SCAM WARNING!

This scam came to us from a Denver resident. Like many, this resident is out of work and turned to Craigslist to find a job. Luckily he realized that the job was fraudulent. Since receiving this alert, Craigslist has removed the post. Scammers will look for more ways to trap people.

Please continue to be vigilant. If you come across another scam, please let us know.

Below is the email from the resident who realized the ‘job’ was a scam.
‘To whom it may concern: I recently reached out to a few job listings on Craigslist that appear to me to be scams for this reason: they appear to be two distinct job offers from two different retired medical “practitioners” with each message bearing the exact same wording. I’ll forward carbon copies of each correspondence from this same email address, please let me know if this a is a fraud worth pursuing. Fortunately I gave minimal information. Thank you.’

Here is the Craigslist “JOB POST”. Take a moment and see if you can spot the red flags within the letter. Then, check your answers by reviewing the PDF document attached at the bottom of this post. The red flags are highlighted. Each highlighted area has a comment as to why that may indicate this letter is a scam.

Here is the email responding to the applicant:

Thank you for applying to the Driving position. I’m glad to read from you regarding the DRIVER job I posted. I am looking to hire a Personal Driver immediately. This is a great opportunity for a dedicated professional with exceptional driving skills and stellar customer service in person. This position requires a high level of professionalism, vast knowledge of the surrounding area and traffic rules. I’m Dr Ariel McKenzie , I’m from Ontario, Canada. I am 71 years old, educated (Retired Medical Practitioner). I’m cultural, with great sense of humor, good morals, very much down to earth and with a noble character. I enjoy meeting people and making new friends, I can say particularly that I do have a very kind heart. Although due to my age I’m hearing impaired so I communicate mostly via text and email. Anything other than that I am fit and healthy. It is my pleasure to bring to your notice that I’ll be coming to the states for the next 2 months for charity work, seminars and vacation for myself. As part of my trip, I will be going to leisure spots, cinemas, site seeing, deaf culture seminars etc. I will be spending 8 weeks, so I’m going to need a personal driver/chauffeur during my stay. The ideal candidate must be a safe driver with experience and also have some sort of mailing experience via USPS or FedEx as I would be mailing out some charity goods and gifts items periodically.
To proceed, I would like for you to confirm the following questions;
ü Would you be available to drive me during the weekend, basically on Saturdays or Sundays?ü Apart from the weekend, would you be able to drive us once during the week day (evening shift)?ü Do you have mailing experience via (USPS or FED-EX)?ü PAY: I’m offering you $750 x 2 days = $1500 weekly. A total of 10 hours per week.  My arrival date is on Friday the 22nd of May 2020, so basically I have about 5 weeks to finalize plans. My flight details / itinerary will be emailed to you in advance prior to our arrival so as to give you ample time to get yourself prepared and ready. On the first day, you will pick me up from the airport and drop me off at the luxury apartment I’m renting. I want you to know that I’ll be responsible for the (Car hire cost and the Gas fee) so all I will be needing you from is your driving skills and knowledge of surrounding areas. I also would like to bring to your notice that I’ve found a car which I will be renting for you to drive. It is a Mercedes-Benz S Class (2019 Model), so I will make arrangements with the car hire company and then will let you know ahead of time when it will be delivered to your preferred location.  I will appreciate your quick response so we can sort out details and proceed further.