Au Pair Scam Ian Logan & Family. <[email protected]>

[AlanJones]

The following email was received in response to a listing on an Au Pair website. This is a scam, no vacancy exists the scammer will try an scam you out of money by asking for fees or travel costs or accomodation costs.

Received from: Mr Ian Logan & Family. <[email protected]>
Reply-to: [email protected]
Subject: Regarding Your Availability As An Au Pair/Nanny.

Hello Au Pair/Nanny,

I hope my mail meets you in a good state of health... I am Mr Ian Logan, 43 years old from United Kingdom. I am the CEO of a Multimedia Consultant in United Kingdom. My contact address is ''10 Dunvegan Rd, Eltham, London SE9 6, United Kingdom, and my phone number is +447031918392. As part of the information you'll require, I have two wonderful and interesting to be with Kids namely Laura (7 years of age) and Philip (4 years of age) respectively. Due to the nature of my work, I hardly have the time for my lovely Kids then after scrolling through your profile on http://WWW.GreatAuPair.Com, I consider you worthy of the job vacancy in my home as a substitute for my deceased wife.

Your duties strictly will be taking the kids to school and bringing them back home, play with them, go to Museums, Playground, Cinema Hall, prepare/fix their meals and snacks. You will have your Private Room which would consist Air-Conditional, Television, 24 hours Internet Access and a Telephone to always keep you in touch with your friends, families and probably relatives, a Bathroom and Toilet. You will have Saturdays and Sundays as your off days, so to enable you have enough time for yourself otherwise, you will be paid extraly for extra services. As for your salary, I will be willing to pay you 1,200 Pounds every 4 weeks and a pocket fee of 400 Pounds weekly which I suppose should be enoguh for your primary needs and as regard to my family pictures, I will take some recent shots with my Kids the soonest possible then get them scanned and sent to you.


With all due respect, I will be hoping to hear from you as soon as possible. Bye for now and may the gentle breeze of all moment blow cool memory into your brain, Amen!


Warmest regards,
Mr Ian Logan.
Email: [email protected]

I am unable to check the IP address on this email to prove that the scammer is based in Africa, but there are a number of pointers to show it is a scam.

• The email is sent from a different address to the one you have to reply to.
• The email is not personally addressed to the Au Pair he is writing to - he knows my name, it's on the Au Pair website, so why not use it?
• The use of an +44 70 redirect phone number. Someone living in the UK would have no need for this.
• The general poor grammar

[AlanJones]

Here is the reply received from the scammer.

Hello XXX,

I seriously appreciate your rapid reply knowing you are willing and ready to be part of my family. I really need you to come over here to assist me take proper care of my wonderful Angels since I hardly have the time for them just as I previously explained, so I would appreciate you come over here if possible before next weekend, but let me ask a question. Do you have visa and work permit...? If you don't have visa and work permit, I would advise you email my Travel Agency to help you for the UK Visa and Work Permit, here is the link through which you can contact them ([email protected]). Do not hesitate to let them know you are from me as there could be some consideration in the charges so explain all you need for the traveling to UK to them and I assure that I will assist you with half of what so ever amount needed for the processing of your Visa and Work Permit just to justify how urgent I need your services here as well as how serious I am about your coming down to work for my family as an Au Pair, so for now, do consider the job yours.

As for how long you can work for my family, well I think that completely depends on how long you would like to work here with me but left to me, I do not intend to see you off in the next 2-3 years because I really would need your services. I will be very grateful if you respond better to me. You have nothing to worry about you will be treated like one of the family and you will have 5 days to work in a week and 2 days as your off days that is to be Saturdays and Sundays. You will have the opportunity to do what ever you want to for you own good on weekends but provided they are worth doing.

I already discussed about you with he little Angels, they seem to like you despite the fact that they are yet to neither see nor talk with you. Well hope to hear from you the soonest possible.

Warmest regards from,
Mr Ian Logan & Family.

The IP address of this points to the UK, but I am still convinced this is a scam because of the points raised in the original post and the fact that

• the 'Travel Agency' use a free email address.
• the fact he "would appreciate you come over here if possible before next weekend" - anyone in the UK would know that it would take longer than that to arrange visas and work permits.

Edit: I've now had a further reply from 'Ian Logan' and the IP address now points to 41.219.203.72 Nigeria (Lagos). So a definite scam.

