Tutor Scam on CRAIGSLIST
90
All want tutor for 14 year old boy...
- Exposing scam artists who use Craigslist: Tutor Scam
Bakersfield, Raleigh... - Watchdogs watching :: Beware of scams through Craigslist!
Bay area - Need tutor for 14 year old boy
Brookline, Fenway - Math Tutor Needed
Clayton - Exposing scam artists who use Craigslist: Tutor Scam
- http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2019&p=9000
Brooklyn, Phoenix...
Daughter caught in scam
My bright daughter has uncovered a scam that keeps getting stranger and stranger as I research it online. She plans to attend graduate school for secondary education in the fall and so is looking for part time work. Naturally, she turned to CRAIGSLIST to peruse the ads. Why not?
She found one that excited her- someone from England wanted a tutor for his 14 year old boy who happened to be visiting the area for the month of June. The boy needed tutoring in a variety of subjects including French, which is her major. She responded with her resume (oh dear Lord) and was delighted when she was contacted for more information by the gentleman claiming to be father of this boy.
She wrote asking for the son's email so that she could find out what level French he spoke and get to know the boy before she met him at the Denver library. The man didn't know his son well and couldn't respond. Also, his English responses were scattered with inappropriate words as if selected from a dictionary.
She looked up scams online and sure enough, she was in the throes of being duped. The man stopped contacting her and she moved on, sad about losing $600 but relieved she was no longer communicating with this person.
(Thanks fish for correcting the spelling of CRAIGSLIST for me.)
- A Scam Artist on Craigslist Gets it Back - Searching...
What follows is an email conversation between a scam artist and me. I have received way too many of these emails lately and this latest one started me thinking - what if I played the exact same game back?... - Beware Of The Craigslist Scam
About the growing scam epidemic on Craigslist.com Fake checks ,money orders ,wiring funds scams, renting home scams, etc. - Craigslist Scams - 20 Ways to Identify Fake Job Scam...
Poor job hunters! The stress of trying to find a job in this poor economy that matches our skills and salary requirements is hard enough. But unsuspecting job hunters now have another battle to contend with -...
Check arrives via UPS
This morning after my daughter left to tutor a legitimate person for the more reasonable rate of $25, she received a UPS delivery from a man living in Knoxville, TN. She knows no one with this name who would be sending her money, as far as I am aware.
I got this tense feeling in my heart and as the envelope was not sealed, I opened it. Inside was a check made out to her for $3,350.71 from Regions Bank. What a weird number.
My heart leaped to my throat. Here was the check. The man had not forgotten her. She was still part of this scam.
I called to tell her the bad news. I could see her eyes roll in exasperation. The check was not drawn on the account of the man with whom she corresponded, his name is Jay Lundery.
But it was the amount. Strange amount.
She said she had received an email from this Lundery person and had forwarded it to me but I had not opened that email account this morning. I checked it out.
The Email
From: Jay Lundery <lundery010@gmail.com>
To: Yes, to my daughter UGH
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:27:30 AM
Subject: Re: Summer Tutor Needed!
Good morning,
How are you doing? I got your email and I am Ok with all. I want you to know that the payment for the tutoring has been mailed out to you and your should be getting it this morning via UPS courier service so please be sure to receieve it or ba around to pick it up. here is the tracking number for the package 1Z5E21390199416221.
Please when you get it today, take it your bank and have it cashed and after that deduct your charges for the tutoring and send the balance to the Nanny via western union as earlier discussed so she can get the money immediately and have come down with my son.I wouldnt want this to exceed this week as the tutoring classes should start on monday..I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Regards,
Jay Lundery.
Regions Bank
I googled Regions Bank for a phone number to alert them that this was going on at their bank. I got a very strange sensation listening to their recording and began to google for information on the bank itself. There are citation after citation regarding fraud and Regions Bank, including a case that went to court.
Regions Bank Fraud
- PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR BILL WARNER SARASOTA TO PANAMA CITY FL CRIME & TERRORISM PI BLOG: Foreign N
Santa's Little Sweepstakes - NATIONWIDE REGIONS BANK SCAM | Red County
Dr. Richard Swier from Canada on Santa's Little Sweepstakes. - Internet fraud leads to identity theft. Learn how to prevent phishing scams from tricking you.
Phishing scams can get your identity stolen, Learn how to prevent internet fraud. - Regions Bank - Regions Financial Corporation - Complaint Site, unofficial
Regions Bank has unethical business policies. Read customer and employee stories of closed accounts, scams, fraud, theft and more. - REGIONS BANK FRAUD VERIFICATION PROCESS
This forged eBay email has the subject line - eBay Important Account Information - and contains a form which captures data submitted and sends it to the fraudsters' Yahoo email address.
