Online Job Seeker Duped To Help Con
from the tricky dept
Just as the FTC says they're going after auction fraud, it appears the auction fraudsters are getting sneakier in their techniques. The latest move is duping a random person online to be their middleman. Here's how the scam works: the scam company sets up a website saying they help people ship stuff to Eastern Europe. Then, they post a job ad to Monster.com looking for employees who will get paid $70 for each package they send on. The scammers then set up some online auctions, pretending to be the sucker they convinced to take the "job". Winners of the auction send their money to the dupe, who forwards it on to eastern Europe. The people scammed in the auction, of course, end up blaming the guy who got duped. In the case described here, he even had police charges filed against him. Now, he's trying to clear his name and let others know about the fraud so they don't get suckered as well.
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That guy was an idiot
This is like that Nigerian 419 scam, where they pretend they're going to pay some random bozo millions of dollars to transfer tens of millions overseas for them. At least with the 419 scam, they typically admit they're trying to bypass some legal barriers, and they're tempting people with the prospect of riches. This moron made himself a money launderer for chump change.
A final word must be said about the gullibility of the people duped in the auctions. How stupid do you have to be to mail cash (or a money order) to a stranger and trust they'll send you something in return? NEVER PAY UP FRONT EXCEPT BY CREDIT CARD. At least with a credit card, you can get the fraudulent charge cancelled by the bank.
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the unofficial guide to the internet business mode
step 2: collect underpants
step 3: ?
step 4: profit!
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