[clowright]

I got this new job offer but it seems fishy to me so I want to know if it's for real or a scam. Here's the letter I received:

Hello, I am Bobby Lashley , Director/CEO of "Arts and Crafts Inc.My Company deals with Art designs, African crafts and musical instruments, sales and supplies. Our headquarters is in London and we also have stores in Holland, France, Malaysia, Scotland and Germany. I am using this opportunity to introduce to you a new job opening while you are still working at your present working place. We need someone to work for the company as a Representative/Bookkeeper in USA. This is an employment opportunity and that anyone is qualified to take up this post from any location in the states. It's a very easy job that is not expecting too much of such experience from you and it won't disturb your present Job. The average monthly income is about 2,000.00 USD and this job takes only 1 hour per day from home or anywhere you have access to a computer. If you are interested, kindly reply immediately. This space is opened till the 14th Sept. 2007. Bobby LashleyDirector/CEO,Arts and Crafts Inc. P.S:REPLY DIRECTLY TO ME HERE:- EMAIL REMOVED, I REPLY IMMEDIATELY

So does anyone know if the guy or company is for real because I searched on the internet and can't find anything.

[sGt HarDKorE]

Well here are some things that I noticed. He is using a hotmail email when he owns a huge business? My dad who owns a small business has his own email addresses.

And 2k dollars a month for only a hour a day seems odd.

If you are still interested, email them but don't give out any personal info. The way they usually scam you is they pay you like they say for a couple months, then thy say "we are sort a couple hundred and need your help, we are gooing to lose this account, please help!". And of course you would most likely help, because your making 2k dollars a month. Well then they pay you back so you gin their trust. Well then they may do it again, and they pay you back. However they do it again and ask fr 3 thousand dollars and you give them it. They will not pay you back here, and they may even ask for more money to see if you are still sucked in.

I would ask for a phone number because most scammers won't give them out because they canbe traced.



I always get a scamming letter when I post stuff on craigslist and I aways play with what they say. One time I got a check for 3k dollars for a 300 dollar thing. I didn't use the check though, it was probably stolen off a innocent person.

[firmbeliever]

Couldn't give you a greenie sGt,
But I think you have given good advise.
The e-mail seems fishy... especially if they have outlets in so many countries why would they not have an email account.

[ScottGem]

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This aooears to be a very typical scam, however it doesn't specify what exactly it is you would be doing. But the approach is typical of a common scam. Your role as representative would probably be to process checks and money orders bu depositing them in your account and sending them on. But the checks will prove to be phones and you will be left holding the bag.

[retsoksirhc]

I get these from time to time, and I look at it like this:

I also get emails that say I won an international lottery, all the time. If I didn't enter the lottery, how could I win?

If you didn't apply for this job, it's most likely a scam. Also, if you have an account on Monster.com, they were hacked recently, and lots of account information was stolen.

I would say it's almost certainly a scam.

[Dadofmany]

I also got the email,

Hello,


I am John Stanford , Director/CEO of "Arts and Crafts Inc.My Companydeals with Art designs, African crafts and musical instruments, salesand supplies. Our headquarters is in London and we also have stores inHolland, France, Malaysia, Scotland and Germany.



I am using this opportunity to introduce to you a new job opening whileyou are still working at your present working place. We need someone towork for the company as a Representative/Bookkeeper in USA. This is anemployment opportunity and that anyone is qualified to take up this postfrom any location in the states. It's a very easy job that is not expecting too much of such experiencefrom you and it won't disturb your present Job.



The average monthlyincome is about 2,000.00 USD and this job takes only 1 hour per day fromhome or anywhere you have access to a computer. If you are interested,kindly reply immediately. This space is opened till the 14th Sept. 2007.



John Stanford
Director/CEO,
Arts and Crafts Inc.
P.S:REPLY DIRECTLY TO ME HERE:- [email protected], I REPLYIMMEDIATELY


---

They could want to use your bank accounts to pass monies through to clean their dirty money. I would run fast. It is not worth our time to deal with unclear, unrealistic, and strange companies.

Dad of Many.
Business Consultant

[Dadofmany]

Online accounting job cost woman $2,600

A rural Valparaiso woman thought she had an easy part-time job with a online company, but instead she lost $2,696.40 in an Internet scam.

The 49-year-old victim responded Aug. 12 to an online job ad for a London-based company called Arts and Crafts Inc.

As a bookkeeper/representative, she was to receive money orders from U.S. customers, cash them at her bank and send the money on to her employer through Western Union.

She was to keep 10 percent of the money as her pay. She cashed the first batch of checks, worth $2,916, on Aug. 23 and sent on 90 percent of the amount, but later began to suspect the company might not be legitimate, she told police.

The U.S. Postal Service confirmed that the money orders were fraudulent.

[Lowtax4eva]

Hi Dadofmany,

That was exactly the scam this sounded like to me. This Arts and Craft company (which most likely doesn't even exist) will have a big check sent to you and ask for you to send them back 90% and keep the rest.

Only thing is the original check is a fake but by the time your bank tells you this they will already have the 90% and your account will be overdrawn.

This is a very common scam and a lot of people hope it's true because of the fact that it's such easy money (or it sounds like it is), I wouldn't reply at all.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Different spelling, but Bobby Lashlee, is a world wrestling entertainment star. The scammer probably got the name from there.

[sGt HarDKorE]

Lately I have been no many scam emails its crazy, I got one from sir thomas smith and then a lottery, and then a widow woman from Nigeria, the list goes on lol.

[aglaia]

Also, if you cash the check, they will then have your bank account information.

[herbalista]

I also got the John Stanford variety of this email. I replied with questions that were never answered, then replied only with information that is already public, i.e. address and telephone. (Those are also available on the web, both through telephone listings and my own website.)
I also informed them that I would not endorse any financial instrument, or give them my banking information in any other way, under any circumstances. I'm quite aware they're a scam, but I'm curious to see how it unfolds. I'll post the results here as a follow-up.
Sigh. Rodney King wanted to know why we couldn't all just get along... this is one example of why.

[dollface_93]

Its totally a scam, I get them all the time, they do want your account #'s so they can add funds to your acct! Well that's what they want you to believe, then they wipe them out and that's the end!
Do not ever contact any e-mails that look like that... but rather report them to the BBB.

[Lowtax4eva]

There's no point reporting them to the BBB, the company most likely does not exist, it's just someone sending emails from disposable email addresses who could be anywhere in the world.

[Emland]

I got this one last Friday:

**********

You can mail me through this E-mail ID [email protected]

Dear beloved Muslim,

I am your fellow Muslim brother and my name is Mohammed Ahmed a citizen of Cote d'ivoire Republic in West Africa . Before I contacted you I go through internet and see your profile as a good investor. Please I want to know weather you can come down here in Africa to meet the security company where my late father was deposited a family consignment that contains a sum of $3.2 million dollars. My late father deposited this money for security purpose in one of the security company inside a metallic box as a family valuable. Even the security managements don't know the contains of this box according to my late father.

Secondly I want you to come down here in Africa because I don't want any invisible transaction, what I need is face to face so that you will stand as my late fathers foreign partner. Then after the withdrawal of this fund I will travel together with you back to your country in order to invest this money and also to continue my education over there in your country. Secondly you will have 20% out of this total amount of money as compensation.

I am waiting to hear from you and together with your full contact, photo and phone number for easier communications OK.

Assalawalekuim.
From yours faithfully in Islam,

Mohammed Ahmed.


**I wrote back and told him good Muslims don't steal from people and that he brings shame to followers of Islam**