Thought Scam and wanted to share... Thread poster: Nilufer Coskun
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Dear Colleagues,
I have been in a strange correspondence with a person who introduced her self as a placment officer for an HR Company in UK.
I received a job advertisement from them for working as a translator in abroad and I sent my CV, after that I received below email;
""""Your documents was received and a file has been created for you for onward processing your documents.
For the final processing of your documents. there's a document whic... See more Dear Colleagues,
I have been in a strange correspondence with a person who introduced her self as a placment officer for an HR Company in UK.
I received a job advertisement from them for working as a translator in abroad and I sent my CV, after that I received below email;
""""Your documents was received and a file has been created for you for onward processing your documents.
For the final processing of your documents. there's a document which must be presented to THE SCOTLAND YARD
You have to get a clearance from the police department in your community or a Sworn Affidavit from a court of law which clarifies that you have not been involved in any crime.
As soon as the above document is received, the final process will commence immediately.
You will be invited to London for a 2 weeks interaction and pre contract signing with your proposed employer before jetting out to your designated organization.
Travel and Accommodation in London will be handled by the employer.
Benefits 1. Both jobs are very flexible and offers an opportunity to travel to different parts of the world with your employer, and also an avenue to share and experience different cultures and traditions.
Benefits 2.
Free Medical Allowance
Free Accommodation
Free Travel Allowance
Opportunity to further your education abroad
Benefits 3. Opportunity to bring your family after 6 months of arriving into the country
Salary: £2,000.00 GBP =3,090.20 USD a week...
Find attached the Pre: INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM fill correctly and send back to me as soon as possible.
"name"
Placement Officer
UK JOBS INTERNATIONAL
6, North St Winchcombe Cheltenham
Buckinghamshire GL54 5LH
United Kingdom
+447024024895"""
As you can see the salary they offer is over the moon...
First I checked if they have any web site but could not find it, then I checked the address but there is not such an address exists in Buckinghamshire but the address belongs to another town called Gloucestershire also the telephone number is a mobile not a fix telephone.
I dont know what is their motivation but I wanted to share with you and I sent them an email this morning asking for their official web site, office telephones and mentioned the weird things that their email has, so if I get a response (which I dont think) I will let you know... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Farzad Akmali 
Member
English to Persian (Farsi)
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Thank you so much! | Sep 28, 2010 |
Thank you so much Nilufer for sharing.
Best.
Farzad
| | | | Arianne Farah
Canada
Local time: 17:03
Member (2008)
English to French
| Same old, same old | Sep 28, 2010 |
They'll send you a check to cover your expenses (flight, hotel, etc.) that is way too much, ask you to forward it to a "visa agent" or some other flimsy excuse for a Western Union transfer and that's the last you'll hear from them... and then, of course, the check will bounce.
But of course, as you said, clearly a scam... I'm just glad these guys haven't found a native English person to write for them... they'd be much harder to spot if it weren't for the cookie cutter "scamglish"<... See more They'll send you a check to cover your expenses (flight, hotel, etc.) that is way too much, ask you to forward it to a "visa agent" or some other flimsy excuse for a Western Union transfer and that's the last you'll hear from them... and then, of course, the check will bounce.
But of course, as you said, clearly a scam... I'm just glad these guys haven't found a native English person to write for them... they'd be much harder to spot if it weren't for the cookie cutter "scamglish" ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Nobody gives a tenner for a pound | Sep 28, 2010 |
As simple as that.
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| Another possible motivation | Sep 28, 2010 |
Perhaps they are asking for a police clearance so that they can have an original copy of that document which could they forge later for other people, who knows...
Annamaria
| | | | | any sensitive information in the CV you sent them? | Sep 28, 2010 |
Although this is probably a western union/fake cheque type scam please keep in mind what information was in your CV and other correspondence you have with them and protect anything sensitive (I assume you didn't send them any bank details).
You can also report the original email (using full header information) to the abuse@their email provider and their account will be cancelled.
As they have phone number info and probabl... See more Although this is probably a western union/fake cheque type scam please keep in mind what information was in your CV and other correspondence you have with them and protect anything sensitive (I assume you didn't send them any bank details).
You can also report the original email (using full header information) to the abuse@their email provider and their account will be cancelled.
