Employment scam ads

A new scam has appeared in the news today – which as always is best to be aware of.

DETECTIVES in Plymouth are trying to unravel a complex employment scam after arresting three city people.
Police say the trio appear to have been duped into cashing fake traveller's cheques by an online con-man.
The arrests have all led investigators to the same job advert on the Gumtree website.
Officers were alerted to two separate incidents last weekend, one at a bank and the other at a Post Office. Both saw foreign nationals attempt to cash in 3,000 Euros in counterfeit traveller's cheques.
Staff spotted they were fakes and called the police, who arrested a 22-year-old woman on Friday, April 15, and a married couple – a 35-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman – the following day.
Detectives say both parties had applied for a housekeeper/cleaner job they had spotted on Gumtree.
They were then emailed by the advert's author and asked for personal information.
Police say the fraudster told them they were 'the lucky one' who had landed the job, saying their future employer wanted to give them an advance as a retainer.
According to police, they were sent traveller's cheques and told to cash them to pay for his 'house broker', sending the bulk of the money via a wire transfer to a third party.
The con artist, who used a British-sounding name, said he was living in Spain but about to return to the UK.
However, after trawling through emails provided by the arrested trio, detectives say they are unconvinced English is the man's first language.
All three have been released on bail until May 19.
Dc Dave Neale, who is leading the investigation, said: "The people we've arrested have given us plausible accounts of their initial intentions."
Appealing to anyone else who may have been in contact with the 'employer', he added: "There are scores of this type of fraud going on in this country. The targeting of specific individuals is becoming more complicated and more intricate. In this case the person behind the fraud provided a wealth of seemingly legitimate information. But it should be a warning to people in Plymouth and the surrounding area; we don't want to see any more people risking their own liberties."
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 08452 777444 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference EC/11/3972.

BEWARE of SCAMMERS – things you need to know!

Sad though it is, there are people in this world whose only aim in life is to defraud /scam people out of their hard earned cash.

Below we have listed a few of the most recent scams to be aware of. You - our AdTrader customers are very important to us and here at AdTrader World we do our best to keep the scammers off the website. Your personal details are very safe with us and we do not divulge them to third parties. Our online payment system is totally secure as are all websites that display https:// on the payment page, usually as well as the padlock emblem.

• Callers posing as AdTrader reps. The usual reason is that there is a problem with the card payment for your advert. The best response is that you will call them back on our Customer Services telephone number 0845 071 0439. DO NOT give out any bank details, or any other personal details.

• Advertisers who claim the item is abroad, they will ship it to you after payment. There is no item – keep your money in the bank!

• Ads that have a telephone number or email address on the photo, avoid at all cost.

• Ads that when you phone the number on the advert are given another number to ring – don’t do it, the second number will be a Premium rate number and cost you dearly.

• Adverts for Cute animal ads, typically dogs, kittens and parrots. The seller will always want to ship the “pet” to you, don’t be fooled, there is no pet!

There is more information on the AdTrader website under Safety and Security, also lots of very useful advice on the Consumer Direct website or Fraudwatchers.

Don’t be put off advertising or responding to ads – AdTrader is a brilliant, quick and cheap way of buying and selling – thousands of you tell us so! Just be careful, follow your gut instinct and if in doubt say no (always best)!

New SMS fraud (South Africa)

A new fraud, targeting people selling second-hand goods in newspaper classifieds and online services such as Gumtree, is in operation. According to the Wireless Application Service Providers' Association of South Africa (WASPA), the purported buyers use commercial SMS messaging services to send sellers fraudulent confirmations of bank deposits so that they can obtain the seller's goods.

On receipt of an apparently legitimate confirmation that they have deposited the money, they then insist on taking the goods from the seller, who soon discovers that no deposit has been made to his or her bank account. The fraudsters currently operate mostly on the weekends and in the evenings.

Said WASPA management committee member Casper de Villiers, "Unfortunately, it is all too easy for scammers to create and send an SMS that is a convincing replica of the one that your bank might send when someone makes a deposit in your account.

"We recommend not releasing the goods you are selling until you see the deposit reflected in your bank account when you look at your statements online or use cellphone banking."

De Villiers said that people selling goods to strangers always need to be cautious in their dealings and ensure that the buyer has lived up to his promise of payment before parting with the goods.

He added that WASPA and its members are taking a proactive approach to fighting this sort of abuse of commercial SMS messaging platforms. The organisation urges any member of the public who has fallen prey to such a swindle to report the matter immediately at the nearest police station where they will be able to open a case.

See Article HERE