I found a job posting in ksl.com for a person seeking a nanny. I replied to the posting in an email. The man said his name was Shawn Patrick and that he was moving from the U.K. With his wife Emily and daughters Fatima and Jennifer. After describing the job, he asked if I'd be ok doing a few errands for him to prepare to get ready for their arrival on nov. 25th. He said that he was buying some furniture to put on the house, and would send me money, I could take out $150 for my trouble, and wire the rest to Jota Jeanpierre in CA.
He sent a cashier's check by FedEx for the amount $3530.19. The return address was
Ben Rechkammer
US Cargo Control
(Personal Info Removed)
and I was asked to keep $150, then do a money wire transfer of the balance to the furniture supplier in the name of Jota Jeanpierre in Alameda, CA through Western Union so that the person would receive it the same day.
I took it up to my bank and asked if there was any way to see if the account was legitimate. They looked it over and said that it had several signs of being a scam. They said, for my protection, if I wanted to go ahead, they would put a hold on it for a month. They said that if I did send the money, and the account turned out to be a fraud, I would be held accountable for the money and the scammer would have the money and be gone.
I was so grateful for the people who helped my realize this was a scam, because we could not have handled such a loss. My husband is still in school and we have a kid already. It makes me mad because I was just trying to find a job and work for my money, and someone was trying to steal from me.
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