Please help me help my parents!!!

My dad is out of work after teaching for 35 years. My mom has terminal cancer. He is desperate for work. I am worried because he thinks the following email is possibly a legitimate job offer. I cannot figure out what the scam would be but I know that no parent would send their Autistic daughter to different country to go to school and have a random stranger pick them up. It doesn't make sense. HELP! Start reading from the bottom.

I have reformatted the post to make it easier to read and follow, mails are now in the right order and your Dad's email address and mails to the scammer have been removed for his safety - Ralph

** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

Removed email from victim

From: Rachael Walcott <[email protected]>
To: Removed
Sent: Removed
Subject: Re: Driving

Hello,

Hope this message finds you well, thanks for your responses concerning the DRIVING position. My daughter just got admission to a university in your area and we are looking for a responsible person that will be driving her from her apartment to school because she has little disability. (Her disability is Autism which is nothing you can’t handle. Smiles).

If you think you are suitable for this position in as much that you will prove yourself to be a reliable with good manners .I will be paying you $500 weekly and I want you to know this is a part-time job.

I would appreciate it if you could advise me if you have your personal car, if not we can make arrangement to get a car ASAP.You will be working only 3 times a week. The schedule will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in which you will be picking her up in the morning by 9:00am and dropping her off at school then picking her up again from school by 4:00pm and driving her back to her apartment. You will also be required to pick up my daughter at the airport when she arrives in The States.

We are presently living in Germany and I have instructed my personal secretary in the State to forward you a check from my company bank which will cover payment for your first two weeks of service at $1,000.00, along with travel expenses for my daughter included in the payment you will receive.

All details regarding her travel will be provided to you as soon you receive the payment. Get back to me as soon as possible with the following details to prepare the payment by my Secretary so that the payment can be mailed out to you ASAP.

FULL NAME
FULL MAILING ADDRESS
HOME PHONE NUMBER
MOBILE NUMBER
YOUR AGE
GENDER

Once you get back with the requested information, the payment will be prepared and sent to you as soon as possible I await the details soonest for payment, so I can start her relocation plans ASAP.

Best Regards,
Rachael Walcott.

Hello J,
Hope this message finds you well, am so sorry I have not been in touch with you for a while, it has been a busy week at work with changes in this Global financial market.
Anyways, thanks for your e mail. I reviewed all applications for the driving position but your response stands out. I believe you can diligently carry out the resposibility so I am offering you the driving job which will start on 11th of October. My daughter will be arriving in the State on 9th of October; I will appreciate if you can pick her from the airport as planned.
However I have instructed my personal secretary in the State to forward you a check from my company bank which will cover payment for your first two weeks of service at $1,000.00, along with travel expenses for my daughter included which you should receive it by next week Monday.
Thanks again
Rachael.
Ps; Kindly reply me immediately if you receive this message today.

On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 1:57 PM, Rachael Walcott <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello J
I was really disappointed when i got your e mail thinking my offer
was a scam....I am an easy going person with a kind heart..I don't have
any evil thought for anyone...am just looking for someone who is also
kind,loving,pure,crimefree and trustworthy to help my
daughter...Anyway,she will be attending the University of Denver but
am not yet convinced that you are the right person am looking for....
Rachael.

Hi and welcome Wanttohelpmydad

I have no doubt this is a scam, I will take a closer look in a few moments.

meanwhile there is some excellent advice written by one of our support team members here viewtopic.php?f=34&t=3019

Editing to add some findings

First up, there is another example of the same email in this search result Click Here

For those familiar with the writing style of an African, it is easy to see many mistakes, I wont point them out but to our regular visitors they will be obvious.

This line here is telling

along with travel expenses for my daughter included

The cheques received will be fake but will more than likely get through the initial banks screening and be "provisionally cleared" in 5 working days,

Next comes the part where they make their money from you, the travel agent you will need to pay for the daughters travel expenses will be as fake as the cheques and it will just happen to be the same scammer or group of scammers you will be sending the money too, of note, the payment to this travel agent will be requested as a Western Union payment.

There is absolutely no doubt this is a scam.

please have your dad see this thread and read up the information contained in our employment scam section.

Cease all contact with the scammer, ignore emails and if they have a phone number, hang up when they call.

If you know how to find a header, please show us a copy of the header (personal details removed) and we can do a search on it to see where it came from, it's a safe bet that it didn't come from Germany.

If you or your Dad have any questions about this or any other scam, please dont hesitate to ask

When the scammers start sending counterfeit cheques, it isn't only the risk of losing money. If the bank take the wrong view they could involve the police. It has been know to happen, and a college professor in the USA went to jail over it. I think he just got sucked in so deep he must have become too deeply involved.

The style of English used is classic 419 scammer.

I wish your Dad well and hope your Mom at least has some comfort and relief. Getting taken by a scammer would be the last thing your dad deserves.

Absolutley a scam. I would advise you dad to stop contact straight away. I have seen many of these fake job offers that sound too good to be true.