Complaint Review: Integra Ventures Limited - Nicosia Select State/Province

I recently became a victim of the Integra Ventures Limited "work-at-home" job scam. I wasn't the one they stole from but the person they tricked into helping them carry out their scheme. In early October 2012, I was contacted by someone named Priscilla More (email address: [email protected]) from a company called Integra Ventures Limited via the Careerbuilders.com website. The position was for customer service. I was hesitant at first, but since I was looking for additional employment opportunities to supplement my income, I decided to look into it. You see, I'm currently having financial hardship due to reduced hours and low pay from my regular job. Moreover, I had fallen behind on my expenses, especially my monthly rent. Every month, since March of this year, the landlord would constantly harass me about getting caught up with the rent. I would always some little money, yet that wouldn't appease him. He continuously threatened to take me to court and have me evicted. Therefore, I had to find a way to generate more money, fast. With the current job market being very stale, I considered trying to work from home.

After this "Priscilla More" had contacted me, I noticed they seemed to have a website, http://http://intevdev.com. Plus, I googled them and couldn't find anything that seemed flagrant at the time. In fact, they seemed to be a legitimate business established in Cyprus with overseas offices in England and the United States. The U.S. office is in South Carolina, with phone # 803-667-3774. It even appeared that they've been in business since 2006, with a registration certificate from the Cyprus government. They sent me an application with a job description. The position was for customer service, which entailed proving clients assistance through a virtual back office (I would later be given a log-in and password to this back office, https://ivlbackoffice.com/); answer account-related questions; I would have to carry out some tasks outside the home such as wire transferring and depositing funds which Integra Ventures would send to my bank account on the clients' behalf.  The application process would include filling some paperwork, conducting a phone interview with an HR person, and answering a 37-question survey. To facilitate my "job" I would be assigned a personal manager named Cindy Byron who supposedly worked out of their Columbia, South Carolina office.

I was told by Integra Ventures that their operation was legal and after going through their 30-day training process, I would be a permanent full-time employee with full access to their own company bank account to carry out transactions. But, while in training, they would use my personal account to direct deposit the funds necessary to complete the tasks, as well as paying me biweekly. I was told I would be compensated $17 per hour and $100 per transactions completed on time. I was also told that they would send me an I-9 form for the paid training and W-2 to fill out once I was permanently hired.

Because I thought that "Integra Ventures Limited" was a legit company, I had follow with the application process and was eventually "hired." I would have to log-in daily into their back office between the hours of 9 AM-5 PM and remain in constant contact with Cindy Byron via the virtual back office and her phone # 803-667-3773. I was to check my bank account daily for incoming deposits. Over two weeks had gone by and nothing came in--until recently.

On November 8, 2012, an amount of $5,920.00 was deposited into my savings account. I was told by Cindy Byron that it came from a client. The assignment she gave me was to withdraw $5,870.00 from my nearest branch, and make two MoneyGram transfers. $2,650 would go to a "client" named Andriy Borsuk; $2,520 would go to a "client" named Borys Filchurov. Both "clients" are said to be in Kiev, Ukraine. I was told to keep $500 as my salary + $200 as renumerations for completing each tasks. I was also instructed to write "Personal Needs" on each transfer slips so there won't be any additional questions from the transfer agent or paperwork to fill out.

Later, I received a phone call from the CapitalOne fraud alert department saying money was transferred to my account from an unauthorized depositor. The depositor was said to be "TRAPP CADILLAC." I was very nervous and hesitant as I spoke to the CapitalOne agent on the phone because I didn't want to be implicated in any criminal activity. Moreover, I was hoping that this mistake had originated with the so-called "client" and Integra Ventures would fix it. As I tried to contact Cindy Byron by phone and through the back office, there was no answer forthcoming. I suddenly realized that I got caught in a scam when the log-in for the back office was no longer valid. Sometimes, when we're going through desperate times, we end up doing desperate things. But I strongly recommend to stay away from this company or other ones like it.