Garret Phillips - Is this a scam??

I´ve been mailing with a man about a job in England as an Au Pair. He sounded nice and we have been talking a lot. I had never even thought about scams and that you can be fooled, but recently I started to wonder. After reading about scams, I´m pretty sure this one is it. But I would want to get it confirmed. So this is the first mail I got:

Dear Au pair,

We hope you are doing fine? We would like to discuss having you as an au pair in our family from August until December in our family after viewing your profile on http://www.newaupair.com.

Our Membership Number on http://www.newaupair.com is: 335265

We are based in the United Kingdom. I live with my wife and lovely daughter in Manchester City here in the United Kingdom. Attached are our family pictures.

We are offering a weekly salary of 480GBP, accommodation, feeding, utilities and medical insurance.

Please let us know if you are interested in the au pair position by sending us any recent picture of yourself and a letter about yourself and we would provide you other information about the au pair job. In your reply also inform us of your possible start date.

We look forward to hear from you as you have a beautiful weekend ahead. Attached are some family pictures and we hope you like us.

With love from Garret's Family..

There was one photo attached to the mail.

Yesterday, they asked me to send 1000 GBP by Western Union, and that made me suspicious. This is a scam right?

It is a scam. Any "job offer" that requires you transfer money by Western Union or Moneygram to anyone is not legitimate.

The English also tells me that the person writing to you is African, not British.

Please post the email address(es) used by this scammer. Additional emails he sent would also be helpful, as long as your personal information is used. These scammers usually use scripted letters that they send to dozens, sometimes hundreds, of job-seekers, hoping to find a few who will not realize it is a scam and will send money.

Here is the whole conversation we have had (except from some personal information about myself).

Dearest Au pair ,

How are you doing..? We hope our email finds you well..

I called you yesterday's nite and we spoke on phone, though I was not hearing you fine due to the network was kinda fluctuating. We wish to know if you are still very much interested with the Au pair job position we offered to you. Kindly revert back to us because the UK Home Office are still processing your paperwork and they need you to follow up with their requirements asap.

We await your reply as soon as possible. My wife and little Helen sends their warm regards to you.

With love from Garret's Family.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:29:45 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Au pair Contract Letter
To:

Dear
How are you doing..? Hope you are having a nice time with your family.

I've received your message. Try to send the scan copy of the Contract Letter on wednesday as you said and let us know.

We wish you a safe trip with your family..

Helen sends her warm regards to you. We wish you a lovely week.

With love from Garret's Family.

30 jul 2012 kl. 09:54 skrev "Garret Phillips" <[email protected]>:

Dear Au pair xxx

How are you today? We hope your week started on a good note. We hope our email finds you well.

As earlier informed you, please find attached herewith the Au pair contract letter. Every detail about the au pair

position is included in the contract for you to read and let us know if the position is acceptable to you.

Travel instructions have also been included to guide you. If you have any questions please let us know.

We wish you a great day. Accept warm greetings from my wife and Little Helen.

With love from Garret's Family.

27 jul 2012 kl. 23:20 skrev "Garret Phillips" <[email protected]>:

Dear xxx,

How re you doing.. We re happy to hear from you. I hope our email finds you well.

I'll be sending you the Au pair Contract Letter to make everything legal. Every information about the Au pair position would be properly outlined in the Contract Letter which we shall receive from the UK HOME OFFICE. We've made a comfortable accomadation available for you. Also getting a British sim card for your Iphone and creating a Bank Account for you would not be a problem. We will take everything step by step and do everything correctly.

We went for a show with our lovely daughter (Helen) and i took a picture of her before the show.. I hope you like her picture.. *Smiles*

We wish you a lovely weekend and we look forward to your new message.

With love from Garret's Family.

Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:43:02 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Dear Au pair xxx
>> > To: xxxhotmail.com

Dear Sofia,

Thanks for your reply. We feel humbled and happy also that you like our family.

We wish to apologise for your inability to locate us on the aupair website but it was because of out interest in you. We would like to meet with people from another culture and we hope to have a happy au pair experience with you. Please find below an introduction letter about our family and we hope you like us

We are a family of 3. My name is Garret Phillips, 40 years old, a doctor), my wife (Sophie, 36 years old is a senior nurse. We both live and work in the United Kingdom. Thank you for the lovely picture.

