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Please be sure to read my Work-at-Home Scams Home Page

NOTE: All external links on this page open a new window.

Things I Did, Below

I, personally, receive email in HTML format. The following was received (and looked) like I received it. At the time, I was more interested in the message than the headers and do not have the original. This is a copy I forwarded to myself as I sent it to my father.

  • I removed my email addresses. These came to various accounts and some no longer exist. There are places on this site you can get hold of me if you wish or need to. They are protected from spambots using JavaScript, but all you have to do is click on them.
  • All scammer and related email addresses, and any actual website links have been changed, at least putting spaces into them. They appear as underlined blue links, though they aren't.
  • Any notes I added in the actual letter are in square brackets ("[" "]"), are bold, red in color, and highlighted. If what I found "behind the links" (email or website) are different than what was displayed, I will include them in this type of note.
  • All spelling, spacing, line-wrapping, and punctuation errors are the ones that appeared in the original received email. (I may or may not analyze some or all of these.)

Scam Example
Received 09/25/2007

This one was a little different. It did not appear to be spam!

Apparently, either I, or my job "coach" applied to a part-time position on CareerBuilder (which makes little sense, now I think about it... I MUCH prefer full-time). I cannot find any email or notification that we did so, so am not really sure we did. OR, they simply found my resume on the site, and contacted me, assuming I was applying to a bunch of places and not keeping track, or I was simply spammed. Either way, I received the following email.

NOTE: To allow search engines to find them, I've left the links in this email. Be careful if you check them out for yourself.

Dear Applicant,

Unfortunately, our part time vacancy you applied for is not available in your area.

-------------------
We have one more verified part-time vacancy available in your area:

-PP Assistant(at home/part time). Independent Contractor.Light training included.

Salary - $15 per hour + solid weekly bonuses / 5-7 hrs per week
No special experience required.

Private individuals and business owners are welcome.
All small business owners are welcome, particularly women, minority, veteran and disabled-owned businesses.

To know more about this position, requirements etc. please visit our client website:
http://www.advantageglobalgroup.org/-page=careers.htm
Job FAQ:
http://www.advantageglobalgroup.org/faq.htm

---ATTENTION---
It is necessary to fill out Advantage Global LLC. form to apply (http://www.advantageglobalgroup.org/-page=careers.htm).
Please write down your Job Offer Verification Number:
MAR0901078486AGUS
You will need this number when you apply.
---ATTENTION---

EMPLOYER STATUS: VERIFIED
JOB STATUS: VERIFIED/NO STARTUP FEES
EMPLOYER LOCATION: MAPLE GROVE,MN
MT LICENSE: 47 STATES
VACANCY AVAILABLE: NATIONWIDE

You will be contacted by your future employer directly within 2-5 business days.

Best Regards,
Valerie Falcon,
Marietta Services LLC.

_________________________________________________________________
Missed the show? Watch videos of the Live Earth Concert on MSN.
http:// liveearth.msn .com

[NOTE: I left names, email addresses, and phone numbers in here for the search engines to find. DO NOT TRY TO CONTACT THEM! I'm SURE you will be ripped off! -LE]

At this point, I didn't pay any attention to the format of the letter, just what it said. A possible job in the area! Let's click the careers link.

Here I found a page that looked fairly legit. if somewhat plain. It contained ONE job listing (the only one available under "Careers). I copied the job listing using their styles, below - Styles using MY styles: <STRONG> - which I have set at "110% Bold":

Vacancies

Payment Processing Assistant (at Home)

Requirements:

  • Eligibility to work in the United States;
  • Fluent English;
  • Basic knowledge of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel(optional/not necessary);
  • High level of responsibility;
  • Home Computer with e-mail account and ability to check your e-mail
    box at least twice a day;
  • Adults only accepted (we cannot hire underage people);
  • 1-3 hours free during the week (mainly in the evening /
    non-business hours) for communication and 2-4 hours a week more for
    transfer processing    ;
  • No criminal records(your background will be verified);
  • Banking account in one of US banks(You can open a new one(zero-balanced) to work with the company
  • Be able to answer phone calls all day long(cell phone is highly recommended). We won't call you more than 2 times a day but you should be able to answer these calls.

