Protect Yourself and Report the Latest Frauds, Scams, Spams, Fakes, Identify Theft Hacks and Hoaxes
There are affiliate links on this page.
Read our disclosure policy to learn more.
Have you received an email from Neal Harris of "Global Seafood Australia Limited" in Lagos, Nigeria (or ANYWHERE else) offering you a job as an "independent contractor", "Payment 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"? In this case, GSA Ltd is asking you to help them commit tax fraud against the Australian government. That is, it would be a felony, if that's what they were really doing.
It is really 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!)
Subject: Can I Trust You Please
Date: 03/05/2007
From: company_20@bellsouth.net
Reply-to: neal_harris02@yahoo.com.hkDear Friend,
Global Seafood Australia Limited sells fish and seafood. We have reached big sales volume in the European and Asian market and now are trying to penetrate the Northern American market. Quite soon we will open representative offices and authorized sales centers in North America and therefore we are currently looking for people who will assist us in establishing a new distribution network there. The fact that despite the Nothern America market is new for us we already have regular clients also speaks for itself.
WHY YOU?
The international money transfer tax for legal entities (companies) in Australia is 25%, whereas for the individual it is only 7%. That.s why we need you! We need agents to receive payment for our products in their locality and to resend the money to us. This way we will save money because of tax decreasing.
HOW MUCH WILL YOU EARN?
7%-9% from each sale/resale operation! For instance: you receive 1000 USD to your bank account. You will withdraw the money and keep $70 (7% from $1000) for yourself! At the beginning your commission will equal 7%, though later it will increase up to 9%!
ADVANTAGES
You do not have to go out as you will work as an independent contractor right from your home office. Your job is absolutely legal. You can earn up to $3000-4000 depending on time you will spend for this job. You do not need any capital to start. The employees who make efforts and work hard have a strong possibility to become managers. Anyway our employees never leave us.
If you are interested in our offer, please feel free to indicate so in your reply to us.
Thanks for your time.
Your's Sincerely,
Neal Harris.
C.E.O. Global Seafood Australia Limited ___________________________________________________________________
Possible Reply:
Neal Harris
C.E.O.
Global Seafood Australia Limited
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