Protect Yourself and Report the Latest Frauds, Scams, Spams, Fakes, Identify Theft Hacks and Hoaxes
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Have you received an email from Mr.Wong Hong of "China National Arts & Crafts" in China (or ANYWHERE else) offering you a job as a "Distributor", "Receiving Officer", "local agent" or "local representative" in which you "receive payments", deduct your "Processing fee", deposit the checks and then wire most of the money to an overseas "company"?
It is an AFF / Money transfer Scam. They'll send you counterfeit checks which you are supposed to deposit, take out some percentage (typically, 10%) for your work, and then MoneyGram or Western Union wire the remaining 90%. Notice that although you receive checks, they won't let you forward a check to them, only Western Union or Money Gram. There's a reason for this: Western Union and MoneyGrams are cashed immediately and are untraceable and irretrievable. Bank checks can take 1 or 2 weeks to clear!
Of course, since the check is fake, it will bounce a week or so later after you deposit it. But you have already moneygram'ed the scammers the 90% of the amount, and that is transacted almost instantly. So you now owe the bank for the full amount. You may also face criminal charges for passing counterfeit checks. See this page for a step-by-step explanation of how the scam unfolds.
Do you have a resume posted online? We'd like to hear from you about your experiences recruiting emails that turned out to be scams or misleading - click here to write us.
Notice the passages we have highlighted in the actual scam email below. They point out some of the additional clues that it is a scam, such as the email comes from a free email account (such as Yahoo.com, Hotmail.com, Aim.com, Gmail, cox.net, etc.). Wouldn't you expect a company to have its own website and email address (after all, it only costs about $200/year; every reputable company has its own website these days!) And don't be surprised if the scammers do put the names of real companies, real websites and events in their scams; it doesn't mean anything at all!
Sun 08 Jul 2007 06:11:23 AM EDT
From: China National Arts & Crafts <chuk000@bellsouth.net>
Subject: HELLO
China National Arts & Crafts (CNAC)
Import & Export Corporation Rc./216870
27h Bao Feng Mansion,
299 Jinjiang road,Beijing China.
E-mail: art_craft_biz@yahoo.com.cn
Dear Reader,
I sincerely Write to seek your Co-operation and trust in
respect to a business opportunity in our company.
We are a multinational firm in asia with headquaters
situated at the heart of Beijing China.We are into sales(Export)
of Arts & Crafts.
In the course of last year we made a turnover of some
thousands of dollars but at our yearly board meeting our
board of directors decided on increase in profit hence our reaching
out to credible individuals/companies
We have limited countries where our products are
been exported.Due to the quality of our products we have some
sucessfully few customers in America and Canada continent. Also, due to
the high demand for our products in America,Canada and Europe,we have
decided to move our products fully into the continent of America,Canada,
colombia,mexico,and Europe.
By so doing,we are searching for reliable persons/companies
who can act as a DISTRIBUTOR//RECEIVING OFFICER for us.
He/She will act as medium between our customers and us in
their established area.
YOUR BENEFITS.
If aprroved as our Representative, you are entitled to an
annual income of $25,000USD and 5% of whatever amount you receive from
customers who are making payments through you to us.Please if you are
interested in transacting business with Us, we will be very glad.
Please, forward to us your phone/fax number and your full
contact address or just state your interest.
Contact us via
emails: art_craft_biz@yahoo.com.cn
For more information.
Thank you as we await your further response.
Only trustworthy & credible individuals will be considered.
In Trust And Good Faith,
Mr.Wong Hong.
(Managing Director)
There are a variety of sleazy scams that look, at first glance, like legitimate job offers. Before you write back to them, pause a moment and read about the scams below!
Some of the more common job scams are