I received an email from a "Peter Wilshire" at the email address "
[email protected] ", the entirety of the email is below:
(email #1 - first contact)
Dear Applicant,
I wish to inform you that the advertised position is not available anymore, but there is another available position if you and below is the job details for your review .
POSITION TITLE: Personal Assistant Needed as Part-time worker that will not disturb your present occupation..
AVAILABILITY: Open
START DATE: Immediately
COMMISSION: $ 3,500.00 Per month
Thanks for applying for the post, I quite I appreciate it. I received and read your e-mail, resume and it's reasonable and acceptable. So I will give this a go.
I'm looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable, someone with good understanding and working skills.
As my personal assistant, your activities among others will include:
*Create and modify documents using Microsoft Office
*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring.
*Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them.
*Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf.
*Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities..
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
*Good planning, communication and organization skills
*Must be honest, reliable & dependable
*Excellent verbal & written communication skills
*Must have strong problem solving skills
*Must be organized & extremely detail oriented
*Experience working with the internet, email, MS Excel and MS Word
*Ability to multi-task and self manage 24/7 mindset
*A willingness to do whatever needs to be done is a must
NOTE: The above qualification requirements can also be learnt if you are willing to take up the challenges.
You will work from your home at your convenience. Let me know if you will be able to offer me any of these services. I would love to meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently away on business. I am presently in the United Kingdom for a short business trip so there will be no interview.
I will pre-pay you in advance to do my shopping. I will also have my mails and packages forwarded to your address. If you will be unable to stay at your house to get my mails, I can have it shipped to a post office near you and then you can pick it up at your convenience.
When you get my mails/packages; you are required to mail them to where I want them mailed to. You don't have to put money out of your pocket, all you have to do is have packages shipped to your house and do my shopping. You are allowed to open the packages to reveal its content.
The content of the packages are Artworks and personal letters. All expenses and taxes will be covered by me. You will work between 15 and 20hrs a month.
How much will you charge per assignment? I will pay $300. That is not a bad offer is it? I need your service because I am constantly out of town. I work in real estate and I own an Art Gallery in the United Kingdom. I will return back to the states by April 15th, 2012 so this process will be going - on till i get back to the states in April. If you don't mind, I will meet up with you when I return and then we can talk about the possibility of making this long term.
Well, let me know if you are able to handle the position. Hope to hear from you right away .
I will email you the list and pictures of what to shop for when I am ready. No heavy packages is involved! You can do the shopping at any nearest stores. You will be shopping for Electronics and clothings.
I will provide you my personal UPS account number for Shipping . All you have to do is provide my account number to UPS and shipping charges will be applied into the account. I will provide clear set of instructions for each task I need done as well the funds to cover them. If I were to mail you check to do my shopping plus upfront payment for your service, where would you want it mailed to? How should your name appear on the payment? Maybe you can provide me with the following details below to
[email protected] :
Full Name:
Full Address:(NO P.O..BOX)
City, State , Zipcode :
Country:
Phone Number:
Age:
I will appreciate quick response from you. Thanks and please get back to me asap if you are interested.
Thank You!!!
Peter Wilshire.
Honesty, loyalty and punctuality is my watchword.
May the almighty God bless you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I ran a check on the email header information and the IP returned was: 83.249.114.54, the service also stated that this was a verified email address and IP address and appeared to be legitimate.
The next email came 4 days later
(2nd email):
Good Morning!
I am so sorry i have not been in touch with you, you can see reasons why i need you as my personal assistant to help me get things done when i am so busy, I got your info's, i just want to confirm this again to make sure i am working with the right, the number one thing i will need from you is honesty because you will be handling some of my money and you know in money issues you need someone to trust 100% let me know if i can trust you with my money when you are to handle that part.
Thanks for your anticipated co-operation in order to start work soon.
However, Please acknowledge the receipt of this email. Also to get started with work, I will like you to confirm to me that the information below is correct so as to fill in the correct record for you. So if there is any mistake in this information below, kindly correct it in your reply.
[information removed]
let me know you got this email and get back to me so i give you more info.
Peter Wilshire.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
And after my confirmation of my information, I received a fake check from Sweden for $2,700 via UPS, with concurrent emails requesting I inform him when I receive the check, and when I cash it.
The return address on the UPS envelope:
Steven M.
Fredmansgatan 5
21213 Malmoe
Sweden
The description was listed as an "Invitation Letter".
The check appeared to be a real payroll check. It had "security features" listed on the back, which all appeared to be in place. It included a water mark that said "original document" across the back of the check. The other feature was small print as an frame around the front of the check, which said it would appear as a dotted line if photocopied. It also stated it was micro printed and the color background which would expose copies.
What really said it was fake was the lack of an address and phone number for the company who supposedly wrote the check, which was listed as "FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICE LLC", drawn on "BNY Mellon Trust" listed as being in Newark, Delaware. It was signed by a L.... R. M.... (I am unable to read the whole first or last name).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just wanted to post this to make sure no one else is tricked or deceived by this scammer. Hopefully this helps someone avoid paying for this guy's deception.