Email scam: professional personal assistant for an electronics company

I decided to check on line to see if anyone else had this email forwarded to them? I'm glad I did because I almost sent the requested information being asked of me?
his is a scam!

I just received the Richard Thomas email (below) and they have my information. I will be sure to report any checks I receive. Whats in it for the scammer? What can they do with my contact info?

Jeremy Harmsen
jeremyharmsen at gmail.com

Hello,

Hope you are having a pleasant day today.

I received your application for the job position I advertised on craigslist, kindly read this e-mail carefully to know what this position entail. It is imperative that I find the perfect person for the job and I'm hoping will be the best you can be.

Before I go any further, you should know a few things about me. I'm Richard Thomas, I'm 40 and I'm married with 2 adorable children. I run my family's farm mainly, I also have a handful of investments and businesses of my own particularly in the real estate market and as a private lender. I'm also a Certified Payroll Specialist working for a number of companies within and outside the US as a private eye / analyst in their payroll activities. I travel very frequently trying to expand my business and sometimes there is a work overload for me, this is the more reason I'm looking to find someone back home who is efficient, self-motivated, organized, a good communicator with an ability to multi-task under pressure and who can help me keep up to date with all of my activities amidst my ever busy schedule.

It is important for you to note that you are being hired by me personally, not by my family or any other businesses that I represent, and although most of your duties will be centered around the activities relating to these businesses, you will be working for me as a personal admin assistant. I will be personally responsible for your wage; all correspondences, findings and queries would be made and promptly reported to me personally no matter the circumstances. The position is part-time and home-based, you will need to set up a home-office if you don't already have one; we will discuss the costs of setting this up as we move along. Most importantly, you need to have a regular internet and telephone access, with this, I can easily convey instructions no matter where I am on what I need to be done at a particular time.

Your activities as amongst other things will include;

* Reconciling bank statements, coding and entering accounts payable;
* Preparing payments (checks) for signature;
* Invoicing, managing accounts receivable and/or customer account collections;
* Inventory control, file management;
* Purchasing needs;
* Budgeting and forecasting, and cost accounting;
* Handling and monitoring financial activities;
* Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence;
* Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring;
* Organizing and maintaining diaries, memos and making appointments;
* Dealing with incoming email, faxes and post;
* A personal reminder for Schedules, programs, flights and keeping me up to date with them as they come up;
* Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring;
* General clerical activities.

Basic wage is $350 a week after tax. Any extra personal expenses (transport, gas, etc) incurred by you while on an errand or otherwise will also be reimbursed by me at the end of each working week.

This position is very flexible and it is difficult judging the exact number of hours you will be doing a week, however bear it in mind that there will be busier weeks than others but the pay will always be steady. Working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings. There is also a very sensitive issue on trust, dedication and accountability which I believe will resolve itself as time goes on.

I'm currently in England now attending a seminar, in the mean time we will begin unofficially pending my arrival because I have a number of important things you could begin work on immediately. Your wage remains intact during this period so I'm hoping you can be available immediately, it certainly can act as a stable foundation to our impending working relationship. As soon as I get back though, we will arrange a meeting and set up a proper interview.

Due to the excessive number of responses to this job Ad, I will require the following details about yourself to filter applicants and for a personal record update;

Full Names
Full Contact Address
City
State
Zip Code
Phone Number (H)
Phone Number (M)
Occupation (if any)
Sex
Martial status
Age

Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards
Richard Thomas

I responded with my resume to one of these ads. I was suspicious and have been doing research. Today, I recieved two FedEx packages with some real fake looking cashiers checks. I have reported this to the FTC and Craigslist. It is safe t say they do not uses the same name more than once. Don't fall for this. I should have researched more, but I was duped. I don't know what can be done if anything. If anyone has advice; please advise. I recieved another such PA response from and individual out of state, both job opportunities followed with the same letter:

Dear Applicant,

This is to inform you that we have received your application from Craiglist in regards to my posting for Personal Assistant Wanted In{FL}. I am looking for someone who can act as my PA and Errand messenger,Someone who can handle my personal and business errands at his/her spare time.