Your start date is fine with us. Atleast it would allow us enough time to sort out any paper work so that everything would be ready on time before your travel date in the third week of August. You do not need a Visa to enter the UK, but to be on the safe side we need to find out if you require any additional paper work. However, we would like to know how long you think you can stay with us when you arrive the UK.

We hope your parents are in support of your decision as we love to do things rightly .We would really see you as being part of our family and somebody who helps us out with our daughter. As a very busy couple we decided that an au pair would help us to give our daughter more quality time. We would enjoy it if you are a person who enjoys doing lots of stuff with our child, taking her to school, coloring in, going cycling, playing outside, reading stories, etc. Your main job is to get our daughter (Helen) to be happy, independent little beings and this is where we want you to help us. This would also naturally mean, that sometimes you would have to help with household chores, because we also enjoy spending time with our daughter. I would say that 75% of the time will be spent on our daughter, 25% on household chores.

We are christians, and it is very important for us that the au pair that works for us also knows.

You will be working 5 days a week, with weekends and evenings off. If we want you to look after our daughter in the evenings or weekends, we will discuss it with you in advance and with your consent. You will then either get time off later, or be paid for the hours you have worked over time. Weekly pay is 480GBP with accomodation, feeding, utilities and medical insurance.

We have an open home, we like visitors (also yours, as long as you do not have too many visitors)

Now a bit more about us as a family:

I am well balanced and pragmatical, sporty, interested in many things, a committed husband and father. My wife is a friendly and sporty mother, with outgoing personality, loves outdoor activities

Our daughter Helen is friendly, who loves to play with her friends, but can also play alone really nicely. She's a bit shy and checks things out before she participate. Very lovely, wellbehaved and easy to get along with.

Our home is in the city. Easy access to transportation, schools, gym facilities and other recreational places.

You might find other families that might pay a bit more, but I honestly believe you will not find another family who will look after you as well as we do and make you feel at home. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask/email. You can also call us on +44 703 193 8258

Have a lovely weekend and please accept warm regards from me, my wife and our little angel.

With love from Garret's Family...

Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:17:07 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Your profile was shortlisted from newaupair.com
To: [email protected]

Dear Au pair,

We hope you are doing fine? We would like to discuss having you as an au pair in our family from August until December in our family after viewing your profile on http://www.newaupair.com.

Our Membership Number on http://www.newaupair.com is: 335265

We are based in the United Kingdom. I live with my wife and lovely daughter in Manchester City here in the United Kingdom. Attached are our family pictures.

We are offering a weekly salary of 480GBP, accommodation, feeding, utilities and medical insurance.

Please let us know if you are interested in the au pair position by sending us any recent picture of yourself and a letter about yourself and we would provide you other information about the au pair job. In your reply also inform us of your possible start date.

We look forward to hear from you as you have a beautiful weekend ahead. Attached are some family pictures and we hope you like us.

With love from Garret's Family..

I have also had a conversation with "UK home office".


Attached was the contract letter that I had signed.
The reply I got was:

Disclaimer!
The information contained in this document constitutes confidential
information. The information is intended only for the use of the intended
recipient (). You are hereby notified that any
dissemination, distribution or copying of this document by anyone other
than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited.

Dear ,

Your Application Sort Code is TWP-UK 193.

Please quote sort code in subsequent correspondence for easy sorting and
response to your inquiries

Following your inquiry for authorization to enter the United Kingdom for
Au pair Work, please find below the necessary steps to enable you obtain
your National Insurance Number, Work Scheme Card, Legal Au pair Paperwork
and supporting documents to enable you live and work in the United Kingdom
legally as an Au pair.

You do not require a Visa to enter the UK as a citizen of an EU Country
(Sweden). You only require a National Insurance Number and Work Scheme
Card which we shall process and issue you.

The document is in Portable Document Format (.pdf) so you must have Adobe
Acrobat Reader installed in your system.

This message is for your information only.

Read carefully and submit application requirements.

We would work to serve you better.

