Just got the following job scam e-mail slipping through my spam filters. I’ll print out the letter below, and then show you how to tell it’s a scam.
From: “Sandy Lucas” <dimensions@starhub.net.sg>
Subject: Shipping and Receiving
Shipping and Receiving Clerk
Company: Cargo NOW!
Location: USA, all states
Pay Rate: $70 per shipped package
Available in: USA only
Relocation: Not required
If you are a Compliance Manager, Warehouse Clerk, Shipping clerk with great experience, please read on!
This is a great opportunity with a growing company that cares about their employees. Cargo NOW! is searching for a Shipping and Receiving clerk to join our team immediately! Our team has extensive experience in logistics, transportation and warehousing. The job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, assembling receiving items, package items for shipping, reading order directions, ability to work quickly yet carefully and multi-task. Company is looking for a qualified candidate who is also willing to train. We are looking for hard working dedicated employees to join a people company that is growing and expanding. The ideal person will have shipping and receiving experience, craft experience is a plus, ability to lift at least 20 lbs., computer skills (Word, Excel, etc). Great eye/hand coordination, great attention to detail. Warehousing experience is a plus. Stable home internet connection is a must.
Attendance bonuses are offered as well.
Job Responsibilities:
- Attention to detail.
- Ability to work with diverse personalities
- Use of powered industrial equipment
- Perform pre-shift checks of equipment
- General Office responsibilities
- Work closely with shipping department in the processing of incoming and outgoing mail and packages.
- Correspondence with shipping department regarding shipping (receiving, delivery orders, etc)
- All applicants must provide documentation proving they are United States citizens.
Candidates must possess the ability to demonstrate the following:
- Reliable transportation
- Follow directions and routines
- Identify and read words, package markings, and zip codes
- Concentrate, memorize, and recollect logical connections and sequences.
Type: Contract. Temp to perm position
Please contact us only at e-mail: kayemasint@gmail.com
Contact Information:
If you are interested in applying for this Shipping opportunity, please contact only at:
Name Name (Don Miller)
kayemasint@gmail.com
Your resume and information will be kept completely confidential. You must place “NOW!-2369” in the subject of your email.
Looking forward to receiving your resume and going over the job in more detail with you!
So here’s the first sign it’s a scam. Who sent the mail? According to the from address it’s some random person with an address at starhub.net.sg, which is a telecommunications company in Singapore. Note how the sender’s address has nothing to do with the company they’re claiming to represent. Then they tell you to respond not to them, but to an address at a free mail service. In this case, it’s Google’s gmail. Other times it might be Hotmail or Yahoo! mail. The address at a domain that has nothing to do with the business, then replying to an address at a free mail service is almost always a sure sign of a scam.
Second, when I looked at the message headers (the underlying routing information) I found it actually originated from “user-0cevbp7.cable.mindspring.com”. Mindspring is a subsidiary of Earthlink, right here in the old U.S. of A, not Singapore. That means it most likely got sent from the zombified computer of someone who clicked an attachment to see naked pictures of Margaret Thatcher or fell for some other trick to voluntarily load a virus onto his computer..
Third, package forwarding is an old scam. Crooks buy stuff on EBay with compromised Paypal accounts or forged checks. No U.S. seller is going to send the stuff to Nigeria or China or Russia, because they know that most buyers from those countries are scammers. So they have the package shipped to you and have you ship it to them in Nigeria, China, or Russia. When the check bounces or Paypal reverses the payment, the seller goes to the cops and the cops come knocking on your door. Best of all, you’re now an accessory to a felony.
Now we come to the compensation. How long does it take you to accept a delivery, take it to the UPS store, and ship it to the address they e-mailed you? 30 minutes? An hour? Who’s going to pay you $70-140 an hour for work that generally pays $10-20 an hour? If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
I know you may be feeling desperate and wishing this was true. Heck, my wife had a baby this week and I’m between contracts. With the way the economy’s going, I’m scared. So I know how you might be feeling. But this stinks like a month old fish. Don’t reply. Don’t get yourself on the radar of these criminals. Be glad you were smart enough to Google this and move on to better uses of your time.
Best of luck to you.
