[Tags: scam, internet, hints]
I just received an email offering a position with Advan LTD "Advan Group LTD". This is indeed another poor attempt at a scam.
How do I know this is a scam?
The senders address is different then the reply address provided in the email and the company has little history in a Google search.
Why am I writing about this?
Hopefully this blog will show up in search results and prevent potential victims. Since this is a new scam there were no search results for this company so I thought I should make some.
How does a scam have such a sophisticated website?
Anybody can create a professional looking website in a matter of minutes by copying an existing website. You can do this is Firefox by selecting File->Save as File->Webpage Complete. A scammer would then change the logo and text to coincide with the name of their fictional company.
What's the purpose of this scam
They want to get information from you... SS#(from application), bank account number (from direct deposit info), email address (for spamming), or they are going try get you to transfer your money to them using wires.
What are Common things to look for to spot a scam?
- Are they using a free email provider (ie: @gmail, @hotmail, @aol)? Reputable and professional companies have their own domain and use it in their emails (IE: @thesitename.com).
- Is the "reply to" address stated in the email? Is this different then senders email address? Scammers often distort the header to show different senders addresses so they get passed email filters
- Does the email provide a link to the companies website? Look up the urls registry info by going to http://whois.sc/thesitename.com. Check to see when it the registration was created and if the registry addresses match the companies address. If the website domain was just registered then this means the sender probably created the website just to scam people.
- Use Google and search for "the company scam" or that turns no results just search for the "company name with quotes".
- Does the email offer a Work at home opportunity? It is very hard to find a legitimate work at home job online so these should require extra caution before replying to
- Broken English, misspelling, poor grammar. Most of these scammers are foreigners and can not create a professional sounding email in english.
We have an opening position for your attention. This job offer is limited and can be offered for US citizens only. Our Company is looking for persons for part-time based vacancy. This is home based, online, part-time, fast-paced position. Part-time employees usually works over 4 hours every business day (from Monday through Friday) and typically do not work on weekends or regular holidays. During working process you will accept orders from our clients about purchase of tourist permit. Your starting salary will be from $3,500.00 (depending on employees plan), which will be paid to you in accordance with our standard payroll procedures. In addition, you will be eligible for bonuses. What we do? We buy/sell/exchange touristic tickets, tours, airline tickets, booking and etc. Our marketing management department decided to accept sales orders from international customers, that is why you are reading this job offer letter. During all working process you will be official representative of our company with full rights and standards. You will receive orders/payments/billing records/payment invoices/transactions from our clients, customers and investors Our part-time employees also receive an attractive benefits package. Please note that these opportunities are part-time only working approximately 16 hours per week. Actually we do not require any work experience or base requirements. This job if perfect for students, moms and those who are looking for good part-time/online job. This is a great chance to start your career with us, we are fast growing international company, donÂ’t waste your time, start your career right now. Hurry up, this job opportunity is limited.
If you are interested in our offer, we shall send you detailed description of the vacancy. Write to me on e-mail: maloof.marcie@gmail.com
You will get a response in 2-3 days.
Thanks for your time and interest.
NOTE: This is original e-mail letter from ADVAN LTD. This not any kind of: MLM, scam, spam. We will never ask to you to provide any kind of investments.
What should I do if I provided my information to scammers?
- Do not respond to further communications.
- If you sent bank Information: call your bank immediately and tell them what happened. They should be able to change your account number or cancel your account.
- You should consider signing up for automatic credit monitoring LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention
- You can also file a claim with The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). They are probably overloaded with these types of claim though, so I would not expect an individual response.
- If the email you received was different then the one posted in this post paste it below (or explain the differences) so others will find this warning.
If this post helped you I would appreciate if you left a comment so I know to keep posting these alerts. Thanks!
- Related Articles:
- Job Scam: Vacancy for you - Premier Group - CareerBuilder
- Craigslist Job Scam: Green Group Plastics LTD Office Administrator
- Finally I am getting the respect I deserve
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
Thursday March 26, 2009 @ 10:41 AM
I ALSO GOT THE SAME MSG FROM ATEZ-TOUR.......