Home Office, UK Border Agency,
PO Box 3468, Sheffield,
S3 8WA,
United Kingdom[/i]

Attached was this as a pdf-file:

The UK Home Office is responsible for securing the UK borders and controlling migration in the United Kingdom. We manage border control for the UK, enforcing immigration and customs regulations. We also consider applications for permission to enter or stay in the UK, citizenship and asylum.
Disclaimer:
The UK Home Office wishes to authoritatively inform applicants seeking for immigration status into the UK not to make any payments for processing of Work Permit, Visa and/or Expatriate Quota Approval. Approval for entry (Visa) into the UK is executed by the Nearest British Embassy or Consulate within the applicants country of residence or location after certification and issuance of Visa Approval to the applicant by the UK Home Office as at the time of application. EU Applicants please apply for National Insurance Number and Work Scheme Card only.
The UK Home Office will exercise its full powers to perform its responsibility to regulate entry into the UK, by:
• Ensuring that the sponsor is financially capable to support the applicant entering the UK for
Business or Pleasure throughout the duration of the validity of the Entry Visa.
• Ensuring that the applicant, has the minimum stipulated financial requirement to earn the needed points for Entry/Work Approval, going by the new point-based system for immigration in 2012
• Ensuring that the applicant is eligible to Live, Work and carry out business activities in the UK
legally.
The new points-based system (PBS) is the biggest shake up of the immigration system for 45 years.
Under the new system, migrants will need to pass a points-based assessment before they receive National Insurance Number, Work Scheme Card and supporting paperwork for the UK. It will help UK businesses recruit the skills it needs from abroad and assure the british public that only the skilled migrants will need to come to the UK. The role of employees/migrants with qualifying financial base is crucial to its success.
As a citizen of Sweden, which is in the European Union (EU) you do not need a Visa to enter the United Kingdom. We shall process and issue you National Insurance Number and Work Scheme Card as the relevant au pair paperwork required by you to work in the UK as an Au pair. We would like to acknowledge receipt of your application for National Insurance Number and Work Scheme Card. Garret and Sophie Phillips Family is your Host in the UK and shall fulfill necessary hosting requirement to support your application.
National Insurance Number and Work Scheme Card would be issued to you before you can work after appropriate registration with the Social Service Bureau to fulfill 2012 requirements for applicants from EU Countries coming to work in the United Kingdom as Au pair Apart from sponsorship from UK Based Employers, workers in Social Service Category (i.e Au pair, Babysitter, Nanny) coming to live and work in the UK are mandated to have a minimum pocket money of £1,000GBP, which is the stipulated financial requirement/basic applicant insurance allowance that must be in possession of the aupair/employee into the UK. You must be able to demonstrate that you have travel pocket funds. This is to pre-certify that you can be responsible for your maintenance as mandated by UK Insurance policies to protect and secure au pairs financially. The mandatory insurance allowance is £1,000GBP. National Insurance process is for the security and wellbeing of the applicant and is mandatory. Note: This is not a payment but a deposit of your pocket funds as this is your first time to enter the UK as an Au pair.
The UK Home Office would ensure via this means that only eligible au pair applicants who are financially capable are allowed entry into the UK and must be completed to fulfill availability of funds in cases of Emergency and for full financial security of the applicant/worker before receipt of first month salary and benefits from Employers.
This process is solely for proof that you have the stipulated financial requirement as per a au pair seeking to enter the United Kingdom for the first time despite sponsorship from your Employer for your financial security and would take 24hrs for confirmation hence follow the detailed instructions for confirmation of pocket money deposit below.
PROCEDURE: VERIFICATION/CONFIRMATION OF MANDATORY BASIC INSURANCE FUNDS
The following process has been adopted following the new-points based system to earn the needed points for issuance of National Insurance Number, Work Scheme Card and supporting documents. Bank statements were hitherto accepted, however due to falsification of bank statements which does not compulsorily certify/surety that the applicant would enter the Country with the mandatory insurance allowance/pocket funds, we no longer accept bank statements as final travel guarantee Important (As per Immigration policies, this process must be completed by anyone you wish to stand in as your surety; i.e any member of your immediate family must be aware of your intended travel to the UK. This can be either your Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Close Relative or Friend)
To meet the above requirement your Father or Mother or Sister or Brother is to make a deposit of the stipulated financial requirement of £1,000GBP to your name and address in the UK via any Western Union or MoneyGram agent as proof that you have secured your pocket money funds to support yourself when you arrive here till you receive your first salary from your Employer:
Sender can be Father or Mother or Sister or Brother or any of the suggested individuals above at your discretion that you wish to be aware of your travel to the UK.
Receiver: Must be you the primary immigrant (Sofia) because it is your pocket money.
Payout Location: Your residential address in the United Kingdom i.e (Garret and Sophie Phillips Family, 11 Irwell Grove, Manchester, M1 5NP, England United Kingdom). You can also secure your funds at any alternative residential address here if you have any however if this is your first time to enter the UK on Au pair job, it is appropriate you enter the residential address of your Host Family or Employer as that is where you would live.
Payout/Destination Country: United Kingdom
Note: You must ensure that the sender is any of the above as instructed and the receiver is you for the security of your pocket money funds.
Your Father or Mother or brother or sister should Visit the nearest Western Union or MoneyGram Post Office, Western Union or MoneyGram agent or Western Union or MoneyGram Shop close to you and make the deposit of £1000GBP to your name and address in the United Kingdom which is your insurance allowance following the transfer instructions above carefully for our verification and confirmation.
Application Documents: You are to send the following application requirements:
• Your Home Courier Address for mailing of Hard Copies of your National Insurance Documents, Work
Scheme Card and supporting documents to you.
• Scan the receipt of the deposit of your pocket money including the Money Transfer Verification
Number to enable our office verify and confirm your deposit.
• Scan Completed Data application Form (Leave the travel date and departure date blank as that would be issued by us)
Note: Ensure that the receiver is you so that only you can withdraw the deposit. This is not a payment but a deposit for verification which is why it is in your name as the receiver and to also fulfill that you have pocket funds to support yourself as is the mandatory process for your financial security when you arrive here.
The instructions above would earn you the needed points under the point-based system for the release of your National Insurance Number, Work Scheme Card and supporting documents to legalize your au pair work status here.
This message for your information only.
We would work to serve you better..
UK Home Office,
PO Box 3468, Sheffield,
S3 8WA,
United Kingdom


And also this as a pdf-file:

VISA APPLICATION FORM (VAF2 JAN 2011)
This form is for use outside the UK only.
YOU SHOULD COMPLETE THIS FORM IF YOU WISH TO COME TO THE UK TO WORK
What is the main purpose of your visit to the UK? >>>> How long do you intend to stay in the UK?
Travel Dates
On which date do you wish to travel to the UK? >>>>>>>>>>>
D D M M
On which date will you leave the UK?
D D M M
Part 1 About You
1.1 Given name(s) (as shown in your passport) >>>>>>>>>>>> 1.2 Family name (as shown in your passport)
1.3 Other names (including any other names you are known
>>>
by and/or any other names that you have been known by)
1.4 Sex Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
Male Female
1.5 Marital status?
Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
Single Married/ Civil Partner Unmarried Partner
Divorced/Dissolved Partnership Separated Widowed/Surviving Civil Partner
1.6 Date of Birth >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
D D M M
1.7 Place of Birth
1.8 Country of Birth >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1.9 Nationality
1.10 Do you hold, or have you ever held, any other nationality or nationalities? Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
Yes No If ‘Yes’ please provide details >>>>>>>>>>>>>
01 (VAF2 JAN 2011)
Y Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y
Part 2 Passport Information Read Guidance, Part 2
Enter details of the passport or travel document that you will use to travel to the UK.
2.1 Current passport or travel document number >>>>>>>>> 2.2 Place of Issue
2.3 Issuing Authority >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2.4 Date of Issue
D D M M
2.5 Date of Expiry >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2.6 Is this your first passport? Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
D D M M Yes No If ‘Yes’ go to Part 3
2.7 Please give details of any previous passports, covering the last 10 years, including where these passports are now.
Part 3 Your Contact Details Read Guidance, Part 3
3.1 Your full residential address and postal code >>>>>>>>>>> 3.2 How long have you lived at this address?
3.3 Home (landline) telephone number
3.4 Your mobile telephone number
3.5 Email address >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3.6 Contact details if different from those given in question 3.1
Part 4 Your Family Read Guidance, Part 4
4.1 Father’s given name(s) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4.2 Father’s family name
4.3 Father’s date of birth >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
D D M M
4.4 Father’s place and country of birth
4.5 Father’s nationality/nationalities >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4.6 Mother’s given name(s)
4.7 Mother’s family name >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4.8 Mother’s date of birth
D D M M
4.9 Mother’s nationality/nationalities >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4.10 Mother’s place and country of birth
4.11 Full name of spouse/partner (If single go to 4.16) >>>>>>> 4.12 Spouse/partner’s nationality/nationalities
4.13 Spouse/partner’s date of birth >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> D D M M
02 (VAF2 JAN 2011)
4.14 Does your spouse/partner currently live with you at the >>>
address given in Question 3.1? Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
Yes No If ‘No’, please provide full details of where your
4.15 Will your spouse/partner be travelling with you?
Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
spouse currently lives.
Yes No
4.16 Do you have any children? Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
Yes No If ‘No’, please go to question 4.20
4.17 Please provide full details for each of your >>>>>>>>>>
dependant children
4.18 Do all your children currently live with you at the address
given in Question 3.1? Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
Name Date of Birth Yes No If ‘No’, please provide full details of where your
children currently live.
4.19 Please list any of your children who will be travelling >>>>
with you to the UK?
4.20 Will any other children be travelling with you?
Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
Yes If ‘Yes’ go to 4.21 No If ‘No’ leave it blank.
4.21 If yes please provide full details about the child/children
Full Name, Date of Birth, Passport Number, Address, Place of Birth, Nationality, Your Relationship to Child, Your Relationship to their
Parents
Please note: If a child is travelling without their parents, he/she should present written notification from the child’s
parent or legal guardian that they consent to the child’s visit.
Guidance, 9 (VAF2 JAN 2011)




