Just caught this job scam slipping through my spam filters. I'll post the text and then show you why it's a scam:

From: Alyce Christensen <a650504@abraminterstate.com>

Globus Capital Group
Finance Manager
Job Information
Post Date: Sep 30, 2008 Type: Full time
Salary: $5.000/month + 5% of each payment processing operation
Location: US, All States, 00000

Job Details
Description
We are looking for people who can control the payment of our customers from your state / region. The responsibilities of work included compiling monthly reports on the overall turnover of funds, sending documents on each transfer.

Skills
Requirements: Well developed analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills- Broad understanding of financial/accounting principles and systems- Team oriented, results focused individual with hands-on style committed to delivering a very high quality work product. - Creativity and tenacity in analysis and problem solving. 'Can-do' attitude.

Contact Details / Apply for this Job

Please send your CV (resume) to e-mail: joy.chidsey@gmail.com

Now the first way to spot these scams is the most common way. Just look at the "from" address, the company name, and the address they want you to send your response to. The "from" address is a meaningless sequence of letters and numbers (a650504) at a domain (abramsinterstate.com) that has absolutely nothing to do with the business that's recruiting you (Globus Capital Group). And the address to reply to is at a free mail service like hotmail, gmail, or Yahoo.

Now, I do get legitimate e-mails from one person asking me to reply to another. One tech staffing agency here in Seattle does that whenever they contact you off of CareerBuilder. But both addresses are at the staffing agency, not one at a totally unrelated business and one at gmail. And the positions are usually web developer gigs, not "financial representative" gigs.

Second, no company seeking a financial representative overseas is going to spam people for it. Seriously, if you needed someone to handle enough of your money that it's worth paying them $60,000 a year plus a 5 percent commission on the payments they process are you really going to send out invitations to apply for that willy nilly?

Third, if they were a legitimate business, they could find a U.S. bank to handle this for them for less than 5 percent.

Fourth, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

See, here's what happens if you get the job: Their "clients" will send you checks which you take to your bank to cash. Most banks will cash a check for a couple thousand without blinking an eye. You go to Western Union, send your "employer" their money, keep the 5 percent commission for yourself, and maybe treat yourself to a nice lunch. Then, a few days or a week later, your bank calls. They've discovered the check was forged and they'd like their money back, please. You try to refer them to your "employer", but you're the one who cashed the check and you're responsible for paying back the money. You start desperately e-mailing your new "employer" to get them to send you that money ASAP, but they've gone oddly silent. You're on the hook for the money and you're an accessory to check fraud.

The sad thing is that there's nothing you can do. These swindles go on every day. The crooks are in Russia or other Eastern European countries where the FBI doesn't get a lot of cooperation. If you replied, got the job, and they sent you checks, don't cash them. Call the police. Just remember that if you've reached the point where they sent you checks, these criminals know where you live and you need the advice of the police.

If you haven't yet reached that point, just do what they would do when you started e-mailing about the money your bank was demanding you repay... go silent. Don't answer their e-mails.

If you were wise enough to Google them before replying and found this, don't reply. Some people think it's funny to string them along and waste their time, but remember that these are criminals. Just stay off their radar.

I've been out of work nearly 4 months and have a baby on the way. I was supposed to have a job offer on the table on Monday only to find out the company had cancelled the position. I know what it's like to really want these to be real. But they're not and no amount of wishing will make it so. I'm sorry if I've disappointed you.

Best of luck to you all.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 5:05 am and is filed under Job Hunting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.