Check drawn on an innocent man's account
I wondered if this man in Knoxville who'd sent the check was another scam artist. I googled his name. Strange, he appeared to be a respectable business man from the area.
I located an invitation to a party at his home and called the phone number listed. I got a sweet voice on the answering machine-- his wife. She offered callers her business number so after leaving a somewhat disconcerted message, I called her office line.
I was routed to her cell phone and caught her with clients in the car as rain cascaded onto her roof. The connection was bad. She groaned when I told her why I was calling. "You are the third person to call," she said.
That made me feel good, actually. Others were also following up on this. It wasn't only me. And she, obviously, was caught in the middle. "You need to call the FBI," she said. "Don't send any money to the nanny."
"I wasn't planning on it," I said, a bit miffed that she might think I was not on top of this. "I'll send you a copy of my Hub," I said. "You can take it to your bank or wherever. I will block out your husband's information from the check. He is obviously an innocent party."
Me call the FBI? I know what the FBI will say. The same thing student loan officers say when I ask for information about my daughter's loan we are paying off. The same thing doctors say when I ask for information on my daughter's recent well check covered by our insurance. The same thing anyone in an official capacity says now that my daughter has achieved 18.
"Are you (daughter's name)?" No! "Well we need to talk to her."
"Are you (check writer's name)?" No! "Well, we need to talk to him."
"Are you (accused's name)?" No! "Well, we need to talk to him."
I am simply the powerless mother with the wicked keyboard.
What Now?
"Mom, I got a parking ticket!" my daughter informed me, at the end of the conversation. "For the same amount as I made!"
I sighed. "Oh honey, downtown you need to park in a lot."
"They are so expensive," she said. "Five bucks! And we only talked an extra 15 minutes after the session."
"Five bucks... twenty-five bucks," I said. "You decide."
Is this karma or what?
Comments
Thanks, lwrichard. I hope so, too.
I doesn't take anyone seriously who doent right well inglish. I no trust these peoples.
Cents you right good, please will you send me a check cashier for 5,000 US dollar. I promise male you 1,000,000,0000 back to you in US pennies. By tuesweday. Thonks.
Heinous scam, it seems like the Internet is full of them. Thank you for showing how this one worked out because I could easily have fallen victim to it myself. It gets to the point where I don't take e-mails from addresess I'm not familiar with. Great Hub!
Thank you adamroll13. The saddest to me is the lack of concern or accountability of the bureaucracies. I received this correspondence from the woman whose husband's account was vulnerable:
Thank you for emailing me your hub info. I received all the correspondence between the scam artist and the gal in Arizona as well. My husband contacted the FBI but they said they were not interested since there was no money lost.... and besides they're too busy to deal with it. We contacted our Regions Bank branch and they can't really do anything either. Apparently no one is interested except the people who are being victimized. Is Craig's List aware of this scam?
Regarding CRAIGSLIST, I received this email from a friend on LinkedIn: I too was contacted by someone trying to scam me for Digital Scrapbooking Lessons I had posted on Craiglist. I also use TeachStreet. I told them about this but they didn't seem to care. Odd I thought.
From my LinkedIn friend: I wrote TeachStreet again after I read your posting about your daughter... this is the reply I got back today.
"Dear (Name of friend), Thanks a lot for the heads up -- we'll definitely take a look at more documentation about the risks of using Craigslist to promote one's classes. Craigslist has some documentation itself, the following is a link for their scams issue.
Avoid Scams & Fraud http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams Hopefully this was helpful, please let me know if you have further questions."
So, while it's not much, at least it's a little better than the previous reply I got from them when I told them about the person trying to scam me.
This was their origional response:
"Dear (Name of friend),
Craigslist is an online community in itself, especially since it has been somewhat replacing the newspaper classifieds. Like all advertisement you have (i.e. newsletter, flyers, etc.), the control is still in your hands whether you want to move forward with a customer. If you are not comfortable with a proposed plan, you do not have to move forward with it or you can alter it to your liking. In terms of other teachers utilizing Craigslist, there are teachers who have received spam, but the majority of the folks who use it see the benefit outweighing the bad. Hopefully this was helpful, please let me know if you have any further questions."
And in case you are interested, here is my original email to TeachStreet which has the scam email listed below.
