Best Regards

Allen Engineering Jan 30 (4 days ago)
Dear Alessandro, We have steps to follow and we shall let you know the variou...

me
Jan 30 (4 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

Thank you for your information but something was wrong.

I have just tried to find the location with the address you sent me to looking for an hotel in the area but the search did not match any location, then I have tried to contact you by phone and by Linkedin to have further information but I guess the number you gave me does not exist and, with an unexpected surprise, I did not find you, an Allen Engineering Manager, in the Linkedin connection.

When I will receive some clarification I will send you the signed contract and a scan copy of my passport and we shall proceed.

I am looking forward to hearing for you.

Best Regards,

Allen Engineering

Jan 30 (4 days ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
Like i said before, we have steps to follow and nobody asked you to look for hotel or what so ever, you need to include dialing code , that's the right location i gave you and if you can't follow the steps as other workers don't border sending the contract form we shall replace you with someone else, learn to follow instructions. You have our website and you can read more further, i don't need to give further instructions to someone that can't follow simple instruction.

me

Jan 31 (3 days ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,
If I have to pay for my own accommodation I do not need that somebody else tell me to looking for a hotel, usually I provide by myself, so I need to know the exact office location.
Here you are the contract form signed and the scan copy of my passport.
After that I will wait for further instructions, for my visa and for my flight ticket to join you next week.
2 Attachments
[PDF]
[PDF]
Allen Engineering

10:32 AM (4 hours ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
We received your passport & signed contract, we did not request for hotel reservation, i said proof of apartment reservation as the Belarus embassy is requesting for the proof before they can issue visa. We shall prepare the file for your visa application and deposit the visa application at the immigration department, but before depositing your documents you will need to get your proof of accommodation so that our immigration will issue your visa.

When we provide them with the required documents, they will process your visa and I will send it to you as soon as it is ready with flight ticket. Then as soon as you arrive at the airport, your actual visa will be stamped on your passport by the immigration authority at the airport. Our staff who will welcome you at the airport will guide you through the process. In order for the immigration department to issue the visa, they require proof of accommodation which should be valid for 3 months, considering the fact that you will be awarded accommodation in our company residential quarters only after the three (3) months probation period.

We promised (in previous mails with you) to refer you to an apartment rental service where you can arrange for your accommodation and obtain a proof of accommodation from them. Their details is


Email : [email protected]

Contact #: +375 3367902893

Try to contact them to make arrangements for your accommodation. When you contact them, do not fail to mention that you need 3 months proof of accommodation because you are coming to work with us. When you finalize all your arrangements with them and get the proof of accommodation, send it to us immediately so that we can forward it to the immigration department and obtain your visa. You should also send your passport photos so that we will prepare your employee ID and send to you. You will need to print the employee ID and have it on as you arrive at the airport here because that is how our staff who will be there to welcome you will identify you. When you get there, they will give you the actual hard copy which you will have to keep with care.

Please do the needful and get back to us as soon as possible with the required documents as time is of great essence. I am waiting for the proof of accommodation.

me
1:32 PM (1 hour ago)

to Allen
Dear Thomas,

I did not find the arrangements with the apartment rental service, so I have booked in the Neman Hotel for 90 days.
I have attached for you the book confirmation.

I will wait for you further information about my flight ticket and my visa.
2 Attachments
[Image]
[PDF]
Allen Engineering

2:22 PM (39 minutes ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
I can't remember asking you to booked for hotel, like i said before in order for us to get your visa you need to follow instructions you're not the first to travel to Belarus, we have workers currently now in Belarus and they followed the same steps, the Belarus immigration does not regard hotel reservation as proof of accommodation, as they need to registered your apartment address in their system, the laws here are different and we have to follow them, i called Ndamukong apartment rentals to find out why you did not arrange with them and i was told you did not want to pay for the reservation fee they requested you to pay, if you can't make the deposited they asked you to pay and get the proof of accommodation then we can't proceed.



