Owensboro Police and the FBI are investigating a job scam that is using a legitimate business as their front. The job is for a work-at-home accounting position offering twenty-five dollars an hour with full health, dental and 401k benefits.

      The posting claims the job is for ‘Partners Healthcare Systems.’ A hospital located in Massachusetts, however investigators have tracked the source of the scam to Nigeria. Partners says they’re still looking into why their company was used as the front, and are working with major credit check companies to stop the scam and help those already victimized.

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(CN) – A man who raked in more than $1 million from a bogus work-at-home scam pleaded guilty to mail fraud in Manhattan Federal Court on Tuesday. Philip Pestrichello had promised his victims that they could earn $1 for each postcard they labeled and mailed, assuring them that “this is NOT a gimmick or some shady ‘get rich quick scheme.’”
      Pestrichello, operating as Preferred Platinum Services Network, placed ads that read, “Would you like an opportunity to earn a $475 check from home processing Mortgage Products Postcards for our company?” 
      Those who enrolled in the work-at-home program were promised $1 for each postcard they labeled and mailed. But to receive the materials, they had to pay an up-front enrollment fee of $80 to $90 and they generally forked over more money to order more postcards.

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Two BBBs have recently issued warnings about work-at-home scams offering work that involves shipping packages overseas.  The first scam is to be a “gift wrapper” for Best Buy; the second, to be a “mail manager” for an online company.

BBB serving Minnesota and North Dakota reports that the name of the major retailer Best Buy has been misappropriated in a scam that offers job seekers the chance to be a “Best Buy gift wrapper.”  As with most re-shipping scams, the job involves the “employee” repackaging and shipping overseas stolen merchandise or items that have been ordered from mail-order or auction sites and not paid for.  The legitimate Best Buy wants anyone seeking employment with them to know that all Best Buy jobs in the US are posted via their Web sites, http://careers.bestbuy.com or www.bestbuy-jobs.com. Best Buy does not solicit or accept job applications or resumes via email.  Any inquiry from a Best Buy recruiter inviting a candidate to apply for a position will include an invitation to apply via the Best Buy career site or in person inside one of their store locations.

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Emily B.’s video testimonial is the first thing you see when you log on to ProjectPayday.com. “I am so excited that I found Project Payday,” she tells the camera. “Finally I can make my ends meet. Finally I’ve got the money that I need. And it’s all thanks to me finding this program.”

Emily B. is just one of many Americans who have discovered Project Payday, an online moneymaking scheme based on something called “freebie trading.” Although Emily B. doesn’t mention it in her two-minute video, freebie trading involves using online forums, personal Web sites, YouTube videos and other marketing techniques to drive traffic to special Web sites that advertise various products and trial offers — all in exchange for a fee.

What distinguishes freebie trading from traditional forms of affiliate marketing is that it is based on a trading model in which individuals agree to buy products from these special Web sites on one another’s behalf in exchange for a cut of the resulting commission.

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With her second child due in June, Tara Brindle was looking to make some money while away from her full-time job.

When she spotted a wanted ad for a “work at home” bookkeeper position in The Merchant, a local weekly shopper’s guide, Brindle, who lives in Montgomery Township, decided to apply.

“I was just looking to earn a little more money on the side. I’ve been on bed rest all month, and I said, “I could really use the money right now,’” she said.

She responded as the ad specified, by e-mailing her resume to a man named Dave Russell at a Gmail address, according to Mercersburg Police Chief John D. Zechman.

“I’m an accountant, so I thought I could use my skills as a bookkeeper,” Brindle said.

On May 1, she received an e-mail from Russell, offering her a “payment clerk” position with “Small Parts Inc.”

She was told her job would consist of receiving payments from the company’s clients, cashing or depositing them, then keeping 10 percent for her own pay and forwarding the balance on.

“The employees who make efforts and work hard have a strong possibility to become managers. Anyway our employees never leave us,” the e-mail said.

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A Grayson County, Kentucky woman thought she was responding to a help-wanted ad, but it turns out the job she was hired to do, was actually a scam to take her money.

WHAS11’s Melanie Kahn reports on a scenario police say they’re seeing more frequently during the recession.

Taking care of her 5-year-old son is a full-time job for Felecia Baker.

For the past six months, though, she’s also been looking for a job with a salary that can support her small family.
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Felecia says she recently found an ad in the Grayson County Gazzette looking for online book-keepers for a company called “Secret Shoppers.”

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