I responded to an ad for Data Entry on Craigslist and received a response from an Anthony Nunez on 6/9 as follows:
Hello,
The Hiring Desk of the company has reviewed your resume and we believe you have the required qualifications.
This is a work from home data entry job and you will get paid weekly doing data entry inputting (alpha and numeric data) into excel database, work is sent via email and you will be working M-F.
Do you have a yahoo messenger on your computer. To proceed with this Data Entry Clerk job position you must undergo an online interview via yahoo messenger.
I want you to setup a yahoo messenger (IM) and Instant Message this ID (sandra_desk1) asap for the interview so you can get considered for the position.
Read back from you ASAP.
Personnel Manager,
Sandra Mike.
A few days later after setting up Yahoo Messenger I was subjected to a VERY long interview via instant message with a Melisa Curtis. I suspect that is really not even her real name. That should have been my first clue that this wasn't quite right but since I have been out of work since April and almost completely broke, I went along, again stupidly thinking this could be for real. No way. Supposedly they were going to provide me with a laptop and various office equipment so I could work from home. The rate of pay was supoposed to be $22 an hour PLUS benefits. Too good to be true but when you're desperate, you tend to not want to see that it is too good to be true. My gut told me it wasn't quite right but I went along with it since it wasn't going to cost me anything but my time.
Over the next two days I was emailed very complicated accounting tasks. Obviously, these were not data entry tasks but since the pay was $22 an hour and I do have a strong administrative background I figured it would be okay anyway.
On the third day, Melisa informed me that I needed to purchase a very expensive computer program. I told her I had no money to buy anything so she had me go through a process with western union to wire the money to some person in NIGERIA using another person's credit card and this person in Nigeria would send me the program. Of course, the credit card wouldn't go through. That was when all the bells and whistles went off that were way too loud to ignore.
The next day, via Yahoo Messenger, I confronted Melisa about my doubts and concerns and she told me that yes, she had been lying to me all along. She said that she works for some man in United Kingdom who sends her money via Western Union. She takes 10% of the funds and then goes to a DIFFERENT Western Union office and wires money to a different person... Guess where... in Nigeria. She said there was absolutely no risk and that even though this is illegal, she has been doing it for a long time and has made a fortune.
Well, I kept asking questions and getting as much information from her as possible about this whole process. Oh yes, by the way, I kept copies of every single instant message from her so I have proof of this whole illegal scam. I intend to report this scheme to the FCC and any other Internet fraud agency I can find.
These guys are real crooks and scam artists. If anyone comes across them, don't fall for their game!!!
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