The management
Thomas Nutterfield
Allen Engineering
Site : http://www.allenec.com
Belarus Branch Office

Allen Engineering
[email protected]

I have also attached for you the email with the fake apartment rental service:


me

11:52 AM (3 hours ago)

to ndamukongapart.
Hello,

This is Alessandro Podda, I need an accommodation for three months in Belarus because I have to start working with Allen Engineering that is arranging my paper visa work, I need a 3 months accommodation proof to finish my visa inquiry.
Can you help me to do that?

Thank you

Ndamukong Apartment Rentals

12:04 PM (3 hours ago)

to me
Dear Sir/Madam
You are welcome to Ndamukong Apartment Rentals. we have cheap apartments ready for rent, but first you need to go to our website and choose the apartment that you want. When that is done, we will tell you the next step and what to do to get the apartment that you need. please you have to choose the apartment you want first and then get back to us so that we will tell you the formalities and what you have to do to occupy the apartment that you want.

Sincerely,
Concierge,
Ndamukong Apartment Rentals,
Site: http://www.ndamukongapartmentrentals.com






me
>
> Sent: 02/03/14 01:52 PM
>
> To: [email protected]
>
> Subject: Accommodation

me

12:13 PM (2 hours ago)

to Ndamukong
My choice is the apt 1001

me
12:14 PM (2 hours ago)

to Ndamukong
I sent my inquiry in your website
Ndamukong Apartment Rentals

12:20 PM (2 hours ago)

to me
Hello Sir/Madam
We can give you our apartment number (APT No ; NA 1001), as you desire. Please be informed that the rents for our apartment includes basic utilities like water, electricity, internet access, and local phone only. Also, our apartments are fully furnished. For us to be able to process your reservation, you will have to fill our rental application form (attached to this email) and make payment of your reservation fee. You will pay a reservation fee of $150. When you pay the reservation fee, we will issue your proof of reservation receipt and validate your reservation of the apartment until you get here. Be informed that the $150 reservation fee makes for part of your rents for the apartment. You will then pay the balance after you get here and occupy the apartment.

Now please, get back to us as soon as possible with the filled rental application form. Please bear in mind that the rental application form does not validate your reservation of your apartment, but your one month rent does as soon as we receive it. When you fill and return the rental application form, we will include your order in our database. Then we will give you the details necessary for payment. Once your payment is received, we will issue your reservation receipt and validate your reservation of your apartment with immediate effect. You should please note however, that even though we will validate your reservation of your apartment immediately upon receipt of your payment, we will start counting your duration of stay only from the day when you will check into the apartment. You should also note that if for some reason you cancel your travel plans, your money will be refunded completely. For now, get back to us completed rental application form and we will proceed from there.

Sincerely,
Concierge
[Word]

me
12:29 PM (2 hours ago)

to Ndamukong
I will be wait for further information.
[Word]
Ndamukong Apartment Rentals

12:37 PM (2 hours ago)

to me
Dear Sir,Madam
It is our utmost pleasure to read from you and also to get your filled reservation form, As we told you earlier, filling the reservation form, does not guarantee your booking, but your payment does. So what you are suppose to do now, is to make the payment for your reservation.

We are so thankful to you and we will keep the apartment clean and comfortable for you. All you need to do now is to copy our payment information below, go to the closest western union store in your area and carry out payment.

Direction of payment.


( 1 ) Just get a pen and a paper

( 2 ) Copy our payment details exactly as you see

( 3 ) Go to any Western Union money transfer

( 4 ) Tell them you want to make an international transfer

( 5 ) They will give you a money transfer senders form

( 6 ) You will have to fill in the form using our payment details

( 7 ) You will also have to fill in your own details as the sender of the money

( 8 ) When you are through with the filling of the form, pass it to the cashier in charge and the money will be transferred. once the money is transferred, he/she will give you a receipt.
( 9 ) You will have to email us with the details on the receipt.


Use these details for the payment through Western Union. When you are done with the payment, please send us a scanned copy of the Western union receipt.