"Please look over this reply I received from my Craigslist Ad. It appears to be a scam… have you heard of other teachers who have had similar situations? Typically, when someone is selling high end furniture or appliances the scam runs that they write to you and never bicker on price, they want to send you a check for MORE and then you are to send them money back, but you will never see them. With wanting to meet in person 3 times a week, I would assume this is a scam that they will pay first, send them some sort of difference and they would never show up for the lessons. I’m really not comfortable with the arrangement proposed below. (Friend)"
From: laja quadri [mailto:mrquadri2@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 8:19 AM
To: (Friend)
Subject: Re: Digital Scrapbooking Lessons using the Heritage Makers System. So easy (Greater Seattle Area)
Thanks for replying to me Ad and so sorry for not getting back to you so sooner. Well My name is Mario laja Quadri, Am from united state but currently based in Jamaica with my wife and children, my son will be coming for an holiday in U.S,and i want him to be busy throughout..Therefore, i just want to know may be he can always come to you and teach him great things on every morning, afternoon or evening on Scrapbooking lesson. If this is possible,i will want you to back to me with the cost of your teaching for a month which can start as soon as he get to the state..he should be in the state very soon and will be coming to your house or meet at your nearest library for 1 hour each morning or afternoon or evening, I have someone that will always drive him down to your house.. My son name is junior, he is 14 years old. I will want you to calculate 1 hour per day for Monday,Wednesday,Friday for the whole 1 MONTH,and get back to me so that we can arrange on payment. Kindly get back to me with...... TOTAL CHARGES FOR 1 MONTH THAT HE WILL BE TAUGHT 3 TIMES PER WEEK.. Thanks and waiting to read from you soon. MR QUADRI.............
That's about all of it. Still, it was good to read that I wasn't paranoid and that I had a good reason to be skeptical.
this has obviously upset you a lot, and rightfully so. You have done yourself and the hub community a great service telling us how scams come about even from a respected place like Craigslist.
You tell it clearly, and most clearly that we must keep our heads screewed on in the right way online or offline.
Birte, thank you for your accurate assessment of my emotional state and for your reflection on this Hub's greater good. I hope some other trusting soul avoids this situation due to something I've written! If no one responds to these ads, the perpetrators will eventually grow bored and find a new angle, I imagine... and if I hear of that, I will write a new Hub... and the cycle will continue!?!
On 6/10/09, victim wrote: Jay,I'm sorry to inform you that I will not be able to tutor your son. Something has come up and I will not be available. I will mail your check back to you. Thank you.
From: Jay Lundery
To: My daughter
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 3:34:19 PM
Subject: Re: Summer Tutor Needed!
Why ?? what happened ?? have you got the check yet ?? Please Advice me ASAP. waiting to read from you. regards.
Hello, Story - I'm sorry about this mess hitting you and your daughter -- thanks for posting a detailed recount so that everyone can keep their eyes open. I assume the more popular Craigslist becomes, the more it opens the door for tricksters. The thing is, if these scams start hitting the wires through articles like yours, the one thing that will be negatively impacted are the genuine businesses and honest people at Craigslist.
Craigslist is getting to be a veritable sewer of scamsters, isn't it? It is particularly disheartening that people are out there targeting young people like your daughter. So much to learn about sorting out what's real vs. what's obviously fraudulent. And that poor couple caught in the middle!
Glad you figured it out before your daughter did something like try to cash the check. And that she got a legit tutoring job -- even if it cost her (she did learn a lesson about parking in the lot, tho).
I'm rating this thumbs up for being a giant "heads up" of a hub! MM
Dear Elena, did I misunderstand you or are you saying that articles like mine hurt legitimate businesses, as in: "The thing is, if these scams start hitting the wires through articles like yours, the one thing that will be negatively impacted are the genuine businesses and honest people at Craigslist."
I hope you are not saying it is a bad idea to share our experiences when we are scammed. I believe in warning others when I experience scams and also believe that when people are alert and don't support these scams, legitimate businesses benefit.
These scams are not new to CRAIGSLIST and it has grown despite the negative impact. The first Tutor Scam in my list of links was from 2005, I think. To me, it is imperative that people are aware of online scams. Particularly young people- the lovely young woman from St. Olaf College who was murdered a few years back answered a Nanny ad from Craigslist and the so called "employer" raped and murdered her when she went to her interview. http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-04-30/news/crai
I think Craigslist would provide a great service to its customers if it were to offer a rating or review site similar to what amazon offers so that people know which businesses are legitimate. Customer beware is simply not enough. People have always shared the good and the bad about companies. It is a well known fact in marketing that the best advertising is word of mouth. This works both directions.
Mighty Mom, thank you for the thumbs up! That is so significant. I am honored. As for parking tickets, my daughter has decided its better to take the light rail, haha.