Terms & Conditions:
-no office work
-no startup(out of pocket) fees
-no need in special financial skills(light training included)
-flexible timetable: You can use this job to supplement your income.
-1-2 hours of occupation a day
-comission for each of the financial operation (up to 5% of the sum )
-$15 per hour(1 hour will be credited for every transfer processed) + up to 5% commission for every transfer processed
-detailed payment processing instructions will be provided;
-absolutely legitimate and safe(no startup fees, you can use low-balanced or zero balanced bank account)
-legit job offer(you will have to read , sign and fax your independent contractor agreement back to us) , we don't require any sensitive info(like SSN, DOB, MMN etc.)Our company is located in St. Paul, MN.

 

Working Process brief description:
1) You will process payments for our US clients and their outsourcing employees using your bank account.We inform you about money transfer from our verified US based clients(every client is verified by our Security Dept.)to your account (you have to check your e-mail account for our transfer notifications at least twice a day(4-5 times per day recommended), if you don`t have this opportunity at this moment, we have to discuss the regular time of the transfers beforehand); The usual time of the transfers is 9-10 am GMT;
If it is your additional work, you have to send us your daily timetable (when do you start working, have a break and when finish). If not, just let us know when are you available ;
2) 95%(or more)of the withdrawed sum of this money you should transfer to our verified clients(primarily web designers, programmers etc.) via Western Union, MoneyGram etc. according to our detailed transfer instructions.
the rest of the sum - is your compensation(up to 5%);
3) Just after you have transferred the money to our clients, you shouldcontact your personal manager via e-mail (confirmation of the transfer) and let us know all the details of your Western Union(or Money Gram)transfer (MTCN).
4) All procedures have to take 1-2 hours, because we have to provide and verify the safety of our clients` money (we have to inform them about all our actions).At the end of the week you should e-mail or fax your weekly report to your manager.

 

Any questions? Please read our FAQ section carefully BEFORE filling out the form below .

Would like to see testimonials from our satisfied clients, please have a look: TESTIMONIALS

It's necessary to fill out the following form to apply for this position. You will be contacted by your personal manager within 3-5 business days.

- IMPORTANT : If you use free e-mail like hotmail, yahoo etc. then also check your "Junk", "Bulk", or "Spam" folder because sometimes mail gets into those folders.
We highly recommend you to setup another e-mail account(you can register a free e-mail with Yahoo, Hotmail, mail.com etc.) specially for your correspondence with Advantage Global BEFORE filling out the form(and use this e-mail in the form). Please check this e-mail at least twice a day(4-5 times per day recommended).

Please include at least 2 different phone numbers for us to contact you.

 

First Name:
Last Name:
Street Address(Not a PO BOX!):
City:
State/Region:
ZIP/Postal Code:
Country:
Home Phone:
Work Phone:
Cell Phone:
Primary E-mail:
Secondary E-mail:
Instant Messenger(example: ICQ- 92323749324 )
Age:
Gender:
Marital Status:
Education:
Are you employed now?
Current job position:
Current job working schedule:
Relocation expected?
Languages you know:
Available to start:
Job Offer Verification Number - Required field - you can find it in that e-mail you received from a recruiting company. This number is required for security purposes:
Use this space for any additional information that you believe
would be helpful in assisiting us to know more about you:


[DO NOT CLICK THESE BUTTONS. THEY WILL FAIL -wds]

If you're here, hopefully you've read the above job description. If you haven't, yet, do so, then go check out my Work-at-Home Scams Home page (PROCESSING BANK TRANSACTIONS FOR OVERSEAS BUSINESSES section); Work-at-Home Scams - 09/04/2006 Example (Stock Trading World LTD); and Work-at-Home Scams - 07/30/2007 Example (Bills Textiles) - They all open in a new window... Just close it to return here.

So, you're back? Good ... Now, does the above look familiar?

Because of my prior investigations of the Nigerian Scam, Lottery Scam, and various other scams (see OFPv2/SSFF - Scams Subsection Home for more), I IMMEDIATELY recognized it as a Work-at-Home scam. So, I decided to do some research.

First I searched for "Advantage Global LLC". I found their pages at the site above, and:

Next, I looked for "Advantage Global Group". I found their pages at the site above, and:

Okay! Those verify that it's a scam! Now to do some more research.