So, now everything is out there. Hope this will prevent others from being scammed. Thanks a lot for this great website!

I went ahead and removed the emails you sent, and used quote tags to separate the scammers' emails more clearly. We only need the scammers' emails, as those may be reused. In fact, a quick search shows me several parts of the script are actually posted already here: http://scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=18388&p=52572

As in the one you posted, the English tells me you are dealing with an African person.

Note I highlighted the phone number, which starts with 4470. This is another sign of scam--in fact, it tells us it is a certain scam. Phone numbers starting with 4470 are "redirect" phone numbers. They are free phone numbers that cost a premium rate to call. Calls to these numbers are forwarded to another phone virtually anywhere in the world. These numbers are used by African scammers who are pretending to be in UK when they are actually in western Africa or Malaysia. Someone who is really located in UK will not have a 4470 number.

Also note that the "home office" the scammer had you connect is not the real home office. The email address will be another one owned and answered by the scammers. I didn't see the email address to the home office--if you could post it, that would be good.

This is the mail address that I thought was UK home office..
enquiries.?ukba@ukhome?office.org

Thank you for posting that fake Home Office email address.

In reality, genuine UK Home Office email addresses end with @homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and genuine UK Border Agency email addresses end with @ukba.gsi.gov.uk - and both of these have no words or abbreviations after this.

Please also note that the genuine UK Home Office/Border Agency never requires a Verification/Confirmation of Mandatory Basic Insurance Funds. This is an invention of the scammer. The scammer will steal all money transfered by Western Union or MoneyGram. All he needs are the details of the transfer to be able to collect the money himself - regardless of which name the transfer was made to.

A Work Scheme Card and supporting documents are also not required by an au pair; and an au pair does not usually require a National Insurance Number. In the rare positions where a National Insurance Number is needed, this is obtained by visiting the local Jobcentre after the au pair has moved to the UK. There is no fee to pay for a National Insurance Number.

Hello.

I know that they are scams........... they think that I do not know. Can I make so, that police could find them?

Hello edusaksal001, and welcome to ScamWarners.

When you realise that you are contact with a scammer, please stop all contact immediately. Scammers are criminals, and you don't want to continue communicating with a criminal. If you stop all contact, the scammer will assume that either you lost interest in their offer, or that you discovered it was a scam. They will soon forget all about you. But if you continue writing to them, and they suspect that you are just 'playing along' with them, they can become quite unpleasant.

Most au pair scammers are actually living in Nigeria (they just pretend to live in the UK or USA or other countries), and it is usually impossible to get them arrested. They use fake names and email accounts set up with false information, and they often use anonymous internet cafés as well, so it is unlikely that anyone can discover their true identities. But even if we could find out who they really are, the police in our own countries are unable to make an international arrest; and the police in Nigeria normally focus on other types of crimes, and do not prioritize investigating scammers.

Therefore, the best thing that we can do is publicise the scammers and warn others about them. We can't get them arrested - but we can do our best to prevent them from stealing money from people, by telling others about them.