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A fake job offer gone wrong

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Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#101

Post by jpoesen »

aerovistae wrote: post #75
VonGuard wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guy gets a "job" as a software engineer with a WHOLE lot of work, onboarding, paperwork, etc. Then the first thing they ask him to do is deposit a check into his account and send them the Cash immediately, before the check clears. They had the check UPS'd to his house, too.

Why would he send them money though? Like what was the given reason why he would be sending them anything?

My friend, if you have time to ask for a tl;dr and ask follow-up questions, you have time to read the original post. Off you go.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#102

Post by kwhitefoot »

ericbarrett wrote: post #35
sharkjacobs wrote: post #4

Are cheques even used for anything except for fraud anymore? Open call: Anyone out there paying or receiving payment with cheque in the last ten years?

In the U.S., a lot of places that take payments, including state and county government, only take credit card payments through processors that charge additional fees. I've seen as high as 5% with a $50 minimum. But if you pay with a check, no extra charge.

That's bonkers! It costs at least an order of magnitude more to process a cheque than a credit card transaction. And debit cards are even cheaper.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#103

Post by zorrolovsky »

ryandrake wrote: post #48

Great job figuring out it was a scam but honestly, it’s crazy that these things still work on anyone all the way in 2022. You would think that by now every human being that walks the earth would know that whenever someone you don’t know sends you “money” and then requests you send it back (or to another party) in a different form, it’s always a scam. There should be some ceremony whenever someone turns 16 or somethin…

This post seem to blame victims for the problem, and that is not fair. People can be in dark places mentally, struggle with disease, family issues, etc. Not everybody is mentally sharp 100% of the time to identify a scam attack and fight it back.

The problem is not victims, the problem is scammers. There should be better mechanisms to quickly clamp down on them. In this case, it would be really good if there was a mechanism or institution where the victim could report the scam and once verified it would gather information from Google, Dropbox sign, the bank receiving the funds, and other tools scammers use to build a case against the scammer in the relevant jurisdiction, and avoid them using the same tools for further scams.

My strategy to repel scams is to stay humble. Mo matter how much I think I'm prepared to identify scams, I am still vulnerable and I will continue to be vulnerable. Arrogance is your worst friend if your objective is to stay safe. No matter how many ceremonies you do when you're 16, in the right context and with the right words, you will still fall for a talented social engineer.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#104

Post by xmprt »

cpursley wrote: post #78
nigamanth wrote: post #6

To be honest, one can easily realize that this "Marc Cannon" is a fake with the amount of spelling and grammatical errors he makes. Real professionals do not make spelling and grammar errors such as: "Do you have any other question ?" "Good morning how are you this morning." "I will send you later" "Good morning, How are you doing today ?" "This is very disrespectful and all director are to meet you for training on m…

This is intentional. It's a filter for people who aren't thinking clearly (degraded mental capacity, uneducated, etc) and are more vulnerable.

This reasoning has been used so many times and while it makes sense on the surface, if you think about it for a little longer, then you'd realize it's probably not true. For example, in this case, the bad grammar persisted even in the final stage where the money was about to be transferred. I don't think you really need to "filter" more people at that point.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#105

Post by foepys »

pfoof wrote: post #73

Same things happen in Germany with fake home rental offers. They even use stolen IDs to prove themselves.

To elaborate:

The scammer rents an Airbnb (or similar) and makes an excuse why they aren't present for a tour but gives you a pin/code for a key box. Then they tell you that all furniture (it's an Airbnb after all) can be put into storage on the "landlord's" dime and you don't have to pay anything. In the end after you signed they take your deposit and ghost you. This can be done multiple times with the same apartment, even on the same day.

Some Airbnb owners reported that they had multiple families with trucks full of their stuff arrive on the same day to move in.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#106

Post by silisili »

robgibbons wrote: post #94
silisili wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry that happened to her. There's also some mental concept where people already got started or went so far, and subconsciously don't want to believe they've been had, so keep going. I'm sure there's a name for it, I can't be bothered to look up. It's why romance scams are so common, and also why that McDonald's manager undressed that employee, for example. Fascinating, but sad.

Sounds like the sunken cost fallacy

That's what came to my mind, but it's subtly different. Sunk cost is usually seemingly rational thinking about capital invested. Whereas this is rather irrational refusal to see a problem due to potential embarrassment, usually along with some type of investment.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#107

Post by boosteri »

xmprt wrote: post #104
cpursley wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is intentional. It's a filter for people who aren't thinking clearly (degraded mental capacity, uneducated, etc) and are more vulnerable.

This reasoning has been used so many times and while it makes sense on the surface, if you think about it for a little longer, then you'd realize it's probably not true. For example, in this case, the bad grammar persisted even in the final stage where the money was about to be transferred. I don't think you really need to "filter" more people at that point.

I'm guessing there was a study of some kind and not just theoretical debate? In a way I would agree with you, but I can also see an argument for the contrary. As in you don't want to change the pattern at this point as that might fire some alarms and spook the horses.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#108

Post by [deleted] »

zorrolovsky wrote: post #103
ryandrake wrote: post #48

Great job figuring out it was a scam but honestly, it’s crazy that these things still work on anyone all the way in 2022. You would think that by now every human being that walks the earth would know that whenever someone you don’t know sends you “money” and then requests you send it back (or to another party) in a different form, it’s always a scam. There should be some ceremony whenever someone turns 16 or somethin…

This post seem to blame victims for the problem, and that is not fair. People can be in dark places mentally, struggle with disease, family issues, etc. Not everybody is mentally sharp 100% of the time to identify a scam attack and fight it back. The problem is not victims, the problem is scammers. There should be better mechanisms to quickly clamp down on them. In this case, it would be really good if there was a me…

[deleted]

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#109

Post by defen »

aerovistae wrote: post #75
VonGuard wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guy gets a "job" as a software engineer with a WHOLE lot of work, onboarding, paperwork, etc. Then the first thing they ask him to do is deposit a check into his account and send them the Cash immediately, before the check clears. They had the check UPS'd to his house, too.

Why would he send them money though? Like what was the given reason why he would be sending them anything?

"Ok Bob, you're hired. Normally we'd send you a computer and all the other equipment you need, but our vendor communications are all fucked up. So we're going to send you the check we would have sent them, you deposit it, then you order the equipment from them. Plus that way your name is officially on the purchase and you own the equipment after 15 weeks! Why don't we just send the check to the vendor? What, are you calling me a scammer? How dare you!"

The scam is that they are secretly the vendor and they never send you the computer equipment that you buy with your own money. The money from the check they sent gets taken back by the bank because it's fake.

Re: A fake job offer gone wrong

#110

Post by maximus-decimus »

zorrolovsky wrote: post #103
ryandrake wrote: post #48

Great job figuring out it was a scam but honestly, it’s crazy that these things still work on anyone all the way in 2022. You would think that by now every human being that walks the earth would know that whenever someone you don’t know sends you “money” and then requests you send it back (or to another party) in a different form, it’s always a scam. There should be some ceremony whenever someone turns 16 or somethin…

This post seem to blame victims for the problem, and that is not fair. People can be in dark places mentally, struggle with disease, family issues, etc. Not everybody is mentally sharp 100% of the time to identify a scam attack and fight it back. The problem is not victims, the problem is scammers. There should be better mechanisms to quickly clamp down on them. In this case, it would be really good if there was a me…

You're relying on the idea that all foreign governments care about their citizens scamming Americans. And it literally takes only one government that doesn't care (or isn't able to enforce for whatever reason) for your strategy to be impossible.
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