Hello, Story! You missunderstood me --or better said, I didn't make myself clear at all, evidently! What I meant is: Craigslist has been a good and genuine source of income to more than a few people, hence it's become well known, at which point it becomes a targer for internet scam. I'm concerned that the "good" side of Craigslist gets impacted by the obviously very bad side of it. I hope this clears up what i meant before?
YES and thanks for returning to clear this up! I thought it a bit strange that you of all people would believe this, lol. I agree that the good side is challenged by the bad reputation all these scams give Craigslist. But maybe it encourages others to communicate better or to list references? I don't know. As Mighty Mom pointed out, she did end up with a good tutoring job from Craigslist.
I thought the site about the girl who was murdered was particularly interesting because Craig of Craigslist was depicted in a very humble and caring light. He evidently spoke at a memorial service for her. He has been wonderful and I believe he felt horrible. You might check that out.
Thanks again for clearing this up. Have a great weekend!
Hi, Storytellesurus,
I am really sorry about your daughter's story.
And thank you so much for the information you gave us.
You are a brave mom!!
I'm actually in a same situation.
A friend of mine forwarded a tutor job ad on Craigslist to me.
I actually contacted the agency and a guy told me to teach a 14 years old boy a language which is my major...as your daughtor..
He mostly gave me the job description on the phone but sent me similar information as your daughter got by emails 2-3 times.
He told me not to contact the parent of the 14 year-old boy. I had been wondering why...
Thank you so much for saving me from on a verge of falling for that scam.
If you need the guy's information, I will write you again.
Have a nice weekend!!
Hey Almost Victim, I think it is vital to share this information because, as you did, my daughter found out about this tutor scam via the Internet. By sharing our experiences, we can alert others in a similar situation! I really appreciate your information. Hope you find something legitimate very soon!
Hi, Storytellersrus,
How are you?
Yes, definitely. We might be able to save others by sharing this info.
It's really sad people who run Craigslist are not supportive to victims.
I am pretty much sure the guy who scammed your daughter is the same guy who keeps on contacting me. I also found the tutor job on Craigslist. I was also told to teach a 14 year-old boy 3 times a week in the morning.
If you need his phone number and other information the guy gave me, I will email you so that your daughter will get money back. The guy also gave me his associate's phone number and the student's mom's phone number. The guy told me not to call them, though.
Have a wonderfull day, ok?
I am sorry if I wasn't clear, Victim! Craig of Craigslist is very supportive. They have a hands off policy but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. See this site for more information on Craig and his compassion. I think, as I said earlier, they could help others by hosting a rating site, though. http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-04-30/news/crai
If you want to post any additional information this is up to you. Thanks.
Storyteller - I am glad that you were able to avoid being scammed. It is awful that they are out there in full force. There are good tutoring jobs out there. If your daughter is still looking she should try online tutoring sites there are many to choose from that are legit. Tutor.com and Brainfuse to name two.
Dear Triplet Mom, Thank you very much for these suggestions!!! I will definitely refer her to them. She now has two tutoring jobs and a parttime office job plus an interview for a full time position in the fall. We are hoping for that, of course. Meanwhile, a few more tutoring positions would help her create a nest egg for fall rent!!! You are so kind. Barbara
People like you are GREAT! I've been on the receiving end of some scams quite like the one you mentioned here, and had my father and I not looked deeper into things, I'd have been one broke fool. Thank you for your insights and determination on scams - it's people like you that make this world a little easier to live in. :-)
Hey thanks SO MUCH for your support gspaulding21!!! You make the worry all worthwhile.
Thank you for your story. I'm putting ad to tutoring service on CraigsList about a month. More than 90% of responds are scam. I just got email from laja quadri. I google it and saw your story. Thank you,
I am so happy to have been able to save you the trouble of discovering this yourself. Thanks, Noriko3. Good luck with your tutoring service.
Scams like this happen a lot. I work at a bank and see it all the time. Sometimes we catch it in time to prevent our customer from losing any money, but other times they wire money back to the scammer and end up losing a lot.
The sad thing is that there are people willing to go through with the process even after we tell them it is a scam. People are so depserate for easy money that they think theres might be the only true one.
Scams like this are easy to spot if you are vigilant and know that money does not come easy.
Thank you for your insights, wmd. Your knowledge helps us all.
Thank you so much for posting this article.
I myself teach English on line and have received 5 similar emails felt something was wrong and did not answer them.
They were identical to what happened to your daughter with the nanny bit as well.
I was nervous to publish as I thought that people would think I was crazy.
You have now given me the courage to go for it in the future.
So many of us just want to make an honest living and we have to put up with all theses crooks around.
I think if we all stick together we may be able to make people aware of the type of person that is praying on us innocents on the net.
Thank you again and no matter how crazy it may seem I will post in future.
Take care of yourself Diana
Thanks for posting these - I got a suspicious email from "laja quadri" and googled this name and found these reports. Really appreciate these.
I have also got scammed
I answered an ad on gumtree for a chauffeur and was contacted by Jay Lundery. He said his wife was coming over from america and wanted to be driven around. He offered £500 for 3 times a week. I then got a cheque for £2300 and he asked me to take my money out of it and then arrange the rest to be transferred to another mans acc by Western Union. He said his wife was arriving 13/8/09 I read your article as I googled his name and have now emailed him to say not interested
Beware of Charles Mai. It could be that Laja Quadri is now also going under the name of Charles Mai. Notice the similarities between the e-mail from laja quadri to storytellersrus (earlier post, above) and Charles Mai's e-mail to me.
"Charles Mai"
Hello,
Oh!Am glad to have your response to my Ad,my daughter Barbra will be coming for her holiday in XXXX area and i want her enroll for a English lesson due to her poor performance in her last grade,she is heading for her first high school learning after her holiday here in the United Kingdom where i work now due to my company's transfer from the state, If this is possible,i will want you to back to me with the cost for a month which can start as soon as she gets to the state, she should be in the state very soon and will be coming to your place for a hour each morning or evening, I have someone that will always drive her down to your place.She is aged 15 with a little experience. I will want you to calculate a hour per day for Mondays,Wednesdays & Saturdays for a month reply me so that we can arrange on payment.you free to ask me any question ,Kindly get back to me with your total charge for a month if she is to be taken thrice a week.
Thanks in Anticipation,
Charles.
I added Charles Mai to my tags. Thanks for the information.
TUTOR SCAM ----
FARAWAY PARENT
CHILD ON HOLIDAY
UNUSUALLY GOOD PAY (50 per hour)
PAYMENT BY CHECK-- INCLUDING FEES FOR SOMEONE ELSE YOU
WILL NEED TO PAY LATER
POOR GRAMMAR
EMAILS SEEM WRITTEN BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE (INCONSISTENT
STYLE)
ADDRESSING EMOTIONS (I hope I can entrust that you...
WATCH out for scammers on Craigslist and other sites:
I responded to an ad for a tutor that pays $50 dollars an
hour (already too good to be true) and got this reply:
How you doing ? I received your email now for the tutor I want for my daughter. Let me start with telling you a little about my the nature of the job. You are going to be tutoring my daughter and she is a 7th grader. She is 12 years of age, her name is Sarah. I hope you would be able to cope with her as she is a very playful girl. If yes ,I would like us to proceed with this .I would be paying you $50.00/ hr and you would be taking her 2 times a week. In which each day you would be taking her for 2hrs.So get back to me with the total fee for the subject which is Maths and English Language because I intend paying you altogether for 4 weeks ..I will like to have her tutored in a quite place probably in a library if there is any around you. I do think it is a good idea to meet at a library, it is a quiet atmosphere and has many academic resources should we need to look something up, plus in my experience it is good to get the student out of their house to put them in a focused productive mood and so that distractions won't present themselves... I would like you to draw a schedule when you would be available to teach her in a week and also I would like to know the subjects you would lecture her on each day ( I guess it should be 2 per day.. right ? ).
I would like to make this clear to you, we don't live in the States ,my daughter is coming to the states and i intend to put her in care of a nanny which i will get in dew time. I don't want her to play all along that's the reason I am employing you. She would be coming down in 3 weeks time. I also belief a check is good as a mode of payment.... Get back to me if all stated above is ok with you so that we may proceed from there...
Regards
Josh
TUTOR SCAM ----
The previous scam was sent by this email:
josh_fash101@live.com
"S.T.R.US":
You created a really important hub! I consider myself to be a cautious web user (if there is such a thing), BUT, last week, I did the exact same thing as your daughter! (And I'm old enough to know better!) It was one in the morning; I've been financially troubled; I have tutored professionally in the past; and I saw the ad ( similar to the one you listed) on criagslist under Orange County, CA. It's not unreasonable to believe that there might be someone in the OC who might pay the excellent salary that this person offered for "his son" who needed help in "language development, grammar, mechanics, and literary analysis." It was the use of the term "literary analysis" that gave the ad legitimacy to me. So I was eager to be the first to apply for this amazing position WITH MY RESUME, for goodness sake.