As they have phone number info and probably address for you it's best to just ignore them (e.g. no nasty email messages) and they should simply go away. ▲ Collapse
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I agree that this is likely to be some kind of scam - a potential client supposedly living in Cheltenham is unaware of this town being located in Gloucestershire, not Buckinghamshire - but I do not agree with your comments about the potential salary.
Nilufer Coskun wrote:
Salary: £2,000.00 GBP =3,090.20 USD a week...
As you can see the salary they offer is over the moon...
"Over the moon"?
To me, that salary is well below the moon and also well below what I would need to live, even slightly comfortably, in the UK. Yes, I did notice that this "potential client" intended to send you to wherever in the world, but from a UK perspective it's a barely liveable gross salary for a professional.
In my current in-house job, my gross salary is quite a bit above this amount, on top of which there are a number of benefits.
| | | | Martyn Greenan
United States
Local time: 16:03
French to English
+ ...
| Per week/month | Sep 28, 2010 |
Madeleine MacRae Klintebo wrote:
To me, that salary is well below the moon and also well below what I would need to live, even slightly comfortably, in the UK. Yes, I did notice that this "potential client" intended to send you to wherever in the world, but from a UK perspective it's a barely liveable gross salary for a professional.
In my current in-house job, my gross salary is quite a bit above this amount, on top of which there are a number of benefits.
I think you may have misread Nilufer's original e-mail, Madeleine. She mentions GBP 2,000 per week, not per month. I think you'd have to agree that 8,000 GBP per month would indeed be 'over the moon'.
On your general point, these things are all relative. The average gross salary in the UK is supposedly in the region of GBP 1,930 (or GBP 1,500 net), so there are clearly people out there who get by OK at that level...
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Martyn G wrote: I think you may have misread Nilufer's original e-mail, Madeleine. She mentions GBP 2,000 per week, not per month. I think you'd have to agree that 8,000 GBP per month would indeed be 'over the moon'.
You're right Martyn. Missed the "week". Maybe that's why I try to avoid proofing...
On your general point, these things are all relative. The average gross salary in the UK is supposedly in the region of GBP 1,930 (or GBP 1,500 net), so there are clearly people out there who get by OK at that level...
Yes, I'm aware that it is possible to survive, but possible not to live, on less than I earn. However, this leaves you even more dependant on various kinds of welfare/tax benefits (housing benefit, council tax rebate, various tax credits). Even at my income, I still qualify for various kinds of family tax credits. That's on top of some universal non-means tested benefits (child benefit for example).
Whether those people on a lesser income than I "get by OK" is debatable. They obviously get by somehow, but do they get by OK?
| | | | | tell me where you work! | Sep 29, 2010 |
Madeleine MacRae Klintebo wrote: Martyn G wrote: I think you may have misread Nilufer's original e-mail, Madeleine. She mentions GBP 2,000 per week, not per month. I think you'd have to agree that 8,000 GBP per month would indeed be 'over the moon'. You're right Martyn. Missed the "week". Maybe that's why I try to avoid proofing...
On your general point, these things are all relative. The average gross salary in the UK is supposedly in the region of GBP 1,930 (or GBP 1,500 net), so there are clearly people out there who get by OK at that level...
Yes, I'm aware that it is possible to survive, but possible not to live, on less than I earn. However, this leaves you even more dependant on various kinds of welfare/tax benefits (housing benefit, council tax rebate, various tax credits). Even at my income, I still qualify for various kinds of family tax credits. That's on top of some universal non-means tested benefits (child benefit for example). Whether those people on a lesser income than I "get by OK" is debatable. They obviously get by somehow, but do they get by OK?
wow Madeleine, tell me where you work and where you live... I'm moving there tomorrow!
| | | | | London - work City, live northern edges | Sep 29, 2010 |
ceciliadv wrote:
wow Madeleine, tell me where you work and where you live... I'm moving there tomorrow!
The price you have to pay is a horrendous commute (Northern Line this week so far has been abysmal). And working in-house (non-agency) rather than as a freelance you also have to deal with being set impossible deadlines without the possibility of saying no. Still interested?
The salary is by no means great; yes, it's a bit above the national average, but then living in London is far more expensive than most other parts of the UK.
Wasting 2 1/2 hours per day commuting and having to pay almost GBP120 for the pleasure. Still interested?
