Help! Is this a scam?

I found an ad on craigslist and requested more information on the job. I recieved this response from [email protected]:

Tiara Inc.
The company is located in , New York. Our vision is to provide complete Networking and Internet services to individuals and companies while maximizing customer satisfaction. Tiara Inc is positioned to provide Consultation Services, Network Design & Integration, Network Maintenance Services, Computer Maintenance Services, Web Page Design Services, Web Hosting Services, Internet Connectivity, Security Firewall Design, and Comprehensive Network Audit. The company has been in existence since the year 2000.


Job ID 21388706-10
Company Name: Tiara Inc.
Job Category: Customer Service Representative
Location:Online
Office: Online.
Position Type: Full-Time/ Part Time.
Experience: 0-1 Years Experience
Salary: 22$ per Hr.

POSITION SUMMARY:
Handle inbound phone inquiries, covering a full range of customer
services in a prompt and professional manner, obtaining all
information for resolution of transactions.
MAJOR DUTIES:
• Answer customer questions regarding billing, service problems,
products and features.
• Correct errors and discrepancies on customer billings as necessary.
• Target customer interests with a variety of product and service offerings.
• Prepare work orders for maintenance requests after determining if
field visits are required, and ensure appropriate follow-up procedures
are met.
• Perform billing and posting of customer accounts. Resolve delinquent
account balances
• Sell a variety of products and services to our customers through
effective consultation on every interaction.
• Obtain assistance from Coordinator or Supervisor for complex inquiries.
• Perform other related duties as required.
Required Skills:
QUALIFICATIONS:
• High school diploma or the recognized equivalent in work experience
and self-study.
• Previous customer service/sales experience.
• Personal computer knowledge necessary
• Excellent written, oral, interpersonal communication and problem
solving skills.
You have been considered and selected for the above job position.An Interview has been scheduled for you.The Interview would be conducted online through YAHOO INSTANT MESSAGING.You are advised to download a yahoo messenger and add Patricia Cole(H.R Manager).This is her yahoo id, [email protected]
Make sure you add her to your messenger and you are online for the Interview.
This is an online job so all your assignments would be
forwarded to you and submitted back by either fax, regular mail,
email, phone or IM
(instant messaging).
All activities and corresponding time are to be recorded in excel
spreadsheet. That's how we access your work and process your pay.
Recruitment Office.

I actually did IM with Patrica Cole and she did ask me questions that are regulary asked in an inteview. what has me suspicious is the following:

patriciacole45(08/31/2011 5:15:13 PM) :
You will be provided with the following office equipment below for the set up of your Online mini office at home:

Brand new Hp Pavilion
All in one printer,scanner and fax machine
Telephone
Mini office stationaries
Customer service software.

patriciacole45(08/31/2011 5:16:16 PM) :

During Training,the company's Financier will send you funds in form of check which will be deposited by you ,You are to take out 150$ for your signing fee and
have the rest funds sent to the Shipper/Vendor in the States for the release of your mini office equipment.

patriciacole45(08/31/2011 5:17:47 PM) :
We are upgrading our web site due to the rate of scam we received from our clients and customers that do make payments to us online via credit cards,so its still under construction but it will be ready soon.

She also advised that I am to do a 2 week traning via IM with her as well. They haven't really asked me for any money upfront but the fact that they are sending me the check for me to send to the shipper I am afraid that this might be money laundering.

Please Help!

Your suspicion is correct. It is a scam, and could land you in jail.

The check will be written on a bogus or phished real account. If the fake is not discovered within a few days, the bank will give you the cash. Then days to weeks later, they will discover the fake (or the real account owner will discover the unauthorized transactions), and the bank will (a) take the money back from you; (b) charge you fines/fees for a bad deposit and (c) possibly call the authorities and have you arrested for check fraud.

In the meantime, the "shipper/vendor" who collected the money under completely fake information will have disappeared with the cash, leaving you broke and in significant trouble.

Yes I was thinking along the same lines. Why don't they just the send the money to the shipper themselves?
scrlttdenis, you will be doing yourself a huge, huge favour by just simply walking away from this and not communicating with the scam artist. Or perhaps tell them you have found employment elsewhere, and that should be the end of the matter.