In the morning, I received a similar email scenario as your daughter with some story about a nanny and Spain and blah da de blah. I at least recognized that immediately as a scam - finally. That email also had that familiar list of "NAME, ADDRESS PHONE, etc" request in the left column - the kind that you get from the Nigerian or British "Embassies" I then realized that the resume I attached, of course, had my name, telephone number, and address. I couldn't believe I had attached the whole shabang! I became really scared for what these people might do with that information, so I replied to the email saying that I assumed the age of the child was older and was sorry, but I couldn't take the position. I certainly didn't want them to think I knew what was going on. I hoped that perhaps they hadn't opened my attachment in the previous email. (Hopeful me!) I went to Craig's list, found the ad, and even though there doesn't seem to be an appropriate setting, I nevertheless flagged it.
I wasn't worried about someone else doing the same thing I had done at this point because I thought that no one else would be (well, let's just say it) as stupid as I was to attach a resume.
So I hope your hub helps. If there's anything I can do to help out such as add my name to any list of complainants that might develop, let me know. Thanks for this necessary hub.
Hey everyone!
When I put an ad up on Craigslist, I got emails from a few different emails so I thought I'd post them on here!!
Leonard James: leonardjames100@yahoo.com
Jay Lundery: lundery010@gmail.com
Career at Tutor Doctor: career@tutor-doctor.com
After so many phony emails, I gave up on that. It wasn't worth it! Good luck to everyone :)
Ugh, scam artists make me so angry. It's bad enough that they think you are stupid enough to be fooled with their bad language skills, the demanding but polite tone, the fake familiarity and the lies, but their brazenness is a little scary and it sucks when they actually succeed - and only with the ignorant, (meaning the first time). I feel I was lucky to not get fooled the first time. I was trying to sell my Jeep on Craigslist, and this fool tried to get me to actually create a check. He wrote something like, "ok, you will need printers ink..." And other materials that at the time I was ignorant of what they represented. I decided this guy was an idiot for making me jump through all those hoops and didn't sell him the car. If he had succeeded, I would have been out 2000 or more! This guy would have my money and / or my car and I would have the wonderful privilege of paying for it! aaarrrrgh! Here's my contribution to fighting scam artists:
YAY! Thanks for stopping by to add your story, Alexander!
Very well written hub .....
very much informative ......
Thank you very much for your great hub, for good advice, good wishes and support. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.
Can u join my fan club ......
Sorry, you do not store hubs at our site and so I cannot. Appreciate your comment though!
As soon as i read the eamil to your daughter I knew the man in question was not of English speaking origin. This is terribla and it makes you think about your own security. Can't wait to discover the outcome of this, and where the naughty theif lives.
I have been tutoring English as a Second Language for four years. I found this same ad on Craigslist and sent my resume in several months ago. I got the same weird response. I'm not sure what CL can do, other than remove them/flag them. What a shame that people would do this.
Is there anything on Craiglist that isn't a scam? I tried to sell some things on there but quit because I kept getting bombarded with scam replies.
As I said previously, I responded to their posting for a tutor. The response I received seemed odd, so I saved it. Here it is (from nojnieves@aol.com):
Hello,
Thank you for the email,i want my kid for the tutorial. A Girl of 14 yrs, more so for accepting the offer and its okay by me,I have made contacts with my Daughter concerning the arrangement of the tutoring which she told me is ok by her and i want you to know that i am going to pay for 1 month,which should be $40.00/ hr(which i have in mind) And am planning that you will be teaching her 2 times a week,which is 2 hr per week,so get back to me with the total fee for the subject when you will you be available to teach her during the week.Also i want to let you that we don't live in the states, we live in the United Kingdom.
So my Daughter will be coming to the states by Middle of June , 2009 and i want her to study more about what she needs to know while she is in the states.. So i want let you know that i will be sending you the payment inform of Cashiers Check / Money orders for the tutorial , so as soon as you get the cashiers check/ money orders cash you will deduct cost of tutoring of the lesson for one month and you will be sending the remaining balance via Western Union / Money Gram to her guardian that will be taking care of my daughter,i will send you the guardians information to you later. Regarding this, kindly send your full information such as full name as it should be written on the check , address and phone number to receive the payment so it can be made out to you on-time.
So i hope i can trust you that you will teach my Daughter good academics and some moral respects so that they can be good to their self in the future.
I hope i can count on you for the tutorial and the money to be sent to the Guardian.
Thanks and waiting to read from you.
Kindly get back to me with all the necessary details needed such as full name as it should be written on the check, address and telephone.