Receiver's Names.....................................Timchia Basil
Address....................................Chervonoarmijska Street
City..........................................Grodno City
State......................................... Grodno
Country...................................Belarus
Zip Code...........................................220023

Amount....................................150 USD


As soon as you make payment we shall send your accommodation reservation. We will be waiting for your reaction as soon as possible so that we can also get back to you as soon as possible
Yours sincerely

The Conciege

me
12:52 PM (2 hours ago)

to Ndamukong
Thank you for your information,
for me is not possible to pay in advance in a Western Union Office.
I will do my payment in front desk at my arrive.

Can you send me the accommodation proof to get my visa?

I found another accommodation option in booking website that guarantee myself a payment for month at my arrive.
Ndamukong Apartment Rentals

1:50 PM (1 hour ago)

to me
Dear Sir/Madam,
We don't operate that way, if you can't make the deposit there is no way we can send you accommodation proof. This is apartmental rentals not hotel.


The Conciege
Ndamukong Apartment


I hope my post could be useful for somebody.

Thanks for your attention

Thanks for posting! allenec.com appears to be genuine, but the scammer used an address at aol.com.

The Allen Engineering web site is genuine and last week I contacted them to make myself sure about the position.
They answered me they do not hold any open position in the States and any office in Belarus and they do not know The fake manager Thomas Nutterfield.

Looks like an Advance Fee Fraud Employment Scam . { Accommodations Fee} . Can you post any email headers ? Edit out your own details if you do .

After the insistent manager request, finally i sent him the payment receipt:

Allen Engineering

2:29 PM (8 hours ago)

to me
Dear Alessandro,
I will contact Ndamukong apartment rentals to send us the proof of reservation so that we can proceed with your file, do make sure you send them the receipt as soon as you print it out. I will also like to know the name of your closest airport to that we can booked your flight ahead of time, and do tell us your departure date.


4:01 PM (6 hours ago)
me
to Ndamukong, Allen
I have attached for you the receipt you asked me to fit your position.
I hope it finally will be useful for you.


4:21 PM (6 hours ago)
me
to Allen, Ndamukong
That's funny, isn't it?

I'm pretty sure that scam is coming out of Cameroon . The M.O. matches . They had a few websites operating with the scam , the websites are now dead .



viewtopic.php?f=10&t=81595

Do you mean you actually sent money to a known scammer, or you sent a fake payment slip? Either way, if he has any real information about you, drop him.

I sent a fake confirmation number then they asked me the receipt because in the money gram office did not result any transfer for that number.....so as a receipt I sent him a .jpg file named Money gram receipt with the picture downloaded from the following link: http://imgur.com/gallery/ZGdNdQn
Sorry for that but I was disappointed with them and they wasted my time.

You should head on over to 419eater and learn how to waste their time more .

^I agree. http://forum.419eater.com/forum/index.php

I too was initially taken by this scam but it didn't go very far because once the alarm bells started ringing, I googled "allen engineering scam" and "lauren engineering scam" and I came up with this site. It seems the same scammers are trying to impersonate another legitimate company called Lauren Engineering. One of the scammers is named TIMCHIA BASIL from Cameroon - doing a quick google search reveals this information about him:

http://www.cameroun-online.com/gce2008/?ex=al&c=1237 where in 2008 the scammer passed 2 exams in his GCE held at Bamenda Old Town. This means the scammer is probably around 23-24 years old, based on the assumption he was 18 at the time of taking these exams back in 2008. Googling his name for images, reveals 2 google Plus profiles with a picture of an African guy wearing fake white rimmed glasses (spectacles) with no lenses and another fat African woman.

Anyway, what the scammers did was initially they posted a fake employment ad on numerous free classified sections of legitimate websites, especially in countries OTHER than where the supposed employment would be taking place (this was done deliberately to suck in people). Here is the ad they posted about one month ago:

Urgently Looking For Engineers
Allenengineering 12 days ago Classifieds > Jobs > Jobs Offered
Allen Engineering is currently having a very big construction project and, we are urgently needing the services of qualified and dedicated Engineers to work with us. We need the following domains.
Mechanical Engineers
Structural Engineers
Electrical Engineers
Procurement Engineers
Civil Engineers
Process Engineers
Architectural Engineers
Chemical engineers
Systems engineers
Computer software engineers
Computer hardware engineers
Agricultural engineers
Mineral engineers.
Building services engineers
Communications engineers
Control and instrumentation engineers
Petroleum engineers
Structural engineer
Truck Drivers
Accounting technicians
secretary/administrator
Advertising copywriter
Designer, fashion/clothing -
So you can just drop your resume and we can see what to do for you. Email: [email protected]