The job ID number is interesting when one does an internet search!
One of the reports clearly shows said number on http://www.ripoffreport.com/bad-check-w ... -6abff.htm
Apparently that is in connection to a craigslist ad too.

I got the same email this week and IM that lady as well. Expect my original email came from a guy name Phil Jones. But I scared them off when I started asking the lady where is the check coming from and the equipment. She told me the check would originally be $650 with my $150 bonus included in it. Than after the second day of training, it went to she is sending me a check of $2700. I was like are you serious. Now I know this is a scam and I started asking her to explain to me why the money went up that much or I am reporting this to the police because I have save all our conversations and emails. She got scared and said: Hold on I need to restart my computer. She got offline and never came back on. I even wrote the Phil guy back and never heard anything. I am online now trying to see if they will pop up but I think i am going to take there stuff to the police because that just made me mad the way they are trying to scam people. I am sorry you went through this. So she was talking to you and me around the same time cause it just started this week for me.

I got this yesterday after submitting my resume.
variety of product and service offerings.
• Prepare work orders for maintenance requests after determining if
field visits are required, and ensure appropriate follow-up procedures
are met.
• Perform billing and posting of customer accounts. Resolve delinquent
account balances
• Sell a variety of products and services to our customers through
effective consultation on every interaction.
• Obtain assistance from Coordinator or Supervisor for complex inquiries.
• Perform other related duties as required.
Required Skills:
QUALIFICATIONS:
• High school diploma or the recognized equivalent in work experience
and self-study.
• Previous customer service/sales experience.
• Personal computer knowledge necessary
• Excellent written, oral, interpersonal communication and problem
solving skills.
You have been considered and selected for the above job position.An Interview has been scheduled for you.The Interview would be conducted online through YAHOO INSTANT MESSAGING.You are advised to download a yahoo messenger and add Patricia Cole(H.R Manager).This is her yahoo id, [email protected]
Make sure you add her to your messenger and you are online for the Interview.
This is an online job so all your assignments would be
forwarded to you and submitted back by either fax, regular mail,
email, phone or IM
(instant messaging).
All activities and corresponding time are to be recorded in excel
spreadsheet. That's how we access your work and process your pay.
Recruitment Office.


I have been talking to her all morning and i even filled out a form for payment and sent a copy of my id and after that she is now talking about sending payments to nigeria to her office there. what should i do??

Welcome eemteeshouse!

I'm glad you found out that you were targeted by a scammer.

What details did you give the scammer? If you gave him your bank account, you need to contact your bank immediately and have your account changed. Check for suspicious transfers.
It is not ideal you gave him a scan of your ID, but in most cases, the scammer will go away if you drop him. Don't answer his emails, block him from chat. When he realises that he won't get your money, he will go away.

If you feel unsure about your ID, contact the authority which issued it and ask them for advice.

i even filled out a form for payment

If you gave your name, address, phone number, etc. don't worry about it.

If you gave bank account numbers or credit card numbers, it is definitely best to contact the bank or issuing company and report that your information is possibly compromised.

If you are in the US and you gave your social security number along with other detailed info, you should probably consider placing a fraud alert for possible identity theft. Here is more information regarding fraud alerts: http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/flag.html

Either way, drop all contact with these scammers.

I have been speeking with this person and it went from being a CSR to doing payroll and she then started asking me if I would send moneys to africa and she also wantd me to post ads on craigslist using other peoples cc info then she set up an email acct using a mans name.. this person should be in jail. i have several #'s for her amd the peoples acct info she was trying to use.what should i do my local police wont do anything and the fbi told me to put in a complaint to their internet fraud site but they dont have anything listed to do that. who can help????!!!!!!!!

Hi eemteeshouse!
Please post all the phone numbers, bank account info, and whatever else you were sent, here, on this thread. It's really frustrating that Law enforcement don't seem to take this kind of fraud seriously, but unfortunately these criminals are working out of another Country, usually Africa, which makes it very difficult for the scammers to be investigated and caught. But publically posting the scammers info on this site and others is a great way to prevent other people from being scammed. Thank-you for helping!