Look forward to read from you soonest
Regards
John
I added the first part of the email address as a keyword in case someone googles it. Thanks for the information!
wow! great hub
Tutors beware! I received the same email "privatetutor" did above mabout his daughter Barbra and needing tutoring 3x week. The first email I didn't think too much...just an inquiry. He then follows it with the message below. Needless to say, it didn't look right, and after some googling, I found this site and sure enough my thoughts were confirmed...it was a scam trying to be brought to fruition!
You gotta put the warning flag up when his third email talks about his daughter's nanny (who you have no idea is) not being college educated and that he will pay you your money and hers and you pay her for him. Please!
Read and enjoy (or feel sorry for the guy...whatever your pick!)
Hello (name),
Its so nice to have a swift response from you,Well she did have some text books required here,so i will ask her to come along with it.As for your charges per hour $XX and the total for a month tutor amounted to $XXX will be made along with my daughter's nanny payment and other necessary needing such as her accommodation,feeding,transport to the nearest library for your meeting place for the lesson.
I would have prefer letting my daughter's nanny handle the whole payment process and get to you with your tutor charges for a month but she is a non-educated woman and has no bank account to have the check process and get thing done alright,In order not to get things complicated so i urge you to handle the payment process and after you must have confirmed the check cleared and cash then you have your money deducted and get back to her with the rest fund so she can make all necessary arrangement before my daughter's arrival,my daughter's name is Barbra,she loves skipping,visiting the cinema and going to the beach.in order to make her holiday splendid for her makes me want her come for her break back in the state cos she was used to the atmosphere before i got a work transfer to the United Kingdom.I will be so glad if you can be of help for me and my daughter so she learn and improve on her poor performance.
Regarding this kindly effort get back to me with your full information to receive the payment where its will be made out on time.
Your full name .............................. ..........................
Your full address,(NO P.O BOX PLS)
zip code..........................
Your phone number for contact................................
Thanks for your best understanding,
Charles.
Thanks! If you wish to add the email or actual name of the person writing, it might help others even more. I can add it to my tags. Otherwise, thanks for your story!
I read your hub about the tutor scam today, 9-11. The timing was perfect. Today I received a UPS delivery of a check from a similar creep. (He doesn't know I'm onto him.)
A week or so ago, I answered a craiglist posting for a tutor. I heard from a Robert Anderson in Spain, with a similar pitch as your daughter received. At first I didn't smell anything...but his request to take a check he would send, deduct my tutoring pay and send the rest to an as yet unnamed "nanny" made me wonder.
My daughter in Tampa happened to call, I mentioned the tutoring deal to her and her response was, "Mom, it's a scam. Drop it." Well, that sent me to snopes.com where I learned that the check-cashing thing is an ongoing racket.
I sent a note to abuse@craigslist.com. The response I got from them said, "A human will read this soon. However, get in touch with local law enforcement."
That's what I did. The cop who came to my house said to call him when the check arrived or to bring the check to police station. That's where I'm headed soon.
Ironically, whoever this creep is, he's a glutton for making dirty money. Within a day or two of getting the first scam email, I got a similarly worded email from an alleged Swedish man who had a son for tutoring..same financial deal. Then I got one from another guy (no foreign country mentioned) but he had a daughter for tutoring.
I declined to respond to these two emails.
Thanks for sharing your story about this online disease.
Thank you for your story, patful. I added Robert Anderson to the list above. If you have names from the other two, please share them so I can add them to the list as well. It helps when someone googles for information!
I am so glad that your police station is taking this seriously. So many are overwhelmed by other issues and can't take the time.
One scam letter came from "Fierle judd" (fierlej02@gmail.com) Another came from Nicholas Patterson (acmebricknich@gmail.com)
I'm wondering if all three are the same person. The emails are probably phony, too, but for our general information fund, insert these additional creeps.
Thanks for your interest. I had no idea when Robert Anderson first wrote me that I was joining a large club. I have created a folder on my hotmail labeled "Net Scams" where I store the letters from these lowlifes.
Got em, thanks patful.
Yep, I guess it must work because they keep at it.
The same thing just happened to me!
If you get an email from a "HOBSON SHARRETTS".. do not respond.
How pathetic.
I am glad to hear that your daugther did not become a victim of the scam. We were not so lucky . . . in 2002 my husband and I became victims of a counterfeit cashier's check scam while selling a car online. The main reason that we fell for it was because when we took the check to the bank they told us that it was good . . . one week later they were taking back those words AND taking money out of our account to cover the check.
