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This email comes from email address: johnsmithoffer@terra.es, and you are required to reply to this email address: onlinejobooffer04@yahoo.com.hk (Yahoo! Hong Kong free email)
Ok, for once I am not going to say that if you spot a free email address sender, it must be a scam. Many of us use free email address to communicate even in business. So far, we have seen at least one real company using HotMail account to deal with their job applicants. However, in such cases we normally proceed to deal with them unless they start to request payment (for fees, etc) before anything else. According to reliable sources, no foreign commercial company should require you to pay anything before going over to work. If in doubt, you can always check with the local embassy.
However, we still think that this is a scam because it is an unsolicited offer received via email, and its authenticity cannot be confirmed. And why are they using Yahoo! HK mail?
Secondly, the reason for the job is ridiculous:
“We discovered that since we started business in The USA and CANADA, we have been having problems getting payments from Our customers as it was very uneasy for them to send payments to our Offices, supplier or farmers directly considering the time frame Required processing foreign Checks (30 Days and above). We decided to hire
individuals over the Internet who will help us receive and Process payments in your country and then forward to any of our Offices or farmers, which we designate.”
The truth is that it is likely to be “most efficient” to collect payment from customers in the US and Canada, as compared to some other countries.
The words highlighed in Red above is obviously asking you to become a Money Mule for their 419 scams, or other frauds. This means that they will be asking their victims(Money Mule) to send the money to them, through you. So if the victim of their scams contact the police, they will be looking for you.
Thirdly, the 10% commission is very high, considering the simple job of receiving and remitting the money to another account. It is not even a commission for sales. Considering the cost of sales, shipment, markup, and other add-ons, we feel that such a commission rate is too good to be true.
We have also visited the website at http://www.costacoffee.co.uk, but the contact us form is not working at the present moment. In any case, we always believe in contacting the parent company via their official website. If possible, find out the information from the UK yellowpages and call the company directly.
In any foreign employment, it is recommended to make sure that the company exist, is a registered business, and that you are speaking to the right person. And most of the time, don’t believe in any of such offers from unsolicited emails or free classifieds ads.
The original email is attached below for the records.
—–Attached—–
From: johnsmithoffer@terra.es [mailto:johnsmithoffer@terra.es]
Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:22 AM
Subject: ONLINE JOB OFFER
COSTA. COFFEE.TRADE
212 Lambeth Palace Road,
London SE1 7EW United Kingdom.
REPLY EMAIL TO; onlinejobooffer04@yahoo.com.hk
HI,
We export Coffee for world trade
1.0. WHAT WE DO: We create a product and service exchange between
Customers and dealers, we
deliver the goods to the buyer, he/she checks and is
satisfied with our product and then pays for the product through us. We are just
a middleman company (similar to escrow).
2.0. WHAT WE ASK: Two free hours daily not including weekends,
Internet access for sending and receiving e-mails, available means of
Cashing money orders/checks at your bank using your existing bank
3.0 YOUR WORK SCOPE: We discovered that since we started business in
The USA and CANADA, we have been having problems getting payments from
Our customers as it was very uneasy for them to send payments to our
Offices, supplier or farmers directly considering the time frame
Required processing foreign Checks (30 Days and above). We decided to hire
individuals over the Internet who will help us receive and
Process payments in your country and then forward to any of our
Offices or farmers, which we designate.
4.0. COMMISSION: 10% of every transaction successfully processed and
Forwarded to our designated offices within and outside the USA and
Canada. “Cash In Hand” or “Cash at counter” is what we request this is to speed
up our supply Rate, as well as satisfy our clients. Check depositing is also
encouraged depending on the amounts.When you can visit our website below……
http://www.costacoffee.co.uk/coffee//
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS JOB OFFER, KINDLY GET BACK TO ME WITH THE
FOLLOWING INFORMATION.
FIRST NAME………………….LAST NAME…………………..
ADDRESS…………………..CITY…………………….
STATE………………………ZIP CODE…………………..
COUNTRY……………………..PHONE NUMBER (S)………………..
GENDER……………………AGE………………..
MARITAL STATUS………………OCCUPATION…………………..
REPLY EMAIL TO>>>>>>onlinejobooffer04@yahoo.com.hk
THANK YOU,
JOHN SMITH
