A warning about a job advert..

[RiffRaff 10]

A certain well-respected bureau is advertising vacancies for an "eBay Sales Administrator"....

On the face of it, an attractive proposition : work from home, 9-5.30 Mon-Fri, £20k a year. The only criteria is that you have an eBay account,and have sold from it.

Too good to be true?

Well, I asked for further details, and these were returned....

 

* 1. Customer purchases through eBay.

* 2. Customer pays through PayPal to you.

* 3. You withdraw the funds to your bank account, and withdraw the cash.

* 4. You then meet courier with the amount.

* 5. Courier confirms collection, and I authorise the dispatch of

goods from the warehouse.

 

OK, so it might not be a scam as such, but can you see the possible pitfalls?!

[medusa 16]

Oooh dear. You are responsible to eBay for the money but you don't have any control over whether/when the item is sent, and if anything goes wrong then it's your Paypal account which is going to be debited.

 

I think not

[heavenlyarts 10]

this is also a recognised way of money laundering. STEER CLEAR

[steveroberts 10]

A certain well-respected bureau is advertising vacancies for an "eBay Sales Administrator"....

On the face of it, an attractive proposition : work from home, 9-5.30 Mon-Fri, £20k a year. The only criteria is that you have an eBay account,and have sold from it.

Too good to be true?

Well, I asked for further details, and these were returned....

 

* 1. Customer purchases through eBay.

* 2. Customer pays through PayPal to you.

* 3. You withdraw the funds to your bank account, and withdraw the cash.

* 4. You then meet courier with the amount.

* 5. Courier confirms collection, and I authorise the dispatch of

goods from the warehouse.

 

OK, so it might not be a scam as such, but can you see the possible pitfalls?!

 

The clue to the answer is in your last sentence

[Squiggs 11]

It's a total scam, you are the "mule" basically

 

Here's how it works

 

 

• A fraudster based overseas, often Eastern Europe, with access to hijacked eBay accounts and stolen credit cards / Paypal logins finds a high value item selling on eBay, say a £1000 TV
  
• The mule lists said item on behalf of the fraudster for an absolute bargain price, say £500, possibly using the hijacked account to sell from (but unwittingly, fraudster gives "his" ebay details to mule to list items)
  
• Genuine customer buys TV for £500
  
• Fraudster orders the TV from the £1000 seller, using stolen card/paypal, to genuine customer's address
  
• £1000 seller dispatches to genuine customer who has paid £500 and is very happy - mule has no idea as his customers are overjoyed and are leaving glowing feedback
  
• Stolen card is eventually charged back, the £1000 seller loses their money
  
• Fraudster has £500, customer has TV
  
• Police informed - easily trace the UK mule and arrest, find that the brains is in Lithuania and are unable to touch
  

[RiffRaff 10]

Had confirmation - as if I needed it - that it is a scam.

 

The equally worrying aspect of it is that it appeared on a reputable job-search engine (REED.CO.UK) and supposedly stems from a reputable bureau based in the south-east.

 

Reed's email states

"The job was posted on reed.co.uk by a user advertising under the name, "Jobsworth Recruitment Limited".

Please note: we have been made aware that the job opportunities being offered are not genuine. You are advised to ignore any communications about the job applied for and to avoid providing any details about yourself.

The job in question was fraudulently posted by a company or individual impersonating the legitimate company, Jobsworth Recruitment Limited, by using their brand name and logo. This job ad is in no way connected to Jobsworth Recruitment Limited.

At reed.co.uk, we are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our users and offering a secure jobseeking experience for all."

 

So much for all Reed's positions being vetted.

They've also advised that interested parties should not have sent personal details in response....interesting, seeing you had to submit a CV in order to get the scam details!

[trav4 10]

I'm at a loss what to do with this £38,000 in my paypal account now..

[RiffRaff 10]

I'm at a loss what to do with this £38,000 in my paypal account now..

 

Courier's on his way, mate!

 

---------- Post added 15-12-2014 at 19:19 ----------

 

Reed.co.uk

 

"The UK's #1 Job Site"

 

 

What are the rest like?!

[trav4 10]

Courier's on his way, mate!

 

---------- Post added 15-12-2014 at 19:19 ----------

 

Reed.co.uk

 

"The UK's #1 Job Site"

 

 

What are the rest like?!

 

After advice on here I've decided to go nowhere near the layby on the parkway.

 

Merry Christmas.:hihi:.

[Carmen. 14]

As has been said many times, if it sounds too good to be true... it isn't.

[RiffRaff 10]

As has been said many times, if it sounds too good to be true... it isn't.

 

Agreed.

Wise words indeed.

Unfortunately the aspect you haven't quite grasped is that the original advert didn't feature any of the "iffy" details - it was only evident once CVs ad been submitted.

[ianathome2 10]

Hi

 

I am the real director of the real recruitment company whose identity the fraudster has hijacked so can confirm that it is a con, a very sophisticated one as you are taken through a recruitment process via email, approved (funny that) and then sent a contract signed by my doppelganger with our company details on. As we exist, people check us out and see that everything appears legit.

If you know anyone else who has been conned please let me know and I will let you have my details to send info too as we are putting a case together to support the police investigation. It looks like there were at least 50 adverts out there with up to 15 applicants per advert. could be looking at a £500K swindle.

The fraudster even had the cheek to reply back to me when I told him we were on to him and to stop using my name.