# I'm getting scammed, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832 "2012-03-15T05:30:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crookedteeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@crookedteeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crookedteeth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/1 "2012-03-15T05:30:44Z")
So I was recently let go at work, and since I’m a student looking for a part time job, I hit Craigslist. I found a job as a waitress - which is really what I do best anyway - but also got a response from one of the office jobs I sent my resume to. It was a guy looking for a personal assistant - most of the work would be done from home. Booking flights, answering emails, that sort of thing. $400/week. Seems too good to be true. The only identifying information he asked for was my age, address, etc - mainly stuff that was on my resume anyway. He did make mention of a copy of my driver’s license, but I told him I’d rather wait for the face to face meeting one he got back to town - that was fine. He tested my response times to emails, since I’d be needing to check my email frequently. Not a problem since I get an alert on my phone. Everything seems legit, just too good to be true. So I went ahead and took the position. Here’s what doesn’t seem right. My first assignment is to receive a money order in the mail. I’m to cash it, take $100 out for me, take out the cost to wire it via Western Union, and wire the rest to a company in Istanbul. He claims he owes them for supplies. The amount is $1998, which seems odd. So I’m pretty sure I’m being scammed. I assumed that money orders are better than checks, but I’m guessing they can be forged like anything else. I’m not going to do it, because I don’t want to be the one taking the fall. But I do want to make sure that I’m not being paranoid. Other things that don’t add up - if I Google him, I can’t find any information about him. He’s supposedly an independent contractor, and gave me a paragraph worth of things he’s worked on that are fairly well known (at least in their respective cities). When I Google the information he gave me for Western Union, I can’t find anything except hotels nearby. This is totally a recipe for disaster, right? ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/2 "2012-03-15T05:34:55Z")
Yes. This is a scam. Do not do it. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/3 "2012-03-15T06:01:32Z")
I’m with **Maggie**. Trust your gut. It doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t. Isn’t this scam the one where the money order is fake? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/4 "2012-03-15T06:08:27Z")
Look at it this way: why is he trusting you with about $2,000, when he hasn’t met you? It would be easier for him to cash the money order (if it were real) and send the money to his “suppliers”. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/5 "2012-03-15T06:14:39Z")
If you do this you will be out $2,000 of your own money. Don’t do this, it’s a scam. What’s that sound over my head? He sends you a fake MO. You cash it and wire the money overseas. The MO bounces and you’re left holding the bag. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/6 "2012-03-15T06:17:24Z")
[Money laundering](http://www.hoax-slayer.com/money-tranfer-job-scams.shtml). Run away. ETA: [Cautionary tale from that link](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5424542/). I suggest you report this to the police ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/7 "2012-03-15T06:24:29Z")
Actually, thinking about it, since the dude already has your details, it may be safer to disengage in an unsuspicious way. Send back the money order (after taking a copy) if it’s already arrived and apologise, saying you’ve just landed another job and can no longer help him out but wish him well in the future. Something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/8 "2012-03-15T06:34:32Z")
Not that I have a dissenting opinion or whatever, but someone very wise once said, ‘when in doubt, abstain.’ ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/9 "2012-03-15T07:03:28Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Actually, thinking about it, since the dude already has your details, it may be safer to disengage in an unsuspicious way. Send back the money order (after taking a copy) if it’s already arrived and apologise, saying you’ve just landed another job and can no longer help him out but wish him well in the future. Something like that. Reading your links it seems the scam may not be the old “send dodgy cheque, cash it and send me most of it back” scam but rather a scheme to involve the OP in ebay fraud. If so, the MO won’t come from the scammer but from an ebay buyer. Personnally I wouldn’t do _anything_ that could be seen as assisting the scammer or getting involved in a crime and that includes forwarding him the MO. If it’s already arrived I would return it to sender or just go to the police with the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/10 "2012-03-15T07:10:24Z")
Perhaps the smart thing to do is to contact local law enforcement. You are definitely being scammed, this is a very common one. When you won’t cooperate he will find another “sucker” to take your place. Maybe you can save someone else the heartache of getting taken and the way to do this would be to contact the police. With any luck they will set up some sort of “sting” and arrest this piece of garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/11 "2012-03-15T08:01:17Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Perhaps the smart thing to do is to contact local law enforcement. You are definitely being scammed, this is a very common one. When you won’t cooperate he will find another “sucker” to take your place. Maybe you can save someone else the heartache of getting taken and the way to do this would be to contact the police. With any luck they will set up some sort of “sting” and arrest this piece of garbage. He wanted the money sent to Istanbul. He may be there, or may merely be clearing money through there to somewhere else. Doubt he’s getting arrested any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![crookedteeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@crookedteeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crookedteeth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/12 "2012-03-15T13:02:41Z")
As I said, I definitely am not going to do it. In one of my response emails I asked for more information on him, didn’t get it. I also asked him to confirm that I want doing anything illegal in my last message, he didn’t address this either. He can scam people but he can’t lie? Thanks for giving me some insight on what he may be doing with the money. I think I may go to the police, just because I already know someone. I would love for them to be able to catch the guy, but without international support I doubt it will happen. If anything interesting comes from it, I’ll post it here. Or I might just mail it back, I’ll figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/13 "2012-03-15T14:08:49Z")
Not much to add here, you’re doing the right thing… But it’s a sad commentary on our economic times when job paying $400 a week is “too good to be true.” ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/14 "2012-03-15T14:47:42Z")
> [@](#): > > So I was recently let go at work, and since I’m a student looking for a part time job, I hit **Craigslist**. (bolding mine) In less than 25 words, the question is answered. In a roughly year-long stretch of unemployment, my husband sent out a couple thousand responses to Craigslist job postings. Not a single one turned out to be legitimate. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/15 "2012-03-15T15:31:53Z")
What did the money order look like? Is it an official-looking form? (I mean, this is definitely a scam - I’m just curious about the details) ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/16 "2012-03-15T15:51:03Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > (bolding mine) > In less than 25 words, the question is answered. > > In a roughly year-long stretch of unemployment, my husband sent out a couple thousand responses to Craigslist job postings. Not a single one turned out to be legitimate. I will offer that I have advertised both clerical and technical positions with great success on Craigslist. They aren’t all scams. Usually if you deal locally and there is a business name and a contact person, it is probably legit. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/17 "2012-03-15T15:51:19Z")
Welcome to Scamsville - Population, YOU! ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/18 "2012-03-15T16:23:16Z")
Definitely tell the police. That way if he uses your info to implicate you in any future wrongdoing, you’ll be covered. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/19 "2012-03-15T18:01:02Z")
Scam. The MO will be counterfeit. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832/20 "2012-03-15T18:05:42Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > (bolding mine) > In less than 25 words, the question is answered. > > In a roughly year-long stretch of unemployment, my husband sent out a couple thousand responses to Craigslist job postings. Not a single one turned out to be legitimate. Every single new hire in my office for the past 5 years or so has been from Craigslist. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-scammed-right/615832.md?page=2)