Friday March 27, 2009 @ 06:43 AM
I have recieved this e mail offering me employment when i do not recall applying and it does not look kosher, what do you think
Company name Atez Tour Job title Tour Manager
Position type Virtual office/Part-time Salary From 4000Euro+ Employee plan
The following are some of the more significant benefits and terms and conditions of your employment.
Salary: Your starting salary will be from 4000Euro after 4 successfully processed transfers (depending on employees plan), which will be paid to you in accordance with our standard payroll procedures. In addition, you will be eligible for bonuses.
*Employees plan offers:
a. 5% per each order processed and completed (for personal employees)
b. 9% per each order processed and completed (for business employees)
Duties: The duties of your new position include:
You will be responsible to initiate, build and maintain long term relationships with small to reputable tourism companies and tourism operators across the world and drive sales from them. Previous sales experience is a benefit but optional. Tourism agency experience is highly desirable as the job is also an excellent fit for media directors/planners/buyers looking to move into the sales side. The position offers a very attractive base + commission + bonus structure. What we do? We buy/sell/exchange touristic tickets, tours, airline tickets, booking and etc. Our marketing management department decided to accept sales orders from international customers, that is why you are reading this job offer letter. During all working process you will be official representative of our company with full rights and standards. You will receive orders/payments/billing records/payment invoices/transactions from our clients, customers and investors. You will be part of our team, you career will grow-up very fast, you will have a fun working with us. This job will change your life forever, you’ll be a part of leading international company. Why we need you? According to the local and international law we cannot accept direct payments and orders from foreign company or person. In this case we have to open local Sales Office or hire official Sales Representative to process all the duties in full. You will receive transaction invoice before every order you have to proceed, to ensure. This job is great for moms, students, unemployed, self-employed and for every man with over 3 hours available a day. Don’t waste your time try your chances right now! You have nothing to lose.
Modifications of Benefits: We may, in our discretion, cancel or modify any of our employee benefits plans, including those describe above, at any time.
At-Will Employment: Should you decide to accept our offer, you will be an at-will employee with the company. This means the employment relationship can be terminated by either one of us at any time for any reason.
This offer will remain open until 25/04/2009. If you decide to accept our offer, as we hope you will, please follow instruction inside e-mail message.
*Employees plan offers:
1. Personal account plan. In this plan you will represent personal interests of our company on the territory of the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. In this plan you will work with our clients and partners, processing orders and making simple online office duties. You will use your own personal checking account for these purposes, according to international business rules and law. You will receive 4000Euro monthly after 4 successfully processed transfers and + 5% bonus per each order completed.
2. Business account plan. In this plan you will represent business interests of our company on the territory of the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. You will work with dedicated and personal clients only. You will process orders from our business clients and private investors. You have to use your business bank account for these purposes due to the high volume of every transaction (approx. 15000Euro). This plan is very important for us and you will get 4500Euro monthly after 4 successfully processed transfers and + 9% bonus per each order completed.
Director Company: Joy Cunmer
Friday March 27, 2009 @ 06:51 AM
I have recieved a further e mail read the following and, WHAT PROFILE!!!!
Hello
I am informing you that we have received and reviewed your profile and you are qualified for the position
of Tour Manager position, commencing March 26, on the terms set forth in job description enclosed.
Various benefits offered by our organization to new employees are described in attachments to this letter.
You also can visit our website here: http://atez-tour.com
If you would like to apply for this job offer please do the following steps
1. Read JOB OFFER (find enclosed file).
2. If you agree with terms of job offer go to step №3.
3. Send me e-mail contains this text.
I, [ your name ] agree with terms of job offer and want to apply to this position.
MM, DD, YEAR
4. You will receive application forms and documents in 24 hours.
If you have any questions about job offer, terms or conditions, please do not hesitate to contact
me directly, I will assist you at any step of recruiting process. I am very glad to see you in our team
and wish you good luck.
Sincerely Yours, Robert Simons
Friday March 27, 2009 @ 07:08 AM
I receive this:
Tourist agency "Atez Tour" has vacancy for position as "Tour Manager".
We received your CV from Employment Center so now we offer you
opportunity to work for our firm. It's not Spam and it's sent only to
you as you were chosen among so many candidates.
About us. Atez Tour was founded in 2001 and Head office is located in
Sweden. We are part of the best 10 tourist agencies in Europe. About
Job. You will be official representative of our firm in United Kingdom
Your duty is supporting our english clients during their tours around
Europe. We don't require any special knowledge from you. Our manager
will train you and will be happy to assist any time. We encourage our
employees who carries out responsibly in their work.
Your monthly salary will be 4000Euro but in the future it will be
increased. It's a part-time job you have to work only 3-4 hours daily.
We provide you career opportunity, after 3 months employment we review
the results if our clients are pleased with your work your salary will
be increased and you will be promoted. So your career will depend on
how you cope with a task.
If you are interested in this job you can email us
monicamorrisonatez[at]gmail.com after that we will send you particulars
of the job.
Attention : Our firm "Atez Tour" don't offer you any kind of fraud and
do not demand investing money in our company. We just propose you to
be a part of our company.
then this:
Dear Iliyasu Samaila Adamu
I am informing you that we have received and reviewed your profile and you are qualified for the position
of Tour Manager position, commencing March 26, on the terms set forth in job description enclosed.
Various benefits offered by our organization to new employees are described in attachments to this letter.
You also can visit our website here: http://atez-tour.com
If you would like to apply for this job offer please do the following steps
1. Read JOB OFFER (find enclosed file).
2. If you agree with terms of job offer go to step №3.
3. Send me e-mail contains this text.
I, [ your name ] agree with terms of job offer and want to apply to this position.
MM, DD, YEAR
4. You will receive application forms and documents in 24 hours.
If you have any questions about job offer, terms or conditions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly,
I will assist you at any step of recruiting process. I am very glad to see you in our team and wish you good luck.
Sincerely Yours, Monica Morrison
mailto:monicamorrisonatez[at]gmail.com
then this:
JOB OFFER
Company name Atez Tour Job title Tour Manager
Position type Virtual office/Part-time Salary From 4000Euro+ Employee plan
The following are some of the more significant benefits and terms and conditions of your employment.
Salary: Your starting salary will be from 4000Euro after 4 successfully processed transfers (depending on employees plan), which will be paid to you in accordance with our standard payroll procedures. In addition, you will be eligible for bonuses.
*Employees plan offers:
a. 5% per each order processed and completed (for personal employees)
b. 9% per each order processed and completed (for business employees)
Duties: The duties of your new position include:
You will be responsible to initiate, build and maintain long term relationships with small to reputable tourism companies and tourism operators across the world and drive sales from them. Previous sales experience is a benefit but optional. Tourism agency experience is highly desirable as the job is also an excellent fit for media directors/planners/buyers looking to move into the sales side. The position offers a very attractive base + commission + bonus structure. What we do? We buy/sell/exchange touristic tickets, tours, airline tickets, booking and etc. Our marketing management department decided to accept sales orders from international customers, that is why you are reading this job offer letter. During all working process you will be official representative of our company with full rights and standards. You will receive orders/payments/billing records/payment invoices/transactions from our clients, customers and investors. You will be part of our team, you career will grow-up very fast, you will have a fun working with us. This job will change your life forever, you’ll be a part of leading international company. Why we need you? According to the local and international law we cannot accept direct payments and orders from foreign company or person. In this case we have to open local Sales Office or hire official Sales Representative to process all the duties in full. You will receive transaction invoice before every order you have to proceed, to ensure. This job is great for moms, students, unemployed, self-employed and for every man with over 3 hours available a day. Don’t waste your time try your chances right now! You have nothing to lose.
Modifications of Benefits: We may, in our discretion, cancel or modify any of our employee benefits plans, including those describe above, at any time.
At-Will Employment: Should you decide to accept our offer, you will be an at-will employee with the company. This means the employment relationship can be terminated by either one of us at any time for any reason.
This offer will remain open until 25/04/2009. If you decide to accept our offer, as we hope you will, please follow instruction inside e-mail message.
*Employees plan offers:
1. Personal account plan. In this plan you will represent personal interests of our company on the territory of the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. In this plan you will work with our clients and partners, processing orders and making simple online office duties. You will use your own personal checking account for these purposes, according to international business rules and law. You will receive 4000Euro monthly after 4 successfully processed transfers and + 5% bonus per each order completed.
