I've been working from home since December 2004. My daily quest is finding and applying for real work at home jobs. My latest find is one that everyone needs to be aware of -- but not because it's such a great job, but because it's such a terrible scam.
This beauty was listed at a reputable job site. A job site that I think everyone has heard of, but one that I will refrain from mentioning by name.
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The job was for a Shipping Manager, and the description was very impressive. I applied for it, and before I could even get off the website, I already had an e-mail telling me I had been hired. My duties would consist of receiving packages at my house, warehousing them briefly, and then mailing them overseas. I was told I would be receiving cameras and PDA's. All of my packages would be shipped to Kryzykstan. I would be paid $25, via Western Union, for each package I received. I would receive 25 to 30 packages per week, and I would be paid weekly.
I immediately began checking them out. I looked at Whois. I called the BBB. I e-mailed the job site that listed it, and they had no complaints on the company. I called my local police and the FBI. I looked at all the online scam sites. I called my local television station -- which runs a weekly feature on scams. I could find nothing negative on this company. Against my better judgment, I decided to accept the job and sent them a copy of my driver's license.
About a week later, I received my first package. They told me not to open the package, but I was not about to send something to Kyrzykstan (or anywhere else for that matter) without knowing exactly what I was mailing. Turns out it was a digital camera. It was exactly what they had said it would be. There was an invoice and everything. I could see that it had been shipped directly from the maufacturer. That set my mind at ease. The next day I received my second package. It was another digital camera. Once again, it was exactly what they said it would be.
I e-mailed the company that had hired me and told them I had received both of my test packages. They said they would send me shipping instructions the following day. I spent the rest of that day learning about the mailing restrictions involved in sending packages to Kyrzykstan.
That evening, something occurred to me. What if these cameras had been purchased with stolen credit cards? I took the invoices out. One of them listed the name of the individual who was to be billed. I called him on the phone and told him who I was. I asked him if he had ordered a digital camera and arranged for third party shipping to Kyrzykstan? He had no idea what I was talking about! Turns out he had been a victim of identity theft.
Tip! Be advised that some scammers take advantage of the hazy nature of HYIP's. Most European and American institutions try to avoid investments that make too much money too quick; the best way to avoid a scam is to simply put yourself in a position where being scammed is simply not possible.
My next call was to the police. They were nice but of no help. Two officers were sent out to take my report. The officer in charge told me he had no evidence of a crime! Which was stunning to me. He told me mistakes were made on invoices everyday. He said it sounded suspicious, but that was all. I ended up not filing a report -- just so the cameras wouldn't end up collecting dust in an evidence room.
The next day I called about the second camera. It was the same story. The camera had been purchased fraudulently.
I called my local FBI. They didn't return my call. I called the FBI office in Denver. They told me that the individuals who were trying to get me to mail them the cameras were the ones who had used stolen credit cards to obtain them. He said that once they received them, they would sell them. Another thing he told me was to report this to the credit unions and my bank. He expects that I'll be their next victim of identity theft. He seemed knowledgeable about this kind of scam, but had no interest in pursuing it. He also told me that my local FBI would not investigate it either.
Tip! Debt elimination program scams that claim they are approved by the Federal Reserve are bogus. The Federal Reserve does not approve, and is in no way involved in any program aimed at eliminating anyone's debt obligations.
After hanging up from him, I reported the crime to the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI. http://www.ic3.gov.
My next question is, what are the funds from these stolen cameras being used for? Are these individuals in it just for the money? Or do they want the money to fund terrorism or illegal drug trafficking? I doubt that I'll ever know.
Judging by how little action has been taken on this so far, I don't expect to hear anything from the FBI. Even though this company claims it has over 2000 employees in the United States. If we have 2000 Americans sending stolen goods to Kyrzykstan everyday, what will be the consequences of that? Both for them and for our country? And why don't the authorities seem to care?
If you see something like this, stay away from it. I specialize in helping people find work at home jobs; obviously, this isn't one that I'll be recommending to my clients.
Tip! In the past Identity theft scam artists would scavenge the garbage cans of retail stores for Carbon Copies of charge receipts. Now that most store are going carbonless or even paperless the Identity thieves need to find other methods.
Oh, and by the way, I mailed the cameras. But I didn't mail them to Kryzykstan, I mailed them back to their rightful owners.
Doralynn Kennedy is the author of the Work at Home Directory E-book: A valuable collection of real work at home jobs, many with benefits. http://doralynn.net/jobs.html
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