I almost got scammed ;(
By ausnikki
@ausnikki (4054)
Brisbane, Australia
April 4, 2007 9:22am CST
I have been looking for work for quite a few months now.About two weeks ago I got an email in my inbox from someone saying they had read my resume on an online job site, and that they would like to offer me a job.Hmmm I thought what's this about?.They said they had seen my resume in Careerone.com and they thought I would be suitable for the job they had on offer.The job was for a Financial Agent.They gave me a link to a company website and I went to check it out.It looked pretty professional to me,but I still had reservations.They wanted to put money into my personal account for me to forward on.Ok sounds like an easy job.I showed the company site to a friend last night and she asked me if it was legitimate,I said I thought it might be but decided to check out some scam sites just to be sure.Just as well I did! On the site I read a mock email which was almost word for word what my email said.Alarm bells went off.It turns out this job (had I not checked) would have had me doing money laundering for people who had done online fraud.OMG,it is a crime to be involved in this.A big thanks to my friend who made me really think about this job and check it out properly.You know who you are.You saved me from making a HUGE mistake! I guess it's back to the job hunting for me :(
17 people like this
41 responses
@babs0818 (1191)
• United States
4 Apr 07
Hi,I have been working from home for a couple of years now...It is not easy to find legit work from home jobs...I learned a lot going to a couple of work-from-home forums...They will post legit jobs and you will meet other stay at home people,who are seeking work from home.The websites are wahm.com and workplacelikehome.com...try them out.Another suggestion I have is...always check with Better Bussiness Bureau first..they have a website,there you can type the name of the bussiness..if they have no complaints,that is the first step to a legit company.Also,dont ever pay a fee for a job...it shouldnt cost you anything...Good Luck in your search in the future!
3 people like this
@5ID3wind3r (55)
• United States
5 Apr 07
Yes, wahm.com is FABULOUS !!!! Please do yourself a huge favor and frequent that site. I have actually landed severl legit and very good remote (work from home) positions from that site.
@marlyse (1056)
• Switzerland
4 Apr 07
hi there ausnikki
i am sorry for you but in the same time i am glad you did check it out. for online jobs there is one rule you should take care of: never take a jobe, where you have to pay something, before you can start working. its really sad how these scammers take advantage of people who need to work and dont have much money. i hate them really. i hope you get a job soon and noone hurts you again. i think on you
@ausnikki (4054)
• Brisbane, Australia
5 Apr 07
Hi marlyse
The thing about this job is they didn't ask me for any money.They said they would pay me a monthly wage,plus commission.I was just suspicious about it so checked it out.Thank goodness I did!.Thank you for the good wishes.And thanks for adding me to your friends list!.
2 people like this
@ausnikki (4054)
• Brisbane, Australia
5 Apr 07
Thanks Gabs,it's because of talking to you that I decided to really check it out.So thanks for that!I have read the email and I will check into it.It looks good but finances being what they are I don't know......
Love and hugs my friend
1 person likes this
@camille101 (1025)
• United Arab Emirates
4 Apr 07
We too, had received some emails similar to yours. And I already knew what to do with these stuffs. Some member here in mylot told me to scam/fraud search these stuffs. And as always I'll found it in a scam site, with same message content and contact informations sent to different people on the net.
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
4 Apr 07
Thank you for opening our eyes to these scams So many people must get into them and not realise till it's too late... Glade you wern't one of them... Good Luck with finding a legit one....
1 person likes this
@oldboy46 (2129)
• Australia
10 May 07
Good thing that you did check on this one. My partner almost got caught the same way when she was looking for a job. She wanted to work from home and was not looking for big money .. just that little bit extra so she could give away one of the part time jobs she has.
I will check with her on this one because she was given the details of an email address where you can report this sort of activity. I am not sure how well it works or how effective it is .. but it might just be worth checking out and reporting if you still have the details of the site that is. It is very easy to get trapped by these very unscrupulous people. However in the eyes of the law you should have known what was going on, at least that is my understanding of the Australian law as it stands now.
Sadly like you my partner is still working her two part time jobs although now one is only a few nights a week. The other one is during the day for 4-6 hours a day for 4 days a week. For her that last incident was too much and she decided she was better off working where she has been. When we can afford it she will just quit one of the jobs or work less hours, rather than risk something like nearly happened to both you and her.
@BunGirl (2638)
• United States
4 Apr 07
There are a ton of these "opportunities" all over the web and it's a real shame that they prey on people who are jobless or otherwise in need of a legitimate source of income. I have gotten "offers" from several of them too. Many are very well disguised, to fool even those of us who are aware of their existence. I guess in the end, it's a good idea to check out ANY company before giving out your personal info. And if they say they're going to deposit to your bank account (other than direct deposit of earned wages) BEWARE.
I'm glad to hear you escaped this scam before they got you, and thanks for passing the word on to the rest of us!
1 person likes this
@ausnikki (4054)
• Brisbane, Australia
5 Apr 07
You're very welcome,I felt the need to make people aware of the scams out there.They almost got me.I am so desperate for a job that at first I just wanted to believe it was legit.I really feel for the people that don't think to check it out properly.
1 person likes this
@browneyedgirl (1264)
• United States
4 Apr 07
How do these creeps get away with what they do? It's a good thing you checked it out. I've gotten a couple of emails claiming to have seen my resume online-I usually don't respond to them. I choose whom to send my resume to. If I didn't send it to them, I don't respond to the company.
1 person likes this
@carlena1 (120)
• United States
4 Apr 07
those financial agent e-mail solicitations will get you felony time. forward those e-mails to security websites and never share info. the following are real work - no fee no scam sites
www.untroddenedroad.com
craig'slist
ritterandassociates
good luck
1 person likes this
@txwoman36 (173)
• United States
4 Apr 07
there is alot of those kind of jobs going around the internet. i get some of these people sending me emails. i have no idea how they got my email address but when i get them i delete them right away. i think alot of these kind of jobs are originated from nigeria. i saw something on a show were they did an investigation about nigeria and money laundering. they went undercover and were showing a room full of computers and all these people in the room were doing money laundering. the way things are you have to becareful on the internet. glad to know you found out what its all about before you go involved.
1 person likes this
@jchampany (1130)
• United States
5 Apr 07
Nothing wrong with using the intenet to look for a job. In fact it makes it easier if you are using a legitimate job listing website. You can post your resume and search real jobs all day long.
@kathy77 (7486)
• Australia
5 Apr 07
Oh dear that is dreadful and I am so happy that you had a friend ask you questions other wise you would of been in deep trouble with laundering other people money that is dreadful isn't it so we have to be on the look out for what other people are up on when they try to do this to us. Good luck in your job hunting and hopefully you will find something legitimate very soon.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
5 Apr 07
You poor lil soul nikki. You probably felt like someone had ripped a big hole in you somewhere. To think you had a job after all this time looking. I've been there mate, I would have thought it was real, I'd be willing it to be real.
I'm so glad you kept checking. That must have been awful.
You'll get something soon, I'm sure.
@RogerTheRabbit (1271)
• Portugal
5 Apr 07
I never heard of people doing money laundering on the Internet. The scams that usually appear on the Internet are the one that do not pay or that get your money and run away. I guess everyone should be more careful deciding what site to join. Thanks for letting us know you history. It's always good to know what kind of scams there are on the Internet.