2. Business account plan. In this plan you will represent business interests of our company on the territory of the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. You will work with dedicated and personal clients only. You will process orders from our business clients and private investors. You have to use your business bank account for these purposes due to the high volume of every transaction (approx. 15000Euro). This plan is very important for us and you will get 4500Euro monthly after 4 successfully processed transfers and + 9% bonus per each order completed.
Director Company: Joy Cunmer
then this:
Dear Iliyasu Samaila Adamu
I have received interest note. From this point of time you are on the way of recruiting process.
You will find the appendix enclosed to this e-mail:
1. APPLICATION OF EMPLOYMENT.DOC
All you have to do is just read, fill-in and send back to me via e-mail. You should be very careful
with this document to exclude possible mistakes. The next step of application process will be EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT sign and PAYMENT DETAILS form. Thanks for your time and interest. If you have any other
questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact me at anytime. My job is to assist you throe
registration process.
Sincerely Yours, Monica Morrison
mailto:monicamorrisonatez[at]gmail.com
followed by this:
APPLICATION OF EMPLOYMENT
It is the policy of this company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, creed, color, religious belief, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental handicap or veteran status.
Note: Please type or print your answers. If you print, please do so in blue or black ink and write neatly. An illegible application may preclude you from consideration.
POSITION APPLYING FOR: Sales Executive Representative
EMPLOYMENT PLAN APPLYING FOR: BUSINESS; PERSONAL;
underline selection
PERSONAL INFORMATION
First Name Middle Initial Last Name
Current Address:
Street and Apt. # City State Post Code
Date of Birth: Sex:
Permanent Address (if different from above):
Street and Apt. # City State Post Code
Home phone: _________________ Cell phone:_______________
E-mail:________________________
Passport #: _____-_____-______ Driver’s License #: ________________ Province: _____
If applicable, please list your visa type, visa # and expiration (optional):
Have you ever been convicted of a crime in the past seven years (you are not obligated to disclose sealed or expunged criminal records)? Yes No
If you answered yes, please explain:
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
Present or Most Recent Employer
Employer: __________________________________ Address: _______________________________________
Your Position: _______________________________ Salary: _________________________________________
Duties:__________________________________________________________________________________________
Dates of Employment:_____________________ to _____________________________
Supervisor:_________________________ _____________________________ May we contact? Yes No
Name Title
Reasons for Leaving:_________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prior Employer
Employer: __________________________________ Address: _______________________________________
Your Position: _______________________________ Salary: _________________________________________
Duties:__________________________________________________________________________________________
Dates of Employment:_____________________ to _____________________________
Supervisor:_________________________ _____________________________ May we contact? Yes No
Name Title
Reasons for Leaving:_________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
EDUCATION
High School
_____________________________________________________________________________
Name and Address
Did you graduate? Yes No Attended from _________ to _________.
If you did not graduate, did you receive your GED? Yes No
Special honors or awards:______________________________________________________
Technical or Vocational School
_____________________________________________________________________________
Name and Address
Did you graduate? Yes No Attended from __________ to _________.
Degree or Certification:_____________________ Specialty: ________________________
Special honors or awards:_______________________________________________________
College or University
____________________________________________________________________________
Name and Address
Did you graduate? Yes No Attended from __________ to _________.
Degree:________________________ Major: _______________________________
Special honors or awards:______________________________________________________
College or University
____________________________________________________________________________
Name and Address
Did you graduate? Yes No Attended from __________ to _________.
Degree:________________________ Major: _______________________________
Special honors or awards:______________________________________________________
POSITION INFORMATION:
Position Specifications
Position Applying For: Sales Executive Representative
How did you hear about this job? __________________________________________
What hours are you willing to work? ________________________________________
Would you be able to work weekends? Yes No
Are you willing to travel for the job? Yes No
When would you would you be able to start? _________________________________
Desired salary: ________________ per ______________
Skills
Please describe any skills you have in the following areas:
Computer: _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Languages Spoken (other than English): _____________________________________________________________________________________
Other:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I hereby certify that my answers and assertions set forth in this application are true and complete to the best of my knowledge. If I am employed, I understand that any false statements on this application shall be considered sufficient cause for my dismissal. I hereby authorize this company to investigate any aspect of my prior educational and employment history.