Email Headers
Received 09/27/2007

From valerie @ mariettaservices.org Tue Sep 25 14:25:39 2007
Return-Path: <valerie @ mariettaservices.org>
Authentication-Results: mta302.mail.re4.yahoo.com from=mariettaservices.org; domainkeys=neutral (no sig)
Received: from 216.195.58.20 (EHLO sys237.3fn.net) (216.195.58.20)
by mta302.mail.re4.yahoo.com with SMTP; Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:15:35 -0700
Received: (qmail 13108 invoked by uid 0); 25 Sep 2007 14:25:39 -0700
Date: 25 Sep 2007 14:25:39 -0700
Message-ID: <20070925212539.13106.qmail @ sys237.3fn.net>
Reply-To: jobs @ mariettaservices.org
From: valerie @ mariettaservices.org
To: <one of my job search email addresses>
CC:
Subject: Your job application
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-Length: 1284

[NOTE: I left names, email addresses, and phone numbers in here for the search engines to find. DO NOT TRY TO CONTACT THEM! I'm SURE you will be ripped off! -LE]

[NOTE: 216.195.58.20 is from Gainesville, FL - I don't remember applying to anyone in FL, nor to any "Marietta Services"!]

Going to www.mariettaservices.org, I found one of the scam info sites, above, and the following page:

This is the placeholder for domain mariettaservices.org. If you see this page after uploading site content you probably have not replaced the index.html file.

This page has been automatically generated by Plesk.

and, from Alibaba.com - Marietta Services LLC Cargo & Storage:

Marietta Services LLC

Marrietta is a start up company specializing in Fashion Design, fabrication, alteration and cleaning services. Celebrating our 3rd year in business, the Marietta' team consists of experienced seamstress and cleaners who not only can perform detailed fashion needs and textile material analysis but also design, sew and tailor made or alteration of clothing, and develop a totally integrated solution for you. We create a partnership with our clients to maximize the benefits of developing a total fashion and comfort fit. Even if you have purchased from another vendor, we will be happy to support your company if something goes wrong with your existing vendor relationship.

 

Basic Information  
Company Name:   Marietta Services LLC
Business Type:   Trading Company
Product/Service:   Fashion, Health, Services
Company Address:   1234 5th Street, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
No. of Total Employees:   5 - 10 People
Trade & Market  
Main Markets:   North America

 

Contact Us

Marietta Services LLC
Address: 1234 5th Street, Phoenix, Arizona, United States

So which is it? Florida or Arizona? Ok... THIS Marietta Services may not be the same as the scammers'. It could also be that the scammers found a small startup company, and used the name to "legitimatize" themselves, meaning, again, that they could care less about the damage they cause to legitimate companies and the people they con.

Ok... Time to check the WhoIs of Advantage Global Group:

WhoIs Search Results for AdvantageGlobalGroup.org

Domain ID:D148690645-LROR
Domain Name:ADVANTAGEGLOBALGROUP.ORG
Created On:25-Jul-2007 05:25:35 UTC
Last Updated On:24-Sep-2007 03:46:21 UTC
Expiration Date:25-Jul-2008 05:25:35 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Gandi SAS (R42-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:O-1067600-GANDI
Registrant Name:Advantage Global USA Inc.
Registrant Organization:kevin amodt
Registrant Street1:44343 galicia drive
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Hemet
Registrant State/Province:California
Registrant Postal Code:92544
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.7608888562
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:fae3fa2db40aab69b13dd8cd95187e67-1069389@owner.gandi.net
Admin ID:KA653-GANDI
Admin Name:kevin amodt
Admin Organization:Advantage Global USA Inc.
Admin Street1:44343 galicia drive
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Hemet
Admin State/Province:California
Admin Postal Code:92544
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.7608888562
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+33.1
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:317796967948aea15d74dc3adc3185c3-ka653@contact.gandi.net
Tech ID:AR41-GANDI
Tech Name:CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE see http://www.gandi.net/whois
Tech Organization:GANDI SARL
Tech Street1:see also whois.gandi.net
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Paris
Tech State/Province:
Tech Postal Code:75003
Tech Country:FR
Tech Phone:+33.1
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:support@gandi.net
Name Server:NS2.BIZHOSTING.RU
Name Server:NS1.BIZHOSTING.RU
Name Server:NS3.BIZHOSTING.RU

Name servers are in RUSSIA (.RU)?
Tech Contact based in Paris, France?
Admin Contact based in Hemet, CA?

But Advantage Global LLC/Advantage Global Group is based in Minnesota, isn't it? Doesn't a bank have it's own servers?

I accidentally left the "group" off the URL once, and got the following:

This account has been suspended.
BizHost.RU
Аккаунт заблокирован.
Причиной блокировки могут быть:
1)Истек срок оплаты хостинга
2)Нарушены правила хостинга
Обратитесь в службу поддержки для получения дополнительной информации.
ВНИМАНИЕ! Не пишите с почтового адреса, находящегося в заблокированном домене. Вы не сможете получить ответ, так как получение почты также блокировано. Используйте альтернативные адреса.

Ok... So check the WhoIs for AdvantageGlobal.org:

WhoIs Search Results for AdvantageGlobalGroup.org

Domain ID:D134473062-LROR
Domain Name:ADVANTAGEGLOBAL.ORG
Created On:07-Dec-2006 03:38:44 UTC
Last Updated On:30-Mar-2007 13:47:49 UTC
Expiration Date:07-Dec-2007 03:38:44 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Gandi SAS (R42-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:O-1067600-GANDI
Registrant Name:Advantage Global USA Inc.
Registrant Organization:kevin amodt
Registrant Street1:44343 galicia drive
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Hemet
Registrant State/Province:California
Registrant Postal Code:92544
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.7608888562
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:fae3fa2db40aab69b13dd8cd95187e67-1069389@owner.gandi.net
Admin ID:KA653-GANDI
Admin Name:kevin amodt
Admin Organization:Advantage Global USA Inc.
Admin Street1:44343 galicia drive
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Hemet
Admin State/Province:California
Admin Postal Code:92544
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.7608888562
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+33.1
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:317796967948aea15d74dc3adc3185c3-ka653@contact.gandi.net
Tech ID:AR41-GANDI
Tech Name:CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE see http://www.gandi.net/whois
Tech Organization:GANDI SARL
Tech Street1:see also whois.gandi.net
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Paris
Tech State/Province:
Tech Postal Code:75003
Tech Country:FR
Tech Phone:+33.1
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:support@gandi.net
Name Server:NS2.BIZHOSTING.RU
Name Server:NS1.BIZHOSTING.RU
Name Server:NS3.BIZHOSTING.RU

Looks the same to me... But this one's suspended? Wonder why? (Work-At-Home Scams?)

Ok... What about Marietta Services?

WhoIs Search Results for MariettaServices.org

Domain ID:D134438171-LROR
Domain Name:MARIETTASERVICES.ORG
Created On:06-Dec-2006 07:55:25 UTC
Last Updated On:24-Feb-2007 17:48:36 UTC
Expiration Date:06-Dec-2007 07:55:25 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Gandi SAS (R42-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:O-1067250-GANDI
Registrant Name:Pasadena Recruitment
Registrant Organization:Katherine <Surname removed by request of innocent party(*)>
Registrant Street1:<Street address removed by request of innocent party(*)>
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Pleasanton
Registrant State/Province:California
Registrant Postal Code:94566
Registrant Country:US
Registrant <Phone # removed by request of innocent party(*)>
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:abc82e6619b9bc2bf2585c531d2c8b5e-1069039@owner.gandi.net
Admin ID:KF296-GANDI
Admin Name:Katherine <surname removed by request of innocent party(*)>
Admin Organization:Pasadena Recruitment
Admin Street1:<Street address removed by request of innocent party(*)>
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Pleasanton
Admin State/Province:California
Admin Postal Code:94566
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:<Phone # removed by request of innocent party(*)>
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+33.1
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:23e6f7aef28fcd9e4ec7928e89ea980c-kf296@contact.gandi.net
Tech ID:AR41-GANDI
Tech Name:CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE see http://www.gandi.net/whois
Tech Organization:GANDI SARL
Tech Street1:see also whois.gandi.net
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Paris
Tech State/Province:
Tech Postal Code:75003
Tech Country:FR
Tech Phone:+33.1
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:support@gandi.net
Name Server:NS2.3FN.NET
Name Server:DNS237.3FN.NET

Related or not, MariettaServices,org is tied in with (registered through) Gandi.net, same as AdvantageGlobalGroup.org (and AdvantageGlobal.org). As with them, Tech Contact is based in Paris, France(!?).

08/21/2008 UPDATE: When I received the letter noted first in my End Notes, below, I checked many of the links for this site. Most appear to be gone. In fact, the MariettaServices.org site was available for purchase. This is what scammers do - They scam the registrars, too. They will either purchase a domain name for a short-term period and not renew it, or they will order it online, get the name, toss up their website, send out their emails, and VERY shortly, when the registrar doesn't receive the money, the check bounces, the debit doesn't go through, or something else, they will be taken back down.

