ScamVictimsUnited.com

I recently received the following email:

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Hello,

How have you been and how's work with you.Sorry for not contacting you all these while,I was in an accident and had some injuries so I had to stay in the hospital for a while but I'm better now.Since I was the one in charge of the survey I had to handle it myself.

I'll like to propose a job to you,we recently added a service we call TradeSure ,this service is similar to that of an escrow ,in simple terms we verify payment being sent by a buyer to a seller and forward the payment to the seller on completion of the transaction .We have a number of clients already signing up for our service because it is affordable .

Buyers who use our service send us their sellers payment in the mail , we receive them and then have them verified using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system before forwarding them to the sellers.

This process is a lengthy one and takes a lot of time . This is why we have requested that buyers send us their checks electronically so we can
verify payment almost immediately and have it printed out and sent to sellers.

As our Off Site Assistant you will be responsible for:

? Collecting mailing supplies
? Receiving and mailing out correspondence on our behalf.
? Printing out payments (Checks) and mailing to corresponding seller using our courier
account .
? Keeping company files CONFIDENTIAL.
? Any other related duties as may be reasonably assigned by the Accountant.

You will have a lot of time doing a regular job this will be more like a part time job. But understand that we only want an individual who will be Diligent and Swift in carrying out its duties. We shall provide you with all the equipment and supplies you will need to have all the duties outlined above carried out .Your monthly salary shall be $800 .Send us an e-mail acknowledging the offer if you would like to take up the position.


Regards,
James
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They've sent blank check supplies, emailed copies of the checks to be printed, signed and mailed via DHL....I'm starting to feel funny and have refused any further work until validation of the company can be provided. Input is VERY welcome!

Sound like a cheque mule solicitation to me. There is no genuine legal requirement for such a service operated by private individuals working from home on a part-time basis.
A Google search for "HGC Marketing, LLC" (include quotes) returns null results, only your own posting here.


Eniac

I appreciate the reply. Excuse my lack of understanding, but does it sound like a scam or is a cheque mule normal business practice and having someone make up a signature to sign on the checks? Thanks again for your help.

http://www.banksafeonline.org.uk/moneym ... ained.html

What email address did this come from? Was there a website listed anywhere?

I just received an email in reference to an HGC Survey that I showed interest in on craigslist. It offered 200.00 payment to partake in a western union money transfer then fill out a survey. They had me going for a second so I replied, but the second email offered me even more money and was fishy. Google reference on the company was no good. Check it out..
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Dear Applicant,

This is to confirm you have been selected as our Survey / Evaluation agent in your area. You will be evaluating a Money Gram/Western Union outlet in your neighborhood.


Please note that you will be required to visit One Money Gram or Western Union outlet within your neighborhood to patronize there services as a customer by making a transfer and give us feedback on your overall customer experience with them by completing a questionnaire.


A check to cover all expenses needed to conduct this survey will be mailed to you and your pay on every survey conducted is $300, which will be included in the check that will be mailed to you for the survey.


Respond ASAP to this email on your acceptance and willingness to carry out the survey for the company confirming the required information where the funds should be mailed to.


Your Full Names
Full Postal/Contact Address (P.o.Boxes are not allowed)
City/State/Zip Code
Home/Cell Phone Numbers
Age
Email


Thank You and hope to hear From you Today. referring


Yours faithfully,
David Harris
Marketing and Research Co ordinator

I am currently being approached, via email, by a "David Harris" who claims to be "Marketing and Research Co ordinator" for "HGC Marketing, LLC". This is the second email from him dated
Dec. 16, 2008 10:54am, and I quote:
"Dear Applicant,
This is to confirm that you have been selected as our Survey/Evaluation agent in your
area. You will be evaluating a Money Gram/Western Union outlet in your neighborhood."
Basically, he goes on about paying me $300 to "patronize there services as a customer"
(I know he misspelled their), referring to Western Union. So then he's asking for my "full
names, full postal/contact address(no P.o.Boxes allowed), City,State,Zip Code, Home/Cell Phone Numbers, Age, email". He then says, "hope to hear from you today", and closes with
"Yours Faithfully, David Harris". The 1st email from him has an address: 367 Prospect St.,
Stoughton, MA 02072. I hope this info has helped. If anyone has any suggestions for what I should do about this guy...please post. Thanx

I just got the same email on Tuesday. Like a fool, I went ahead and gave up the requested info, so we'll see what happens. I'll update if I ever see anything from this guy. Please do the same!

Maybe I was wrong, but this is what I emailed "David Harris":

I'm just gonna say this: you WILL get caught trying to get
something for nothing...it's called stealing. Didn't your
mother ever teach you that? Or do you come from a long
line of low-life thieves? You obviously have no regard for
other people and yourself. I am a guitarist of over 40 years and I am not
rich, by no means. But I would not ever consider stealing from the poor just
because I'm on another continent or thousands of miles away. Do you care
about all the lives that you destroy? You should consider getting a
part-time life...

Yup, gotta fake looking check in my hands from 'John McCarthy' of "HGC Marketing LLC" in Stoughton, MA.

Do these idiots ever get caught? It seems so easy to put the whole trail together and find these morons. I mean I'm looking at his place in Stoughton as we speak! Although, if semi-intelligent folks like us could almost get scammed into this, it doesn't mean that this is where the trail ends. This is probably some fake front, if the person has half a brain. I'm sure this is just some random address, though.

What I'm going to do is try and follow the mule path down the road and see where it leads, by contacting the 'Karen' I'm supposed to Money Gram the funds to.

Another strange tidbit is that there's a note hand-written on the back of the UPS envelope that the check came in. It was scribbled "24A MEDINA", which is apparently an address for a house up for sale in Bath, England. Maybe where the fool that thought up the scheme is, or where 'John' is moving to, once he takes his money and runs...

Will update with any news.

i got the same check today!

for 3 grand.

how do you propose catching these guys?

id be down to help.

How do you catch these guys?

In my opinion, based on a very common factor: "Western Union" being the mode of transfer, I would think that cooperation and concern on the part of Western Union would be essential.
Knowing in advance that 1) it's a scam...& 2) where you are supposed to send the cash,
obviously the person who shows up at Western Union to pick up the money is part of the scam. Right? The scam is dependent upon you depositing the fake check into your own account and then using your own money to complete the transaction. That's why the "scammers" attempt to get you to send the money quickly...before the check bounces in your account. The fact still remains, somebody has to claim the money. Set up some kind of sting operation at Western Union?

Open to feedback.

My daughter received a similar check for $3000 today from the same HGC Marketing Group and she wanted to do the transfer but I told her that it is illegal. Then i did an internet search and I found this site. The envelope was from UPS but the mailing label was printed from the same paper as the check. Now I'm wondering if it even went through UPS or was it hand delivered? Kinda scary now.

i got the same thing in the mail today for the same survery, it was from ups.
some serious scam crap it seems.
what can be done about this at this point and he has our addresses apparently. very sketchy

Same happened to me, I'm in California.
How can we get them? I feel so stupid, this is illegal, right??

I used to think the same way. The problem is that the money is being picked up in another country . . . usually Nigeria . . . so it would have to be the police in Nigeria who would have to set up the sting. Nigieria is a corrupt country, and some of the police are probably even paid off to turn a blind eye.

BUT I do think that all Western Union locations here in the United States should have a Fraud Warning at each of their locations, placed right where the customer will see it when the go to make the transfer. We have a copy of a warning that would be perfect here

http://www.scamvictimsunited.com/downlo ... ertSVU.pdf