Is this a scam of some sort?

kingofbones

Hello

Recently I have started job hunting and uploaded my CV to a few reputable websites. I was contacted by email by somebody offering a role which was more or less what I was looking for a paid well.

I submitted my application and they explained (at no point have I spoken to them other than eMail) that I would need to do a 10 day distance training course, they would give £30 a day for compensation. All sounding okay(ish) at this point and :eek: I gave them my sc, acc. no to receive payment.

Today I receive outline of the first day of training - basically it's using moneygram to pay a sum to my training partner and then western union to receive it back again... they will put between £300-£2000 in my account, I keep £30 and then off I go. Now I am terrified I've been silly...

I've looked at the website they directed me to and it seems legit but cannot find any reference to the role themselves and now I'm very worried.

It is p f accounting ltd . com

InsideInsurance

The website was created 10 days ago via a company that is used to mask the true owner of a site - there is nothing legitimate about it.

The job description is either money laundering or good old fashioned scam where the money put into your account is subsequently removed as a fraudulent transaction but you cant get the money back you sent because it was sent via moneygram

dacouch

Yes it's a scam.

It's a money moving scam, the money they scam will be yours.

They sometimes also use your account to run through money they have scammed from other people to cover the trail of money.

Angelworker

Hi KOB

I too have received an application form from these people. Having done a search for them yesterday and turning up absolutely nothing, I'm feeling very nervous, and disinclined to share any personal information with them.

Does anyone else have any experience of P F Accounting Ltd please?

Angelworker

Thanks for responses which arrived as I was posting my message. All emails have now been deleted.

kingofbones

If anything was a case of too good to be true then this is it...

Unfortunately I have already given my sc/acc no. (silly, silly, silly )

Can they do anything with this?

What should I be doing now?

dacouch

If you're want to find out more about a websites history and the owners details (If they don't show the owner details it should ring alarm bells, don't forget you can also google the address they declare to see if it actually exists, you can even look at the address on google streetview).

http://www.whois.net/ also tells you the date a website started, recently started websites should prompt further investigation.

Be very vigilent about giving your details to someone online, would you give the same details to someone you don't know in the street

prowla

The scam:

1. They pay you £300.
2. You pay them £270.
3. The £300 transaction turns out to be invalid and is removed from your bank.
4. They keep your £270.

InsideInsurance

kingofbones wrote: »

Can they do anything with this?

What should I be doing now?

Presumably they also have other details such as your name and address? Date of Birth?

Assuming they only have your account details then there isnt that much they can do - the "worst" is setting up a Direct Debit to pay another company (as private individuals cannot get paid via DD). The "classic" is to use ID fraud to get a credit card in someone elses name and then use your bank account to be a DD for the minimum monthly payment allowing them to continue using the fraudulent card longer.

Of cause the Direct Debit guarantee means you can get the money back immediately by informing your bank so it is simply a case of monitoring transactions.

The more details they have the more they can do with it but then they dont need your bank details to do ID fraud.

A sensible precaution would be to advise your bank of the situation and follow their advice

JimmyTheWig

kingofbones wrote: »

Unfortunately I have already given my sc/acc no. (silly, silly, silly )

Can they do anything with this?

What should I be doing now?

They've got no more info than if you had written them a cheque.
But I agree with InsideInsurance that it would be worth letting your bank know now. Then if there is a problem in the future then you've done what you could at the time.

androidgamer

Any job or advert that mentions moneygram (post office) or western union (corner shop, cash converters etc), bank details stay well away (or at least do some research into the company 1st). These services are only useful if you need to send money to a friend or relative in another country (lost money, stranded on holiday etc) as there is no financial compensation/ insurance to get the money paid back...

I still get countless fake/ scam emails since signing up to reed.co.uk & totaljobs.com (both are legitimate websites) as employers get access to your CV (which you would expect), but, who verifies these as legitimate as neither could tell me how it happened & would investigate (still don't know...)

I have since closed my account with both sites (as never found a job i could do or get to), but would recommend current subscribers to take out your main address details (leave just the town and/ or area etc) and create a disposable email address so you main email address doesn't get loaded with more fake emails and the potential (and real) employer can still contact you

As for giving your bank details, inform your bank asap who will issue you with a new account number & bank card

happy job hunting