The Fraud Victim’s Manual
July 10th, 2008 by 
Kristy
I’ve received quite a few comments on my post about Payment Processing Jobs from people with first-hand experience with these scams. To say this type of con is alive and well is an understatement.
Most of the commenters were people who were considering taking such a job, but once they became better informed, decided against it. But some of them unfortunately had taken such a job and ended up in the middle of a very large mess. They found themselves holding the bag when all of the paper trails led to them. Not a good place to be when all you were trying to do is make a little money to support yourself without hurting anyone else.
I found a good resource for anyone who finds himself in a similar situation. It’s a section over at FraudAid.com that goes over the best things to do to protect your good name, avoid jail, and get on with your life if this happens to you. So if this is happening to you or someone you care about, thoroughly read The Fraud Victim’s Manual.
Fraud Aid is a non-profit victim advocacy organization, and they have some great information on their site. If you’re looking for a home job, it might be a good idea to bookmark it.
Posted in Job Scams | 
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 am
Great blog site. I just found you through “Fuel My Blog” by searching on scams.
Looks like you’ve got some good information here to protect folk.
Great stuff!
Robin
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 am
Thanks Robin! I try.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:45 am
I am registered with Seek.com and sometimes receive head-hunted emails if someone has seen my resume. The other day I received an email apparently from no_reply@seek.com with a payment processing job just like you describe. Thank goodness I didn’t email them back. I reported the email to Seek. I wonder how they can send the email from that address?
August 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hi Catherine,
I’m not terribly familiar with Seek.com, but if they have a system through which employers can email job seekers, they could have simply gone through that. If that is the case, it’s good that you reported it. Maybe Seek will ban them.
It’s also quite simple for scammers to change the reply-to address of an email to one of a reputable company. I get emails like that all the time. You could check the headers for the real originating address and report the email to the scammer’s ISP or web host- that could help put them out of business. But if I did that with every email like that I receive, I’d be reporting all day every day.
So I just hit delete and move on most of the time, unless it’s someone who keeps sending stuff that gets through my spam filter. Besides, in many cases, the ISP/web host either doesn’t take action or is in on the scam.
Sorry to be so long-winded. Hope that answers your question, and thanks for visiting!
August 13th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Thanks for that Kristy. I didn’t know it was that simple for them to change the address. Seek say that they are taking action, so hopefully that means banning the people concerned. Great site by the way!
September 6th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Great blog! I get a lot of people contacting me about Work at home scams and it’s quite disturbing how many variations this particular swindle are out there.
Keep up the good work!
September 17th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Excellent advice. Thanks for posting the links to Fraudaid.com. I wish more people would become informed about these kinds of scams. They cause a lot of harm to individuals and businesses alike.
October 9th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Avoid this beatician like the plague. She is a scandalous hustler! She will quote one price and then after she has performed the work will make up a reason why she needs to charge you more money! She charged herself and extra $80 tip on my credit card without my permission. I’m now disputing it with merchant services.
This economy is hurting everyone. Unfortunately, brick and mortar merchants are joining the con game. She did this to two other people I found out the next day. All of us have cancelled future services with her and are trying t warn other people. Stay away from Linda of Linda’s Hair Affair in Tustin, CA! Drive to LA if you want your hair services. Stay Away!
signed,
Pissed off former customer