Internet Scams Posing as Work from Home Jobs

I've just had an experience that has become quite common among people looking for legitimate work from home opportunities.

I received an email from someone who was proficient in the English language (poor English is always a clue to me) and who presented herself/himself as female by virtue of her name. The email introduced me to a "Mystery Shopping" opportunity. We exchanged 3 or 4 emails and to that point, it sounded legitimate.

Then came the email that said one of the companies I would be requested to shop was Western Union. OK. I wasn't so sure about that but I thought I'll go send $50 to Aunt Maude and then I tell you what type of service I received. Wrong, very wrong.

Next, I received an email that said I would receive a check in the mail within the next couple of days, payable to me in the amount of $2,850. I was to take this check to my bank, cash it, keep $100 for my services, and go to Western Union with the balance. Then I was to send this balance to a person in the UK via Western Union.

Once I read that, all the red flags, lights, buzzers, and whistles went off in my head. I wrote back asking them not to send this. Too late! The check arrived in my mail the very same day as the email arrived. The check was drawn on a business located in Arizona. I found myself holding the check by one corner, barely wanting this thing in my presence.

Having worked as a commercial insurance agent for many years, I recalled a recent experience just like this that happened to one of my customers. My customer received a phone from a woman in the US who stated she had a check drawn on their company for a similar amount, perhaps $2,500. The woman faxed them a copy of the check. It looked genuine and my customer verified it was their bank account but they had not issued the check. My customer was concerned that other checks would be issued like this and they would lose a substantial amount of money. They worked with their bank and never lost any money, all due to the potential victim contacting them directly.

At the time my customer had this problem, I did some internet research at www.ripoffreport.com and found several people who had followed the instructions from their "employer". They had taken the bogus check to the bank, cashed it, and done the transfer. After a few days, the check was rejected and those people who had cashed the checks at their own banks and performed the transfer had lost their money.

When I had that check in my hand, I knew I was looking at the same thing. I felt a little foolish for having gone this far. I suspected something was wrong when Western Union was mentioned but just wanted to see what would happen.

I decided to take this to the proper authorities so it would at least be reported and possibly they could even stop these particular scammers. I started with the local police department and was advised that since the emails were coming (posing?) from the UK, and the Western Union transfer was to be to someone in the UK, I should contact the FBI.

Since I had not lost anything, I decided I would take the item to the Post Office first to see what they had to say. The envelope had only a single US postage stamp on it with no other markings. Therefore, the item was mailed in the United States. Also, it had only taken a few days to arrive; international mail can take up to two weeks. I was not able to tell where it had come from by any markings on the letter; however, the post office was able to tell me it had come from Georgia. That made it mail fraud. The local post office took the check, envelope, and email correspondence and forwarded it to the Postal Inspector.

I am posting this report in hopes that others will be spared as I was. My local police department assured me that they do regularly take reports from residents who have lost money in this same type of bogus check scam. They indicated that most such scams originate in Nigeria. Mine however was not from Nigeria.

Below are a couple of links I located which will show you hundreds of scams that have occurred in the US. Many unsuspecting people have even been arrested, completely unaware they were involved in anything illegal. Some were just selling a few household items on eBay or Craigslist. I also suggest you look at your state's attorney general website for similar information; there was a lot of good information on my state's AG site.

Take some time and read a few of these. As our economy and unemployment situations worsen, I fear many more people will fall for these scams.

Check out the site www.419eater.com site. They have information on how to "mess with" these internet scammers.

http://www.scam-info-links.info/scam_victim_news.html

www.ripoffreport.com