We had an interesting experience here this week. Craig has been putting application all over, trying to find any decent job. He put in an application to one company that does property management. The position was for collections, which Craig has done in the past, so he thought he would be a good fit.
Before we knew it, he had been offered a position of employment! But instead of being excited, we became very wary. Craig had never had an interview, and had not even spoken to anyone over the phone. The company turned out to be based in London, which made us even more cautious.
Craig decided to try contacting them to talk with someone live, and get some more info. Instead, they emailed him to let him know that the first "rent" check from a client was on it's way to our home. Of course, this sent up red flags all over. They had not even had Craig fill out any tax info yet, or even ask for a SS number.
We talked to my bro, who is also in property management, and he agreed it sounded very suspicious. It was certainly not how his company handled things. We ended calling the Attorney General for advice. They also agreed that this sounded like a money laundering scam.
The check did come, and Craig took it straight to the bank so they could run a background check on it. Turns out the account was valid, but frozen due to multiple accounts of fraudulent activity! The check was worth quite a bit, and if we had actually put it through the bank, it could have been devastating for us.
Normally, scams are pretty easy detect, but these guys were being very tricky. They gave all their info piece by piece. In the beginning, they never mentioned anything about Western Union, Paypal, or where we were to deposit the money. those would have been immediate tipoffs. The English was very good, and gave detailed instructions. We Googled the company name, and it turned out to be a legitimate company in London. They probably have no idea their company is being used as a front for illegal operations.
Fortunately for us, we were listening to the Spirit, and we were able to avoid being taken in. But it makes me angry that there are people out there who are so willing to prey on the weak and the desperate. They offered a comfortable sum of money for "employment", and because they were so sneaky, I know many people could be easily fooled.
FYI, the scam company was operating under the name of Kalmars Property Management. Hopefully no one else will be duped by these people.
2 comments:
OMG!!i received their "job offer" too and was suspicious!!So i googled their company name and i found your commet!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SAVING MY LIFE!!!
I have been looking for a part time job since September, and was very excited to receive their email for a job offer. Thank you guys so much as I probably never would have know.
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