Scam Alert: Work From Home

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1080p

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#80252 29-Mar-2011 16:26

Hi ya'll,

I have just been advised of a new scam which has affected several people already and has been flagged by some NZ banks but not all as yet. A job advertised on both http://seek.co.nz/ and http://nzherald.co.nz/ for an 'Accounts Payable Officer' is what you should look out for.

People responding are hired to accept payments into their bank accounts from 'Paymate International' and are 'paid' by retaining 10% of all transactions *sound like a scam already?*.

They are then asked to withdraw the remaining amount and deposit it into another nominated account or transfer it via Western Union.

The scammers actually get the money from New Zealand via another ingenious play:

The scammers advertise vehicles for sale via many classifieds pages etc... and ask purchasers to pay for them via 'TradeMe's' SafeTrader mechanism into nominated New Zealand bank accounts. These accounts are the accounts of the people who applied for the scam 'Accounts Payable Officer' position. You can already see where this is going... The vehicle, of course, likely does not exist resulting in a loss to the purchaser and a very difficult time tracking down their cash again.

Keep the above in mind if you are looking for a job or thinking of buying a new car. A little common sense will go a long way.

n4

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Ultimate Geek
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#453198 29-Mar-2011 17:01

Yes, not new, been around for years that one. As you say, a little common sense...

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Mooseboy

124 posts

Master Geek
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#453202 29-Mar-2011 17:12

The police have also said that anyone who takes this "job" is liable to be prosecuted for money laundering, and ignorance is not a defence.

Lacheta

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#453496 30-Mar-2011 14:37

I've been affected by this scam job yesterday. Likley my bank rang me up before I was bout to transfer that money to another country and infrom me that those amount of money which I've received recently have been stolen from another bank account so I got very lucky and don't owe anything to the bank at this stage

freitasm

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#453500 30-Mar-2011 14:46

Note this is a variation of a very old scam. There are different versions:

- you own a legitimate business and someone approaches you wanting to buy a large quantity of your product. They then pay you with a money order or cheque that more than covers your price, asking you to send the change back to them via postal order, money order, wire transfer. They end up with your products, the change and you end up owing money to the bank.

- they ask you to work for money, basically receiving "local" payments with the excuse that once you accumulate some balance you can then pass it on to them, to save the costs by doing a single large transfer. As pointed out most of the money is actually stolen from other accounts and you end up being a partner in their crime.

How do they get the money to transfer to you? Basically when people enter their bank account access number and passwords in response to those phishing emails asking them to login otherwise their account will be cancelled. The criminals then use those details to login into the account and send money to their "employee".

Basically, money laundering.

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bazzer

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#453739 31-Mar-2011 10:32

What about accepting the job and then just keeping the money in your account until you can return it to the rightful owner? I guess it's still a criminal offense, even if all you're trying to do is inconvenience the scammer.

I really worry about people who actually fall for this. I guess easy money is tempting enough for people to switch off their commen sense (if they had any to start with).

Edit: Just clarified my meaning.

1080p

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#453777 31-Mar-2011 12:19

bazzer: What about accepting the job and then just keeping the money in your account until you can return it to the rightful owner? I guess it's still a criminal offense, even if all you're trying to do is inconvenience the scammer.

I really worry about people who actually fall for this. I guess easy money is tempting enough for people to switch off their commen sense (if they had any to start with).

Edit: Just clarified my meaning.

I suppose if you were to accept the job and walk straight to the police station, explain what you had done and offer to assist in passing on Western Union routing numbers or bank accounts you might be OK.

Trying to claim that is what you were doing after the fact might be a little difficult.

The scam MO is old but this is a fairly recent resurgence of the scam. I just wanted to warn fellow GZ'ers :D

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Mooseboy

124 posts

Master Geek
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#453788 31-Mar-2011 12:42

bazzer: What about accepting the job and then just keeping the money in your account until you can return it to the rightful owner? I guess it's still a criminal offense, even if all you're trying to do is inconvenience the scammer.

I really worry about people who actually fall for this. I guess easy money is tempting enough for people to switch off their commen sense (if they had any to start with).

Edit: Just clarified my meaning.

There is specific reference in the law for Receiving Stolen Goods which states that if you receive stolen goods, even with honest intent, you are still liable.