It looked promising despite the poorly organized layout and bad English. The [email protected] email address was already a give away it was probably a scam, but I foolishly ignored this due to seeing plenty of legitimate job offers where the email address also came from a free provider like hotmail, gmail etc. However, in those cases the companies were very small and local, thus there was nothing to doubt their legitimacy.

I foolishly emailed them using my real name (big mistake) and this was their reply:

Dear xx xxxxxxxx,
We have projects in different countries like Singapore, Thailand, Qatar, Belarus, South Africa and Cameroon. If interested to work with us you can send your resume for preview and we shall proceed from there.

The management
Thomas Nutterfield
Allen Engineering

Allen Engineering
[email protected]

I was attracted by the offer of employment in Thailand and Singapore; no way I would have gone to any of the other countries, especially not Cameroon (this was probably the next give away as to the location of the scammers). I then went to take a look at the website of Allen Engineering, but could not identify any job offers or any projects in the aforementioned countries; only Malaysia seemed to be associated with Allen Engineering. Even so I ignored this warning sign and sent them my resume complete with real name, address and mobile phone number anyway thinking that perhaps not all job opportunities would be posted on their website (stupid, stupid, stupid, I know!) they replied using a different email address, which was: [email protected] and then later on [email protected].

Dear xxx,
We have gone through your resume and we want to bring to your knowledge that we are actually in need of workers of your type among other positions. After reading your resume, we are impressed with your qualification and experience.

Regarding the pay package, it will be as follows:

The initial pay will be 75 USD per hour of work and 8 hours of work per day; Monday to Friday, overtime during weekends.

The location of the projects is in , Qatar, Belarus, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Cameroon. Also attached to the mail is an application form, kindly fill the application form and send back to us. If your application is accepted and we employ you, we will process your visa and work permit from this end. Also, your transportation fare will be covered by us. that's to say we will pay your flight from your current country of residence to where you will work. You will be on probation for three months during which we will pay your salary normally. When you confirm your acceptance of our job offer (by filling the application form attached to this email) we will also send the contract form which you will read through and sign indicating acceptance of the terms and conditions.

When that is done, you will give us a copy of your passport, and proof of accommodation so that we will process your visa with ease from this end. When that is done and everything ready, we will pay your air ticket so that you can come and start work without any delays. So when you submit your application form and sign a contract with us, we will direct you to an apartment rental service here where you will make your reservation and obtain proof of accommodation from them and send to us to help us apply for your work visa.

NB: We shall conduct a skype interview for final decision.

During these three months of probation, you will take care of your accommodation/housing expenses. After this probationary period (of three months) if you provide satisfactory services, you will then sign a long term employment contract with us and we will provide accommodation for you in our company residential quarters where we accommodate all our permanent staff. This accommodation at our company residential quarters will then come to you free of charge. You will then pay only for your bills (electricity, water, and phone). Internet services for all staff residing at our company residential quarters are free of charge. We have a few apartment rental agencies around us which we always recommend strongly for all our employees, where they can get their accommodation during the three months probationary period.We always recommend these because they are of good standards, very safe/secure and at the same time, moderately priced.

If you finally take full time employment with us, upon completion of this initial construction phase of the project, you will either remain any of the mentioned countries or you will be sent to one of our offices either in Other European countries as the need may be. Please bear in mind that if you are taken for this job, we will expect you to report for the job without any avoidable delay.

Now, take time and go through the application form (attached to this email), by filling and sending the application form to us as soon as you can. Respond as soon as possible, letting us know your stand point regarding this job. Then if necessary, We will sign and send a contract form for you, making you a worker for our company, and your salary start counting from your start date.

The management
Carl Richardson
Lauren Engineers
Site : http;//www.laurenec.com
United States.

So after assuming I'd be working for Allen Engineering all of a sudden the company that replied became Lauren Engineering?! I know I should have known better by this stage, but being desperate for new opportunities, I still sent them the fake employment form, with much the same details on my resume but this time with details about previous employers and contact details. I kinda did the right thing by putting down people who were NOT really my supervisors (like any company based overseas would know the difference anyway) but as soon as I realized that there was something fishy about this whole thing I immediately contacted the people who I had asked to be my references and told them not to be taken by these scammers and thus not to talk to them. The scammers of course never had any intention of contacting them in the first place.

By this time I was about to drop the whole thing as it took the scammers 5 days to reply despite their insistence that the employment offer was urgent. I definitely smelled a rat by this stage and only a few hours after reading this post on this website, sure enough, the dumb scammers emailed me again but this time they didn't respond to my subtle demand that I will only work in either Thailand or Singapore, due to being in the region already and being familiar with it. A legitimate company wouldn't force you to move to some random country you don't know, don't speak the language etc. when they could better utilize you in a country where you do know the language and where they don't need to pay as much for your transfer etc.

Also by this stage, after reading the email reply I knew 100% it wasn't possible that this could be a legitimate job offer because it is not possible for an employer based in Africa or some far away country or continent to apply for a work permit for a job applicant in another country. The scammers also happened to choose the wrong countries, some of which I'm already intimately familiar with. Case in point is Thailand - only a Thai company, or a company incorporated in Thailand can process a work permit for a foreigner and this needs to be done IN PERSON. It is impossible to do it remotely, though you may be able to send a HR person from your company to take care of the initial paperwork (but for that your real passport with valid entry stamp and visa needs to be submitted), but at some stage immigration does want to see the real applicant in person, especially when it comes time to get your visa extension for work purposes.

So by now it was all over for them and thus I sent them an email telling them what idiots they are, telling them that their free email addresses, the fact that the company suddenly changed from allen engineering to lauren engineering, the lack of phone numbers and very poor English were dead giveaways, then I went on to talk crap about Cameroon, which is a failed state, a cestpool full of dishonest unemployed losers, although I used much milder language to convey that message. Of course there are surely plenty of honest and hardworking people in that country, but the idea was to convey the message that their country's reputation suffers as a result of their thieving activities.

Surprisingly, this time they replied within a matter of hours with the same image the OP on this forum sent them! So I replied again, telling them that nobody would be stupid enough to fall for this stupid scam and they then got offended and sent me an incomprehensible email full of gibberish in pidgin English telling me to improve MY grammar (haha!) and some pictures of pigs? I told them to fxxx off using the n word which I wouldn't normally use, but like I'm going to respect the sensibilities of unemployed losers like them who wasted my time like they did. So sending them abusive messages, knowing that they didn't get a cent out of me and never will did satisfy me. Finally I blocked their email addresses as it was time for me to break off all contact.

I then went on to notify the free email providers about the scam and how their email addresses were being used fraudulently, in order for them to take action on those accounts. One provider emailed me back to state that action had been taken - the other one never did.

I just hope that my name, address and phone number can't be used in any way by them, but they didn't seem smart enough and without any ID, bank account info etc. I don't think they'd be able to forge a fake identity. However, it sounds like the OP did send them copies of his passport, which I would never, ever recommend anyone does - again, I don't think these particular scammers are that smart, but there's always a chance that someone could use your real ID to create a fake identity. Fortunately, I have not yet heard of anyone being able to do so solely with a name, address and phone number so I should be OK (and besides, it would be a lot easier just to pull such information from company websites). However, I am still deeply distraught at the fact that my real name and address have been made known to these scammers.

I have certainly learned my lesson and I hope my experiences will help to educate future job seekers to make sure they don't also fall into this trap. Scammers like these don't deserve the time of day - always do your homework first - check the company's website to see where projects are being held, whether job opportunities are available (and if the one you have responded to matches one on their website), check the spelling, grammar and whether a phone number is listed and also for other subtleties like making nonsense claims in the email body (e.g. the "requirement" for accommodation confirmation during the probation period).