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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Scam Email: Fred Thomas

This is not art related but someone forwarded this to me. It was an interesting example of just how flooded craigslist is with scammers. And typically scammers do not spend money of their own in order to get other people's money, but this scammer spent the cost of placing a fake job ad on craigslist. I don't know if this is true but it is possible they paid for it with a stolen credit card not yet reported that will result in a chargeback for craigslist but in any case, this scammer posted a fake job in order to lure his potential victims in.

The person who forwarded this to me had replied to the job and attached a resume, as any unsuspecting person would. She got this reply back. From the looks of it, it almost looks like they are going after identity theft rather than hard cash but one never knows if a later email will not have the classic step of sending money (with some story as to why) and asking for a large portion to be forwarded to someone else via Western Union... which is just them at the other end. But this scammer would appear to be going after identity theft.

------ Original Message ------

From : Fred Thomas
Sent : 5/14/2012 9:49 AM
Subject : RE: Part time Admin. Assistant Position

Hello Applicant,

Hope you're having a pleasant day today? You contacted me applying for the position which I advertised on Craigslist. Do take time to go through this introductory mail and feel free to pass any questions on.

Fred Thomas is My name.I have been a Fashion Designer for over 30 years and i have been teaching too and i also has been running a fabrics company for 20 years. I bring a unique teaching style to students which will guarantee creative and fun learning by all student fashion designers while elevating them to new, exciting designers heights that they have only dreamed of.I often conduct LIVE slide/talk lectures on Understanding Exposure, the Art of Seeing, throughout the USA, Great Britain and Asia.At the moment, I am in a work-ship in the England.I will be here for a month after which I will fly down to Philippines for a Live-slide/talk show lectures with some students.

YOUR DUTIES AS MY PERSONAL ASSISTANT.

While I am out of the United State,I need some one who can stand in the gap for me.His/her duties will be the following

1.To receive letters and mails on my behalf.

2.Receive cheques and money orders from clients who want to attend the forth coming workshops or Live shows.

3.Schedule appointments for me.

4.Book my flight tickets.

5.Send letters and mails from my clients.

This position is home-based and flexible part time job,you can be in any location to carry out any of the activities.All you need do is to check your emails twice daily and keep your phone on most times in case i might need to call you from anywhere i may be.I do have a number of things you could help me with this week if you will be available to start.This can act as a stable foundation to our working relationship.Let me know if you have any of the office equipment (If not,I will make arrangements to send them to your address

Printer:

Personal Laptop/Desktop:

Internet Access:

Scanner:

Fax machine:

Laminator:

Paper Cutter:

For proper review(since i am not available now to set up a face-to-face interview) supply out correctly the information below .

FIRST NAME ......................LAST NAME...................

ADDRESS.................

CITY ............STATE............................

ZIP CODE............COUNTRY..................

PHONE NUMBER (S) ........................

PRESENT OCCUPATION..............................

GENDER.............MARITAL STATUS........

AGE..............NATIONALITY.................

Email....................

Scanned copy of your ID:(You can provide that later when you are employed)

Note: It will be of added advantage if you can provide 2 references from your past employments.

Qualification:

1.Educational background is not a criteria.

2.You must be Organized and able to take instructions well Dependable, Reliable, Trustworthy a must

3.Must have excellent English language skills (both spoken and written)

4.Have great work ethic and attitude, as well as people skills, pay-attention to detail, capable of multi-tasking, and works well under stress at times.

Benefits:

- Yearly performance bonus
- Paid vacation/sick/personal days
- Medical benefits

Salary:

500 USD weekly(2,000USD monthly)

Also,there will be compensation for efficiency and hard working.

Thanks

Fred Thomas.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this. I just got the same email from a 'Richard Johnson' and I was looking him up to see if he was legit. Scary!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I believe I have been scammed by the same person. Just by the way your scammer spells and types. Mine posed as get this a fashion designer "matthew williamson company" with the name of William Jasper. Asked for same info as yours above. this person was on craigslist who answered my resume added as a PA. The only info other than his name and company was this email willjasper11@gmail.com. As if a famous designer like Matthew Williamson would ever be looking for someone on Craigslist but I guess this scammer thinks we all are suckers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I got the same message from "sarah Lincoln":

    "I have been a Fashion Designer for over 30 years and i have been teaching too and i also has been running a fabrics company for 20 years. I bring a unique teaching style to students which will guarantee creative and fun learning by all student fashion designers while elevating them to new, exciting designers heights that they have only dreamed of. I often conduct LIVE slide/talk lectures on Understanding Exposure, the Art of Seeing, throughout the USA, Great Britain and Asia. At the moment, I am in a work-ship in Cleveland,Ohio"

    "this position doesn't affect daily activities,its just 2hours of your convenience time daily with your computer and phone to make phone calls, 1.To receive funds on my behalf.
    2.Receive funds from clients who want to attend the forth coming workshops or Live shows.
    3.Schedule appointments for me.
    4.Book my flight tickets.
    5.Send letters and mails from my clients. he pay is $300 weekly , send me your name and number if your interested"

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good Morning,

    Thank you for helping us all with your site. I was contacted by thomaswayne5050@gmail the other day with subject "PURCHASING ENQUIRY". Here’s the text pasted below:

    Hello
    Season Greetings to you,I am Thomas Wayne from NC i will like to purchase a paint for my wife to surprise her for her birthday and our wedding anniversary coming up soon shes so much obsessed with artworks so please let me have information on the available work i will also appreciate your quick response thanks and best regards
    Thomas

    ReplyDelete