Cover Your Assets

Advance Fee Fraud Examples

CYA-419

Here is another fine example of a scam letter using a similar fake check strategy. The scammer is asking for your personal information right up front. In this case the tracability of the email leads to a cyber-cafe on Victoria Island, Nigeria.


>>>Quoted From Email<<<<
How are you doing today? Would you like to work online from home and get paid weekly ? GREGORY HOLDINGS needs a book-keeper in the United States, so I want to know if you will like to work online from home and get paid weekly without leaving or affecting your present job? The company presently produces fabrics in the UK and we need someone to work for the company as a representative/book keeper in united the states.The company deals in the sale of TEXTILES works, sculptures and produces various fabrics materials,batiks, assorted fabrics and various traditionalcostumes from all over the world and we have clients we supply weekly in the United States. Our clients make payments for our supplies every week in form of Money Orders which are not readily cashable outside the United States, so we need someone in the United States to work as our representative and assist us in processing the payments from our clients and he/she would be paid a weekly salary. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS RECEIVE THIS PAYMENTS FROM OUR CLIENTS ON BEHALF OF OUR COMPANY IN THE UNITED STATES, GET IT CASHED IN YOUR BANK THEN DEDUCT YOUR WEEKLY PAY AND FOWARD THE BALANCE TO THE COMPANY DOWN HERE VIA WESTERN UNION/MONEY GRAM MONEY TRANSFEROur payments will be issued out in your name and you get them cashed in your bank deduct your weekly salary and foward the balance to the company via western union/money gram money transfer. Basically what the Company is searching for is a Representative/Book-keeper in the States who would help to establish a medium of getting our funds from our customers there. If youare interested in working with us we would be very glad as inability to get our Payment in cash has posed a big problem and has affected account reconciliation and turn over grosslyThese are legitimate transactions between our customers and our company Representative and there is no legal risk as these are payments for goodsalready bought and delievered. We are offering 12% of whatever amount it is that you cash per week as salary and subject to your satisfaction you will be given the oppurtunity to negotiate the mode by which we will pay for yourservices as our official Representative/Book-keeper in the States.The mode we would prefer would be instant deduction of your salary from the Amount before going ahead to send whatever is left back via Western union/Money gram money transfer. We are aware that you would be chargedto have the money sent whatever that would amount to is to be deducted from the balance of the funds after you must have deducted your salary.Please if you are interested forward the following info:1.Full names2.Phone number/fax 3.Full contact address and zip code GREGORY HOLDINGS 1-3 Leinster Gardens LONDON, UNITED KINGDO2 bedM W2 6DP,United Kingdom +44-703-191-2595 GREG GEORGE

>>>End of Quoted Email<<<<

Seems straight forward enough and some folks would (and do) fall for this scam. Now take a look at another scam that seems to slip up in the middle. The reason for this being included is below.

>>>Quoted from a different Email<<<<

lemmens crane system
Dear Sir/Ma ,
lemmens crane system is an European and African Invented Company, but
has a
Standardized branch here in Singapore .We Buy, Produce and Distribute
Constructing materials such as Crawler Cranes, Mechanical Crane and
Marine
Equipment Worldwide, you can check out our European branch website (
www.lemmens-group.com) .We have reached big sales volume of Constructing
Materials
in Europe,Africa and the United Kingdom and now are trying to penetrate
the
USA/Canada market. Quite soon we will open representative offices or
authorized sales centers in the USA/Canada and therefore we are
currently
looking for people who will assist us in establishing a new
distribution!
Network there. The fact is that despite the USA/Canada market is new
for us
we already have regular clients also speaks for itself.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR US ?
But we have a problem that's setting us back. We have some problem
collecting our payments from our USA/Canada clients. The international
money
transfer tax for legal entities (companies) in USA is 25%, whereas for
the
individual it is only 7%.There is no sense for us to work this way,
while
tax for international money transfer made by a private individual is 7%
.That's why we need you! We need agents to receive payment for our
textiles
(in Money Orders, Checks or Bank Wire Transfers) from our clients in
the
USA/Canada and to resend the money to us via Money Gram or Western
Union
Money Transfer. This way we will save money because of tax decreasing.
JOB DESCRIPTION ?
1. Receive payment from Clients
2. Cash Payments at your Bank or Exchange Rate Offices
3. Deduct 10% which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed.
4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the
offices
you will be contacted to send payment to (Payment is to be sent via
either
by Money Gram or Western Union Money Transfer).
HOW MUCH WILL YOU EARN ?
* 10% from each operation! For instance: you receive $8000 via Checks
or
money orders on our behalf. You will cash the money and keep $800 (10%
from
$8000) for yourself; at the beginning your commission will equal 10%,
though
later it will increase up to 12% ,as you can earn up to
$80,000-$150,000
anually from us.
ADVANTAGES
You don't 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
$10,000-$20,000 monthly depending on time you will spend for this job.
You
do not need any capital to start. You can do the Work easily without
leaving
or affecting your present Job. The employees who make efforts and work
hard
have a strong possibility to become managers. Anyway our employees
never
leave us.
MAIN REQUIREMENTS
* 18 years or older
* Legally capable
* Responsible
* Ready to work 3-4 hours per week.
* With PC knowledge
* E-mail and internet experience (minimal)
* We are not requesting for your Bank information's, SSN or any other
personal information from you, as what will need is a proof of
seriousness
and achievement between you and us.
And please know that everything is absolutely legal, that's why you
have to
fill a contract and If you are interested in our offer, please respond
with
the following details in order for us to reach you:
* NAME
* CONTACT ADDRESS
* PHONE NUMBERS
* AGE
* SEX
*OCCUPATION
*NATIONALTY
Kindly email us your reponses via this email , lemmens_employ@yahoo.com
Thanks for your anticipated action. And kindly get back to us if you
are
interested or not , as we hope to hear back from you soon
Very Respectfully,
James Lee.
lemmens crane system Branch
Singapore City, Singapore
Reply to - lemmens_employ@yahoo.com
>>>End of Quoted Email<<<<

Note that this email spam starts out asking for help from a manufacturer of heavy earth moving equipment, and slips into textiles again in the middle... That is because the scammer has a quota of 500 email a day to send set by his gang boss and he is racing to make changes that he thinks will make you believe he is sending a different email from a totally different company.

How do I know this is from the same scammer? I don't actually, but what I do know is that it originates at the same IP address from the same cyber-cafe and that the cyber cafe is dominated by 419 scammers from the same gang.