Furthermore I understand that if I am hired, employment with this company is "at will," which means that either the company or I can terminate my employment for any reason not prohibited by state or federal law.
Signature: ________________________________ Date ________________
Electronically signature is permitted.
Friday March 27, 2009 @ 07:22 AM
Dont give your datails these people will take money from you, your account
(read above)
Saturday March 28, 2009 @ 01:46 PM
I also received the email offering me a position. The issue with these scams is that they prey on the most vulnerable. People who are desperate, who want to believe that their luck has turned and find the last little bit of money they have is sucked from them. It was the Nigerians who did this, and you could smell their scams a mile away, now countries with a more legitimate sounding name and scammers who can set up good looking phoney web sites are raising the bar. Pretty soon, you will not be able to trust any email. Well, the Web was a great idea, these people are ruining the Web as well as destroying individuals. The police need to do something and countries need to come down heavy on these scammers.
Tuesday May 19, 2009 @ 11:40 AM
Also got an employment offer from atez tours for $4,000
per month. Thanks for posting this on your site. It did seem like another nigerian scam (although no specifics about duties were in my e-mail.
Tuesday May 19, 2009 @ 11:36 PM
I just got this today. Thanks for the warning I figured it was a scam right away!
Wednesday June 17, 2009 @ 02:21 PM
Fraudsters: Petra Tour, website http://petra-tour.biz and using e-mails such as jessica.moran.pt[at]gmail.com or david.hardin.pt[at]gmail.com, karolina.cross.pt[at]gmail.com. DO NOT BOTHER REPLYING, they'll steal your heart and soul and nose as well :-)))))
This is what I received at my account in the Czech Republic:
I am informing you that we have received and reviewed your profile and you are qualified
for the position of Tour Manager position, commencing June 17, on the terms set forth in
job description enclosed. Various benefits offered by our organization to new employees
are described in attachments to this letter.
You also can visit our website here: http://petra-tour.biz
If you would like to apply for this job offer please do the following steps
1. Read JOB OFFER (find enclosed file).
2. If you agree with terms of job offer go to step №3.
3. Send me e-mail contains this text.
I, [ your name ] agree with terms of job offer and want to apply to this position.
MM, DD, YEAR
4. You will receive application forms and documents in 24 hours.
If you have any questions about job offer, terms or conditions, please do not hesitate to
contact me directly, I will assist you at any step of recruiting process.
I am very glad to see you in our team and wish you good luck.
Sincerely Yours, Karolina Cross
mailto:Karolina.Cross.PT[at]gmail.com
Tuesday July 14, 2009 @ 12:01 PM
Tourist agency "Petra Tour" has vacancy for position as "Tour
Manager". Now we offer you opportunity to work for our company. It's
not Spam and it's sent only to you as you were chosen among so many
candidates.
About us. Petra Tour was founded in 2001 and Head office is located in
Sweden. We are part of the best 10 tourist agencies in Europe.We have
been working in USA since 2006.
About Job. You will be official representative of our company in USA
Your duty is supporting our american clients during their tours
around Europe. We don't require any special knowledge from you. Our
manager will train you and will be happy to assist any time. We
encourage our employees who carries out responsibly in their work.
Your monthly salary will be $4000 USD but in the future it will be
increased. It's a part-time job you have to work only 3-4 hours daily.
We provide you career opportunity, after 3 months employment we review
the results if our clients are pleased with your work your salary will
be increased and you will be promoted. So your career will depend on
how you cope with a task.
If you are interested in this job you can email us
sara.thomas.pt[at]gmail.com after that we will send you particulars of
the job
Wednesday July 15, 2009 @ 10:45 PM
Thanks so much for the info. I told them to send me the application but then when I found this I emailed them again letting them know that I knew what they were up to and not to email me again. I only gave them my name and the date, do you think I'll be ok??
Thursday February 18, 2010 @ 05:25 AM
Thank you very much TJ for taking the time to research, I received a similar email from a named "SNC-Lavalin Environment Inc" and it just sounded to good to be true, so I decided to do some more research and came across the website. your research has saved me from making a very big mistake, and I can't thank you enough. Keep up the good work TJ
Wednesday March 25, 2009 @ 03:48 PM
I GOT THE SAME EMAIL "ATEZ TOUR" LIKE YOURS.