Summary:
Scammers are using unsolicited email “job offers” to trick recipients into
falling for payment transfer scams. The victim is promised a percentage of the
payments transferred. However, the scheme is usually a method of “laundering”
stolen money and victims may be unwittingly participating in illegal activities

Example:(Submitted, October 2006)

Subject: PART-TIME JOB OPPORTUNITY Dear Sir,Madam,

We are small new firm engaged in export of goods to overseas outside my
country.We have won various small exports contract at one time or the other,
recently we were (engaged) contracted to supply financial programs for
market analyzing, management project software in USA which was successfully
done.

Unfortunately we have faced some difficulties while receiving payment for
our software in our country as need 10-30 days to get a payment from your
country. We do not have so much time to accept wire transfers and can’t
accept cashiers checks and money orders as well. So we need your help to
accept this payments in your country faster. If you are looking to make
additional profit we will accept you as our representative in your country.
You will keep 10% of each deal we conduct.

Your part is very important to accept funds and forward it to us. It is not
a full time work but a very convenient and fast additional income. We
therefore solicit your assistance to help remit this money , I would want
you to submit to us via mail to [Address removed] the following information
which includes
1 Your Full Name
2 Your Contact Address
3 Telephone number/Fax
4.Yahoo or MSN ID.
Your country of living

Please respond ASAP and you will get additional details on how you can
become our representative. Joining us and starting business today will cost
you nothing, just some extra income for you.

Thanks for your vivid co-operation.

Manager,
SMITH BAMI
Director of ENFOSOFT Marketing Dept.

Commentary:
Bogus “job offers” like the one shown above are becoming increasingly more
common. These “job offer” emails usually ask recipients to accept cash or cheque
payments into their bank accounts and then wire-transfer the payment to the
“company” running the scam. The victim is instructed to keep a specified
percentage of the transferred funds as payment.

Typically, the scammers claim that there is some impediment, such as slow
processing or currency conversion problems, which stops them from accepting
overseas payments in their country. Therefore, they claim, they need an overseas
“agent” who can accept payments and then forward these payments back to them in
an acceptable format such as a wire transfer. However, the real purpose of such
schemes is generally to “launder” stolen funds by making it difficult for law
enforcement agencies to follow the money trail.

Money stolen from bank accounts, proceeds from online fraud, and payments for
nonexistent items sold on eBay may end up in the agent’s account for
“sanitation”. For example, the criminal may transfer funds from a bank account
recently compromised by a phishing attack into the “agent’s” personal account.
The agent will then subtract his or her percentage and wire the remaining stolen
money overseas to the criminal. Thus, the money trail may lead police directly
to the agent. Meanwhile, the criminal has been able to collect the stolen funds
unhindered and can simply disappear if things get hot. On the other hand, the
hapless agent is now an accessory to serious criminal activity and may
ultimately be charged accordingly. Effectively, the

agent becomes a “mule” to be used at will by the criminals responsible. In
some cases, the agent may be asked to “re-ship” stolen goods and equipment as
well as transfer payments. The agent may become more and more embroiled in the
shady world of international cyber crime until he or she realizes what is
happening or is left “holding the bundle” when the police arrive. Acting on what
looks like a good opportunity may ultimately become an

enduring nightmare for the victim. He or she may end up losing integrity and
personal funds, and have to face very serious legal consequences.

Sadly, there are plenty of recipients naive enough to take these offers as
genuine and apply for the “job”. At face value, it may seem like an easy and
legitimate way of making extra money. The criminals may directly target
potential victims by responding to “work wanted” ads or resumes posted online.
In other cases, they may randomly distribute thousands of “job offer” emails in
the hope of netting just a few people foolish enough to take the bait.

Job scam spam takes many forms. While some such emails may be fairly easily
identified by poor spelling and grammar and far-fetched cover stories, others
may be quite sophisticated and even include seemingly official logos and company
information. Regardless of how believable a job offer may seem, recipients
should keep the following points in mind:

• Any company or organization that expects you to accept payments into a
  personal account and then forward it elsewhere should be treated with the
  utmost suspicion.
• No legitimate company is ever likely to employ someone to handle money
  transfers, sight unseen, via an unsolicited email. Employees that handle
  large sums of the company’s money are sure to be well vetted beforehand and
  well-qualified for the tasks involved.
• Funds transfers might be part of a legitimate job, but such transfers
  would always use the company’s own bank accounts, not the employee’s
  personal account.
• No legitimate company is going to “pay” an employee by allowing him or
  her to keep a percentage of funds to be transferred.
• In a progressively global economy, there are many ways for a company to
  accept overseas payments. Any claim that a company needs an individual to
  handle such payments via a personal bank account is likely to be bogus.

All unsolicited job offers that arrive via email should be treated with extreme
caution. Do not reply to such emails or provide any personal information to
their senders. Aside from the money-laundering ruse, scammers may also use job
offer emails to trick victims into revealing sensitive personal information.
Over repeated emails, the scammer may gain enough information to steal the
victim’s identity. The scammers may also trick victims into paying upfront fees
for bogus “training” or “job manuals” or trick them into transferring their own
funds while waiting for a stolen cheque to clear.

The best thing to do with such job offer emails is to simply hit the “Delete”
key.

References:

Avoiding Online Job Scams:Critical Tips for Job Seekers

Online job seeker says she was duped into scam

Cybercrooks lure citizens into international crime

Job offer spam: Processing payments

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