"Craiglist Scam Preys on Photography Assistants"

Sadly looks like just a crafty variation on the Nigerian scams that flooded the internet a few years ago.

Red flags galore in that one that should be obvious....but as noted above there will always be the the gullible or unwary to be sucked in :(
 
Jayst84 said:
Always amazes me that there are people in the world who fall for these scams. Pretty sad really.

Of course, backwards countries like the US, where people still use cheques all the time, make these things a bit easier to pull off.
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If you want to know how to avoid all of these scams send me a cheque for £50 payable to CASH (campaign against scams & hustlers)
 
Jayst84 said:
Always amazes me that there are people in the world who fall for these scams. Pretty sad really.

Of course, backwards countries like the US, where people still use cheques all the time, make these things a bit easier to pull off.
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It doesn't amaze me, or even surprise me. Scams like this don't involve any significant overheads, and the perpetrator(s) only need one or two people to fall for them to generate a profit. They're not very sophisticated and rely on human weaknesses to blind potential victims to the red flags - which are often quite obvious - and draw them in. 'John' was savvy or doubtful enough to check with Marcel Schaar's office and do some further investigation when he discovered that they didn't know anything about it, so he didn't become a victim.

There are enough posts on these forums from people looking for advice about 'bargains' they've seen advertised, or what to do if they suspect they've been had, to show that some of us aren't immune to temptation either.
 
Just consider these things a kind of natural selection.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Just consider these things a kind of natural selection.
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I do try.
But then the news this morning is full of the fact that old people are most likely to get swindled by telephone scammers. That makes my blood boil.
 
The wording, spelling, punctuation and lack of basic grammar in the email response from "Michael" should be enough to ring bells with most people. If you're daft enough to respond to this sort of thing, you're obviously not the sharpest tool in the box. :thinking:
 
boogie man said:
If you're daft enough to respond to this sort of thing, you're obviously not the sharpest tool in the box. :thinking:
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But they're the ones being targetted. Do we have a social responsibility to stop this from happening?
 
Hey I'm not saying it's right and I deplore anyone getting ripped off by these scumbags. I was just pointing out that anyone with a bit of common sense should see through these things pretty easily.
 
boogie man said:
Hey I'm not saying it's right and I deplore anyone getting ripped off by these scumbags. I was just pointing out that anyone with a bit of common sense should see through these things pretty easily.
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indeed a more accurate headline would be ' craigslist scam targets stupid people'
 
boogie man said:
The wording, spelling, punctuation and lack of basic grammar in the email response from "Michael" should be enough to ring bells with most people. If you're daft enough to respond to this sort of thing, you're obviously not the sharpest tool in the box. :thinking:
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Marcel Schaar is German, and I wouldn't necessarily be suspicious just because of the shortcomings in the English. The real red flags are in the content. For example, how many employers tell someone that they're now on the payroll, will receive their first week's salary in 10 days, and then ask 'interview' questions to determine their suitability?
 
not to mention why anyone would pay random strangers $2k a month and medical benefits to provide a service that a virtual office provider could deliver with greater security for a fraction of that price.

Also do people of Marcel Schaar's status generally use Craigslist to recruit their personal assistants - I would have expected them to use an agency, or if they did decide to advertise direct the trade press.

the whole thing has scam written all over it ... but then people still fall for 419 scams,
 
boogie man said:
And yet "Michael's" original ad is in good English.
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Yeah, I know. 'John' discovered that much of the text in the advertisement was copied from another photographer's website. It's mentioned in the original article and he provided the link.
 
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