End Notes

08/21/2008 UPDATE: (*) I received an email from the person named, who stated that she did not have ANYTHING to do with this website at all, and had no idea where they got her name, address, and phone number. She asked me to remove this information, so I have. PLEASE NOTE: If what she said was true, the scammers will also find contact information, either through a local phone book, through spam responses (even unsubscribes), or through various websites without good privacy practices for which she may have signed up. This should give you a bit of pause... What if they've used YOUR name and contact information to sign up for a scam website? (See OFPv2 - Work-at-Home Scam - 09/25/2007 - Advantage Global Response for more.)

The site looks real. And there are a lot of pages for a scammer to set up. Why would they go to the trouble?

Well, if you were a scammer, would you think a simple email enough to convince someone that the company and job are legitimate and not a scam?

If you want to see what the Careers page (and basic format for all pages) looked like when I accessed it, see the PDF I created when printing the page. And, YES... All the links and buttons on that page worked.

[12/01/2007 UPDATE: The site is no longer active. In fact, when I tried to reaccess it today to print the whole thing to PDF, this is what I got:]

Хостинг www.bizhost.ru

Аккаунт заблокирован.

Причиной блокировки могут быть:
1) истек срок оплаты хостинга;
2) нарушены правила хостинга.

Обратитесь в службу поддержки для получения дополнительной информации.

ВНИМАНИЕ! Не пишите с почтового адреса, находящегося в заблокированном домене.

В этом случае Вы не сможете получить ответ, так как получение почты также блокировано.

Используйте альтернативные адреса.

Перейти на сайт хостера для получения дополнительной информации -> хостинг БизХост

Is it possible there are legitimate companies offering this service? I guess it's possible, but one of the things they are offering is getting around the government (not only ours, but their clients') regulations and taxes. So "legitimate" is relative, here. They always deal with monetary amounts below the limit ($10K according to their FAQ):

According to the Federal Laws ,as far as every amount is not more than $10,000.00 these transfers WILL NOT be reported to the IRS.

and

The main reason: In the most of European Countries every payment from a foreign corporation has to be reported to their Gov. Tax Services. Our clients just prefer to receive these payments from individuals and report it by themselves. We don't help these european people to avoid taxes we just help these IT people to receive their money fast(no need to cash US checks 1-2 months anymore).That's our job.

What that means is they circumvent the US Government reporting requirements by keeping checks below the limit that REQUIRES reporting. They are offering you, as a "contractor" a chance to get your money, and report to the IRS whatever you wish. I also doubt you will get a 1099, because you will be scammed out of your money long before tax-time.

If it's legit (which I doubt), the second quote, above, is explaining how they are circumventing OTHER governments' reporting requirements.

Let's put it this way... When you receive cash from anyone as a gift, as a payment for doing something or selling something, do you report it ALL? I doubt it. Few do. That's also why some people request cash payments. It's harder for the IRS to find out about. That's how they got Capone, you know? TAXES. The thing to remember is that taxes are required to make the government services we, as Americans DEMAND, work!

Ok... Besides the spelling, capitalization, and spacing problems on a "legitimate" financial services website, what else leads me to believe this is a scam?

There are a lot of suspicious "coincidences":

  1. The "application" contains the same qualifications and responsibilities as those scam work-at-home letters.
  2. The website(s) use(s) out-of-the-country services.
  3. What truly professional website would have so many grammar, spelling and spacing problems?

So, it appears a couple of con artists in California have decided they can make money on the misfortunes of others or on those that are truly looking for work from home.

What could/would happen? Well, you get the check and deposit it in your account. You withdraw all but the 5% handling fee, and go to Western Union, where you wire the money to whomever was to receive it. You call the scammers, tell them the receipt number, and whatever other pertinent information the request, and they immediately hit the Western Union on their end and get the money. In a few weeks, your bank finds the check is invalid, and demand YOU to pay the money into your account. If you don't/can't, they have you arrested for passing bad checks. And if the dollar amount is high enough (and it probably will be), it will be a felony (federal). Most likely, you will go to prison. Oh... And the bad guys' phone numbers? They don't work any more. And, they are no longer at the address you had for them. So you take the heat all on your own.

And all you were doing was what you were told was a legitimate job.

Again, BE VERY CAREFUL when applying to Work-At-Home jobs.

 

Send comments/questions about this page to Bill Sanders at:

Go to Scams - Work-at-Home Scam Home page
Go to OFPv2 - Work-at-Home Scam - 09/25/2007 - Advantage Global Response

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