What kind of scam is this?

Factual Questions
1

I received this email just now. It smells of scam but can someone tell me how it works?

*Hello,
My names are Evans Ellis, a broker based in the U.K. We represent a number of firms based in Asia involved in Imports/Exports of products and industrialized goods. Your email address was selected through a specialized mail-marketing request made possible through associations and unions and based on your location in which you currently reside in America.

We are searching for representatives who can help us establish a medium of getting to our
customers in the Canada, America and Europe as well as making payments through you the representative to us. Get paid on commission from 7% and up to 15%. Minimum guaranteed commission will be US$2000 and upwards monthly. With more experience, it could get to US$5,000 monthly. There is no catch or special qualifications,but integrity and honesty is a must.

If you think this is something you could do,to proceed do forward the
below listed information:

  1. Fullnames:
  2. Mailing Address: (Please indicate complete mailing address)
  3. Phone Number:
  4. Fax Number:
  5. Occupation:
  6. Sex:
  7. Age:
  8. Marital Status:
  9. Nationality:
  10. Country: , 11. Resume/CV

Note:
For the sake of confidentiality I would prefer you to reply me via my recruiting email account: contact.ellis77@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you for your time as we are looking forward to working with you.
Regards,
Evans Ellis.*

2

It’s the “making payments through you” part! The next stage of the scam is to get your bank details, and in conjunction with the info you’ve already (notionally) given them they’ll empty your account. The Yahoo e-mail address is a bit of a giveaway, too.

3

How can somebody with your bank account number empty it?

4

It’s probably not that they want your account number; that doesn’t usually do them any good. What will happen is that they will tell you they want to to pass on money for them (the ‘making payments’ thing). They’ll send you a check for $11,000 and ask you to in turn write a check to someone else for $10,000 (hey, free $1,000 for you! What could go wrong?) Unfortunately, a few weeks later, it turns out their check is a forgery and your bank removes that money from your account, so they’ve successfully gotten you to write them a $10,000 check for nothing.

Evidently, banks can ‘clear’ a check but still come back weeks later and tell you “sorry, that check was fake, and we’re taking the money back”.

5

Send them a link to an online travel agency and a link to PayPal, open a PO box and let them know they can start mailing you checks any time, minimum $2,000 a month. Sweet deal, you lucky bastard.

6

I’m a little troubled by Mr. Evans or Ellis or Evans Ellis’ uncertainty whether he, or they, are one person with one name, or two (or perhaps more) persons with two names. Get that right before asking people’s confidence, won’t you?

7

Or they will want to launder “hot” money through your bank account. The trouble is they will disappear into the night, while you will have to answer some awkward questions from the police. Details here and here

8

Can’t these people get someone to proofread!

9

My office gets a dozen of these a day. It’s a variation on the Nigerian scam. More, it’s a tribute to the success of the Nigerian scam, because obviously the Nigerian scam has been so successful that others are jumping on the bandwagon.

The saddest I’ve seen is following the December 2004 tsunami here. I’ve seen scam letters involving funds of those supposedly killed in it. :frowning: