A new scam we received in the mail....watch out!

[Lynn49]

It looks very official, but of course, it's not.
The heading is: AVIS,510 w Parkland Drive, Sandy, UT 84070
Phone: 1-514-5823354 (no such number)

I google-mapped the address, and it's a vacant field! LOL!!!

This letter came with a cashable cheque for $3998.00, made out to my husband.
He was offered a "job" secret shopping places like Walmart, K-Mart, HomeDepot, Sears, JCPenny and BestBuy, and is to be paid a starting salary of 450.00 per week, which will increase to 550.00 after 3 months of working for them.
Too good to be true?
There's more.
He will be trained in a financial transaction by evaluating various banks and other money transferring agencies like Moneygram or Western Union...lol...it's getting better, right?
There's more gobbledy-gook about US Agents, investment complaints, etc, etc, and it's all very official looking.

Pretty good so far, eh? I bet people fall for this all the time!
A cheque for $3998.00, and it's not void or anything, it's written for the Bank of Montreal in Toronto, and all we'd have to do is cash it!! Really?

Not so fast!

On the back of the page, if you read the fine print, he's to TRANSFER, through Western Union 1, $1750, to a John Se.
And transfer thru the same entity, $1458.00 to an Angela Landry.

Oh, you just KNOW what's going to happen, right?
The cheque will bounce, but because someone attempted to cash it, it'll bounce, and they'll still be held responsible for paying out the other two people!

Yes, there are some simplistic questions to fill out regarding his "experience" with Western Union, but by then the damage is done!

But what I wonder, is, if some naive person actually DID cash the cheque...I'm assuming it would bounce...how could this scam hold him or her responsible for transferring money to the other 2 people?

Well, I'll report it to someone, probably in the US since it comes from there, or Canada (although when you try to report something, all you can do is fill out a page, and they don't promise to ever get back to you since they're sooooo backlogged!)

So...just be on the look-out for this scam and don't cash the cheque! LOL!!!

[DaveP]

Clearly a scam. Fortunately I found one that isn't a scam - Johnson Savimbi from Angola (but now in a refugee camp in Benin) , wants to send me $40 million (US) dollars! All I have to do is send him my banking information and personal details (like SIN number, date of birth, etc.)! Wow, I'm so fortunate! I can't wait to get my $40 million!!! What a nice thing for a complete stranger to do!

[matrix82]

Thanks for the warning. I hope that no one gets taken by this.

[Darth Penguin]

It's a version of this.

I'm still waiting for the nice marine sarge to send me my share of bin Laden'sfortune which he and his fellow marine's found in the house where they killed OBL....

[Lynn49]

Clearly a scam. Fortunately I found one that isn't a scam - Johnson Savimbi from Angola (but now in a refugee camp in Benin) , wants to send me $40 million (US) dollars! All I have to do is send him my banking information and personal details (like SIN number, date of birth, etc.)! Wow, I'm so fortunate! I can't wait to get my $40 million!!! What a nice thing for a complete stranger to do!

The world is filled with generous people, Dave! Yes, we're fortunate, indeed....

[lekate]

I never understood how people fall for these things....

[Lynn49]

It's a version of this.

I'm still waiting for the nice marine sarge to send me my share of bin Laden'sfortune which he and his fellow marine's found in the house where they killed OBL....

That's exactly what it is, Darth!! Amazing how people can think of these things, and how they can sleep at night!

[Sanrio]

Thanks for the warning. Be aware.

[marstec]

I never understood how people fall for these things....

Sometimes it's elderly folk, and then they are too embarrassed to tell their relatives about what happened. I remember seeing a show about consumer fraud - this daughter was trying to figure out how her parents lost so much money with this book/magazine buying scam. They had boxes and boxes of material that was bought because they were promised huge prizes for ordering....

[DaveP]

Sometimes it's elderly folk, and then they are too embarrassed to tell their relatives about what happened. I remember seeing a show about consumer fraud - this daughter was trying to figure out how her parents lost so much money with this book/magazine buying scam. They had boxes and boxes of material that was bought because they were promised huge prizes for ordering....

Sounds like Reader's Digest.

[marstec]

Sounds like Reader's Digest.

Yup.

[DH666]

514 is the area code for Montreal, the capital of scam.

[Darth Penguin]

514 is the area code for Montreal, the capital of scam.

good call.....

[MortgageQueen]

Clearly a scam. Fortunately I found one that isn't a scam - Johnson Savimbi from Angola (but now in a refugee camp in Benin) , wants to send me $40 million (US) dollars! All I have to do is send him my banking information and personal details (like SIN number, date of birth, etc.)! Wow, I'm so fortunate! I can't wait to get my $40 million!!! What a nice thing for a complete stranger to do!

Party at Dave's! Open Bar! All welcome!

[Lynn49]

it better be a free bar, Dave!