Scammers Hit New Low, Advertising Employment Positions

See this note below from a reader telling us about an employment scam. 

Dear Mr. Gimenez,

I am not a "blogger" and am not familiar with the procedures/process but I do know a scam when i see one. The scam is regarding employment the sites are  rentfromjoe@yahoo.com and judydawkins1986@hotmail.com

 They both advertise the same position, even almost identical word for word, same rate of pay etc. I have not as yet heard back from the one I applied to but he is requesting that I purchase a laptop, mailing stamps and an internet hook up. I believe that this more than likely an attempt to get access to my paypal account which I read about on your site. The clue for me was that neither of these people use English that well. ie. Am Joe Williams instead of I am Joe Williams.  They used the phrase "hands occupied" instead of busy etc. I did give my address but my husband insists that it is nothing to worry about. I hope he is right!

     I had a similar situation  a few years ago. I was office manager for a vineyard and an individual attempted to purchase several cases of wine for a birthday celebration in Thailand. The card used was stolen- the manner of communicating was just like the above mentioned. i doubt that there is much that can be done but maybe yiu can post these e-mail addresses as bogus! Thanks

NAME REDACTED

Mark Smith Plays "Instant Purchase" Game

From: Mark Smith <possibility238@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 3:08 PM
Subject: Re: New 2007 Burton Vapor - $800 (Allentown) Date: 2011-08-21, 12:01AM EDT Reply to:

Thanks for the prompt response am quite satisfied with the condition .Am very much interested and i am really okay with the item and i will love to make an instant purchase,so please do withdraw the advert from Craigslist and considered it SOLD to me,I will add $40 to the purchase price, for you to hold it for me.I would have loved to come take a look myself but i am a very busy but i'm okay with the item. I will be paying you by cashier's check from my bank, It will take 2 -3 days for the payment to get to you, it will be sent via courier service due to the distance.You don't need to bother your self with the shipment okay,i will take careof that,so i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the cashier's check, so that I can have my assistant get the cashier's check ready.

1. Full Name to write on the cashier's check

2. Address where payment will be sent to not P.O BOX (b'cos my courier service does not deliver to p.o box) 

3. City 

4. State 

5. Zip Code 

6. Home or cell Phone Number 

Once again ,I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping i will have my mover come over for the pick up as soon as you have cashed the cashier's check.

Thanks!

Mark

Apex Insurance Being Used by Scammers

Dear Joey:

I came very close to losing $6700 in a Craigslist Scam involving an apartment rental.  A fellow from London pursued the ad.  His gave his landlord's name - Matt McGovern on Godstow Rd.  Of course, the "landlord" gave glowing reports.  When my son suggested we google the landlord's name, I found similarities from people who had been scammed.  The fellow said he worked for Apex Insurance and I needed to cash the check he would send me. (A cashier's check from a Community Bank in Columbia, South Carolina) Then I would wire money to 3 people, including his "interior decorator" who would arrive in advance.  The wording in the reports posted by others was so similar to the wording in the e-mails I received that I immediately knew this was a scam.

If you want me to give further information, including the exact wording, I can do that.

Please post this!  And thank goodness for this site.

Name Redacted--

Okay, Time to Update with Readers' Inputs

I've been away from this site for a while but I get daily notes from people with new information about new scammers. Some 200 people a day view this site, which is new record in the history of the site. Last year we were at about 100 per day.

Here's a list of email addresses I've received from readers as fitting the profile of a scam email. Please note that this site does nothing to verify the claims of the readers, only to review the scam letter offering for potential signs, like poor use of English language, fishy urgency or unusual circumstances. If you think you've been unfairly identified please contact me and I will remove your email address.

Otherwise, these email postings seemed to have worked will in drawing google and other search engines so that readers can evaluate themselves. Buyer beware.

Brad Farr   bradfsfg09@gmail.com
Philip Velador, philvelador@yahoo.com
Mark Smith possibility238@gmail.com
Kimberly Lanz bronx4life@gmail.com
Phillip Sinclair  phillipsnclr@gmail.com
Marcus Dylan  efrankederj002@yahoo.com
Troy Mendez   
Mark Bravo   markbravo181@gmail.com
kelly joe   kellyjoe208@gmail.com
Chris Roering  roeringchris@gmail.com
Ben Lulu    eryben3@gmail.com

Below is my present landlords information for reference :

Matt McGovern

19 Godstow Road, London, , SE2 9AT

UNITED KINGDOM

EMAIL:mattmcgovern83@yahoo.com

You can also call my employer at the number below to verify employment.

(Richard Shwe +447573833225)