This duties requires, you will be needed basically during the weekends and this will give you a free time to go on with your regular job .
Below are the details of what you expected from this job position.
Someone who can offer me these services:

****************************** ****************************** *****************
Mail services: Receive my mails and drop them off at FedEx (nothing illegal) Shop for Gifts,Bill payment ( pay bills on my behalf),Sit for delivery( at your home) or pick items up at nearby post office at your convenience. Let me know if you will be able to offer me any of these above services.
Where are you located?
I would love to meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently on vacation with my little daughter in London and thereafter i would be leaving London to Germany for a 40 working days business summit / trip . I am expected to be back in the states by the end of July 2010 or early August depending on the program am attending in Germany.

MORE DETAILS :
****************************** ****************************** *****************
I own a new art gallery in Australia which just started operations and sales and i am sourcing to buy more art works from professional painters and artist within the USA.This is where you come in, I am willing to pay you in advance to do my artworks and paintings shipping's for me,make payments for them and have them delivered to you. I will also have my mails and packages forwarded to your address.. If you will be unable to stay at your home to get my mails, I can have it shipped to a post office near you and then you can pick it up at your convenience. When you get my mails/packages; you are required to mail them to where I want them mailed to. You don't have to put money out of your pocket, all you have to do is have packages shipped to your house and do my shopping.. You are allowed to open the packages to reveal its content. The content of the packages are art works,paintings,computer and electronics, clothing's business and personal letters. All expenses and taxes will be covered by me. You will work only on Saturdays. How much will you charge per week? I am willing to pay $400.00. That is not a bad offer is it?

I need your service instantly because as you know already i am constantly out of town. I will return to the state end of July or early August so this process will be on going till then. If you don't mind, I will meet up with you when I returned then we can talk about the possibility of making this long term though i will still get in touch with you via phone soon as we have an agreement and you start work. Well, let me know if you are able to handle the position. I will email you the list and pictures of what to shop for when I am ready. No heavy packages is involved! You can do the shopping at any nearest stores. You will be shopping for this festive season for some gifts,electronics and clothing's.

I will provide you my personal FedEx account number for Shipping. All you have to do is provide my account number to FedEx and shipping charges will be applied into the account. I will provide clear set of instructions for each task I need done as well the funds to cover them. If I were to mail you money in form of cashiers check or money order to do my shopping plus upfront payment for your service, where would you want it mailed to? How should your name appear on the money order or cashiers check?

Provide me with the following details below:

Full Name :
Full Address : (NO P.O.BOX)
City :
State :
Zip Code :
Cell Phone :
Home Phone :
Age{+18} :
Email :

Waiting patiently to read back from you as soon as possible.

Best Regards,

I got your resume and it has been reviewed, I did appreciate it, So I will give this a GO ! I am happy to inform you that after close consideration with your resume, you have been accepted and given provision appointment. Below are our company details and personal data for you review, please be reminded that you cannot share this information with a third party.

DEX - Data Exchange Corporation
State of Incorporation: California Corporation 1980
Type of Business Computer Repair Depot
Tax ID Number 95-3580197
Dun & Bradstreet 043074269

I'm looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable to work very well with good understanding.
This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings.As my Personal Assistant,your activities amongst other things will include;
*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring. Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them. Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence while I'm away. Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf. Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities..
Basic wage is $350 Weekly

I'm sure you'll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point,as I am presently in the United Kingdom, I will be back in three Weeks. We will set up a formal interview as soon as i am back in the states.
Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules, it's a part-time work from home for now and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others. I have been checking my files and i'll need you to run some errands for me this week. I will have some funds sent to you to complete the assignment, i will get you more information on that, I will like you to get back to me with your Contact Details such as:
Personal Information
First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Age:
Bank (Name only):
Sex:
Residential Phone Number:
Mobile:

The employee,acknowledged the Detailed Job Description
and signed___________________________________________
(First Name and Last Name of Employee)

Once I have received your contact information, I will get back to you with the task for this week.

Thanks in anticipation of your prompt response.