[AlanJones]

And here is the email that is received from the 'Travel Agency'.

Received From: EASTERN GROUPS TRAVEL <[email protected]>
Subject: ****PROCESSING FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM FLIGHT TICKET AND WORK PERMIT****
IP Address: 41.219.244.112 Nigeria (Lagos)

Dear XXX,

EGT Management wishes to thank you for contacting us regarding the arrangement of your Traveling Document to the United Kingdom. We promise to Offer you the best which you will be Glad you did. It was Indicated in your E-mail that you have been told by your Host Family who asked you to contact us. We promise never to disappoint you as we have never disappointed him either. We would request that you provide us with the following so that the Documentation will start immediately. We would get your Flight Ticket and Work Permit within Three (3) Working Days as soon as we receive the information from you.

- Full Name:
-Mailing Address:
-Phone Number:
-Nationality:
-Passport Photo page:
-Consulate of the Airport Address In your Location:
-Scanned Copy of Your International Passport Photo Page:

-A Total of £550.00 to enable us process the necessary Document(s) for the Flight Ticket and Work Permit.
Type of Flight Ticket
ValidityTerm of issueConsular fee
Single entry 12 month 3 days£ 550.00
Single entry 14 months 5 days£ 850.00
Single entry 18 months 7 days£ 1,200.00

All Documents will be processed and arranged here in our Office within Three (3) Working Days after which will be forwarded to you with your specified Home Address.
We will begin in earnest once we receive all necessary Details.

In anticipation of your response.

Yours Faithfully,
Eastern Groups Travels

[AlanJones]

Responding to the Travel Agent will get you this reply.

Subject: ****PAYMENT INFORMATION****

We like to inform you that, we have received all your necessary information Including your Scanned International Passport Photo Page. We will proceed in processing your Flight Ticket and Work Permit as soon as we receive your Payment.

Kindly be informed that the £550 (12 Months) has been included with the Flight Ticket (British Airways) and the entire necessary Document(s) needed for the Work Permit and also the National Insurance, so we like you to send the payment via Western Union Money Transfer. All payment should be sent via Western Union Money Transfer to our C.E.O with this information below:

Eastern Groups Travel:

David Woodruff
80 Bridge Street
Manchester
M3 3BQ
United Kingdom.

After payment kindly send us the scan copy of the Western Union Money TransferInvoice (Receipt) so that we can proceed in processing your Flight Ticket and Work Permit. All necessary Document(s) will be posted to your address with us within Three (3) Working Days.

Thanks for your co-operation.
Ms Florence John.
P.R.O. GLOBAL TRAVELERS.CO.
+447024086344
Mr David Woodruff.
C.E.O. GLOBAL TRAVELERS.CO.
+447024028456


Yours Faithfully,

Eastern Groups Travels

The 'Scanned International Passport Photo Page' that they claim to have received was actually a large junk file renamed to look like a JPEG, so there is no way it would have been viewable. Any legitimate business would have queried this - the scammers don't as they are not interested in your ID, they just ask for it to look official.

[AlanJones]

'Mr Logan' has now provided the bank account details of an associate in the UK.

Hello Consuala,

I am really sorry for any misconception that must've arose between myself and your family. Help me extend my apology to your Dad. As promised, I was able to talk with my friend about the situation on ground and I was pleased he gave me his Bank Account Details. Here is it;

BANK:ABBEY NATIONAL BANK
ACCOUNT NAME: ALLAN SMITH
ACCOUNT NUMBER:43521xxx
SORT CODE :090666
BIC NUMBER:ABBYGB2LXXX
IBAN NUMBER:GB55ABBY09066643521xxx
BANK ADDRESS: SPINDLE SHOPPING CENTER, GEORGE STRETT, OLDHAM OL1 1HD, U.K

I couldn't afford to miss out in employing you especially considering the fact that my Kids are in love with you. You may send the scan copy of the transfer to me as soon as it is addressed. Bye for now and please do not forget to send my regards to your Dad and also tell him that I was very sorry for any misconception. Take a very good care of yourself.

Warmest regards,
Mr Ian Logan & Family.

Interestingly, these exact same account details were provided to me by a different unconnected scammer who is running a lottery scam. It looks like Allan Smith is friendly with a number of scammers.