I, on the other hand, am considering returning to full-time freelancing. Just trying to weigh up the benefits of a secure monthly income vs. no commuting.
| | | | Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)
Romania
Local time: 00:03
Romanian to English
+ ...
| Sharing a similar experience | Sep 30, 2010 |
Nilufer Coskun wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
I have been in a strange correspondence with a person who introduced her self as a placment officer for an HR Company in UK.
I received a job advertisement from them for working as a translator in abroad and I sent my CV, after that I received below email;
""""Your documents was received and a file has been created for you for onward processing your documents.
For the final processing of your documents. there's a document which must be presented to THE SCOTLAND YARD
You have to get a clearance from the police department in your community or a Sworn Affidavit from a court of law which clarifies that you have not been involved in any crime.
As soon as the above document is received, the final process will commence immediately.
You will be invited to London for a 2 weeks interaction and pre contract signing with your proposed employer before jetting out to your designated organization.
Travel and Accommodation in London will be handled by the employer.
Benefits 1. Both jobs are very flexible and offers an opportunity to travel to different parts of the world with your employer, and also an avenue to share and experience different cultures and traditions.
Benefits 2.
Free Medical Allowance
Free Accommodation
Free Travel Allowance
Opportunity to further your education abroad
Benefits 3. Opportunity to bring your family after 6 months of arriving into the country
Salary: £2,000.00 GBP =3,090.20 USD a week...
Find attached the Pre: INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM fill correctly and send back to me as soon as possible.
"name"
Placement Officer
UK JOBS INTERNATIONAL
6, North St Winchcombe Cheltenham
Buckinghamshire GL54 5LH
United Kingdom
+447024024895"""
As you can see the salary they offer is over the moon...
First I checked if they have any web site but could not find it, then I checked the address but there is not such an address exists in Buckinghamshire but the address belongs to another town called Gloucestershire also the telephone number is a mobile not a fix telephone.
I dont know what is their motivation but I wanted to share with you and I sent them an email this morning asking for their official web site, office telephones and mentioned the weird things that their email has, so if I get a response (which I dont think) I will let you know...
I received the exact same offer. Now this recruitment officer is asking for a 700 GBP applicant fee...
The problem is I was naive enough to send details like name, address, annual income... I know now it was stupid, but what is your advice to me ? What should I do ? Should I be worried if they have these data ?
Thank you for your support !
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Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)
Romania
Local time: 00:03
Romanian to English
+ ...
| Reporting abuse to email provider | Sep 30, 2010 |
davidgreen wrote: Although this is probably a western union/fake cheque type scam please keep in mind what information was in your CV and other correspondence you have with them and protect anything sensitive (I assume you didn't send them any bank details). You can also report the original email (using full header information) to the abuse@their email provider and their account will be cancelled. As they have phone number info and probably address for you it's best to just ignore them (e.g. no nasty email messages) and they should simply go away.
You mean like [email protected] ?
Her email address is [email protected].
I gave her my address; is this bad ? What should I do now ?
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Madeleine MacRae Klintebo wrote: ceciliadv wrote:
wow Madeleine, tell me where you work and where you live... I'm moving there tomorrow! The price you have to pay is a horrendous commute (Northern Line this week so far has been abysmal). And working in-house (non-agency) rather than as a freelance you also have to deal with being set impossible deadlines without the possibility of saying no. Still interested? The salary is by no means great; yes, it's a bit above the national average, but then living in London is far more expensive than most other parts of the UK. Wasting 2 1/2 hours per day commuting and having to pay almost GBP120 for the pleasure. Still interested? I, on the other hand, am considering returning to full-time freelancing. Just trying to weigh up the benefits of a secure monthly income vs. no commuting.
well the situation is not so different here, I live in North London too and commute to West London every day to work in-house, thus wasting 3 hours of my life every day. Plus I'm studying part-time for my master, i.e. I also work part-time, i.e. I earn less than a full-time employee.
All this for a salary which is way below what you define "a bit above the national average". I'm not judging you, but I wonder how you can still qualify for benefits? My partner and I do not qualify for any benefit whatsoever, maybe we should make 5 or 6 children or get divorced and then we would qualify (I'm not saying this is your case, I'm just saying the benefit system in this country is weird to say the least).
I think you should keep your job, in all honesty.
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