Best regards,
Terril Perkins

DEX- Data Exchange

My name is Mr Mark Daniel,i have a family of 3 and am a Realtor and Lawyer.I travel alot,hence the reason why i need an assistant to handle affairs for me on the home front when i am away on business which is usually quite often. This position is home-based and flexible you can be in any location,working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, I need someone who can be able to meet up with my i rregular timings.There is also a very sensitive issue on trust and accountability which I believe will resolve itself as time goes on.

This is only an introductory e-mail, as time goes on we should be able to arrange a proper meeting to get things started officially. I do have a number of things you could help me with this week if you will be available for me. This can act as a stable foundation to our working relationship. Note:This position is home base office work you can be in any location and work with me from your home. Let me know your interest if you are ready to work with me from your home Mon-Fri @ 10am-1pm.. i want you to Fill the Application Below so i can attach it to my File as you have fully been employed by me .

So Fill This Application And Email It Back Here Asap!!!

First Name______________________

Middle Name___________________________

Last Name_____________________________

Street Address & Apt Num_____________________________

City, State, Zip Code______________________________________

Sex________Age_________

Nationality___________________________

Cell Phone Number (___)___________________________________

Home Phone Number(___)___________________________________

Email:____________________________

Current Job:____________________________

Hope to hear from you again.

Mr Mark Daniel

IT SOUNDED PRETTY FISHY SO i THOUGHT ID POST IT... I HAVENT GIVEN HIM ANY INFORMATION OTHER THAN WHAT YOUD FIND ON A RESUME... i FOUND THAT THE CRAIGSLIST POST HE PUT UP WAS POSTED UP PREVIOUSLY EXACTLY THE SAME BUT HAD ANOTHER GUYS NAME AND EMAIL ON IT... HMMM!

Was applying for an Admin Assist job and got this...

From: David Coleman (davidcoleman.coleman742@gmail.com)

I got your resume and it has been reviewed, I did appreciate i. So I will give this a GO"
I'm looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable to work very well and with good understanding.
This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them, my only fear is that
I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings. As my Personal Assistant, your activities amongst other things will include;
*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring. Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them. Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence while I'm away. Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf. Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities.
Basic wage is $1000 bi-weekly.
I'm sure you'll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point, as I am presently in Malaysia, I will be back in three Weeks. I am a costruction engineer who is dependently employed so i travel a lot on business trips and thats why i need an honest person to always assist while i am away.
I think you're the right person for this position, Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules, it's a part-time work from home and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others, so it's a little difficult judging the exact number of hours you'll be doing per week. If you can manage your time properly,this job may even give you some extras while you do something else on the side. As I have said, I'd want us to get a head START with things as soon as possible.I do have lots of works piled up presently and a number of unattended chores which you can immediately assist me with, I hope
we can meet up with the workload eventually. Permit me to use the coming week to test your efficiency and diligence towards all this, also to work out your time schedule and fit it to mine. I really need to find the perfect person for this job, I'm confident you can take up the challenge and on the long run we should have a relatively sound working relationship between us..
I'm online most of the time as I am hard of hearing so I prefer we contact each other through E-mails,but if there is need for me to call, I will be glad to do that.
I am glad you are willing to work with me and i promise to be a good boss. I am also glad on the commitment in working.I have been checking my files and what i would want you to do for me this week is to run some errands out to some of the orphanage home, I do that every month.
A payment inform of a Cashier Check will be sent over to you from one of my clients and i have some lists to email you once you received the funds, You will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the Orphanage at any nearest store around you soyou can mail them out.
I will get you more information on that, I will like you to get back to me with your Contact Details such as:
Full name:
Street Address, #apt if available (No P.O Box) :
City, State, Zip Code :
Cell Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Sex :
Current Occupation :
Email Address :
ALL YOUR INFORMATION SHOULD BE SENT TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS.
Once I have received your contact information, I will get back to you with the task for this week, Understand you will also be paid as well as its important for me to make the necessary steps before i get back from my business trip back to the states. Hope I am clear with that.
Get back as soon as possible
Thanks

Sigh.....just want a job, not a scam.....