So what did we do? We started the website http://scamvictimsunited.com/ to share our story, educate others and offer support to scam victims. We have a message board where people can share their stories and post info on their scammers.
We are now also connecting with people on social networking sites like Facebook through our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scam-Victims-United/
We also share new info with people through our blog at http://scamvictimsunited.blogspot.com/ When something comes up in our every day life that relates to scams, it is nice to have a place where we can share this. We also post scam emails that we get so that others will be able to see them and know how to spot a scam. Also, if someone else gets the same email and searches any of the info in it (name of company, email address it came from) they will often be taken right to our blog or our message board and then they will know that it is a scam before it is too late for them.
All of this may not get our money back, but in the first two years of our site being in operation we helped to stop over 2 million dollars from going into these scams, and that does make you feel a little better.
Shawn Mosch
Co-Founder of Scam Victims United
Thanks for the links, Shawn! It's good to know these communities exist online!
OMG, this crap is STILL going on, I read about it a few weeks ago and as I have been scouring craigslist for tutoring positions I have been weary. In any case, the add I responded to (and mailed my resume to) seemed legit, no mention of money or that they were out of the country, written in perfect english, but lo and behold, I got an email just now....from a scammer, sigh. Now Im all worried that they have my information and everything -_- Thanks for all of the advice though, sad we cant spot them all (even when our eyes are peeled and we're actually paying attention)
Just happened to me too. Mail was from Fierle judd
I have added fierle judd and judd fierle as well as hobson sharretts to my tags. How sad it is.
I also have gotten these emails and I asked a few quesions in a first response, but did send my resume with the very first response to the Cragslist ad. Can someone tell me what I should do?
At this point the best advice is to send me the contact name so I can tag it for others AND STOP ALL COMMUNICATION- especially don't send money!
If anyone has had a good response from local FBI or police, please give azlizzie better advice, please. In my daughter's experience, because she didn't lose money, she was not important.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for warning me about this....I too was enticed by the prospect of earning over $2,000 for just a few short weeks of tutoring. I emailed my resume to "Fierle Judd" and when he responded, some of the things he said seemed a little strange and I suspected a scam, so I decided to google his name and I found this website. I feel relieved to at least know that it's not legitimate, so I will not cash the check even if he sends it to me(I emailed him back letting him know I won't be able to take the job because of schedule conflicts). Would you recommend taking the check to the police if I do get one?? I'm afraid now that he has my address, I may still be in danger....
Nice one for letting us all know.
I really dislike the attitude of "we can't help as nobody lost any money". So, what happens to the next guy who does lose money? Is that fair? I think not!
Runner, I would say GO FOR IT! You can always refer them to this site so they understand it isn't a small problem. They will probably say no, but if they say yes, well, YAY!
johnnyfr, yes, I know it seems pretty unfair that they won't do anything if no money has been lost. But I guess they have terrorists to track down, like the one in Denver. Ugh.
Goodness! These scams are everywhere these days. I wonder how many people actually get caught and end up losing a wad of cash. Well done for highlighting this particular version of it. Hopefully more people will find this hub and save themselves from some serious financial heartache!
Thanks Amanda. It is a scary thing to imagine these people have garnered all these addresses and bits of information about people who are committed to helping others learn. I am sorry there is no action on their behalf. This is one small thing I can do to help.
Thank you so much for writing such an informative hub. I joined hubpages because I love writing and I also hoped to make some money while writing. I have discovered a new purpose for hubpages today, and that is to expose scams. This is very important to me, because as a business owner over 90% of my clients have found me through craigslist. I need to be more careful, so thank you so much.
Update: I posted an ad on CL offering to tutor students in History, writing and Reading skills and was so bombarded by these scam artists that I deleted my ad. So, now we know, it works both ways - they lure people in AND they pursue authentic tutors. What a hassle!
Storyteller - it is so easy just to trust people and also easy to open yourself and your information up to anybody online. Thanks for sharing this awful story to give us all a heads up. I guess the only way to protect yourself is to ask yourself the question - does this sound weird or, similarly, too good to be true? Then back off. It is a shame.
It's the typical "I send a bad/stolen check for more than I claim I owe you, then you send me the difference back" scenario. It's obvious what happens if it's a stolen check, but if it's a bad check, people don't always understand what happens. If it's a bad check and it bounces, you are responsible for the money you got from that bad check even if you've already withdrawn it and sent it off somewhere else.
Scams are dangerous. Everybody needs to be careful when dealing with any exchange of money online.
Good hub ^_^
hey they are making mails and claming to give you money but this all are farud and its nor nice
its really sad that many people are been scamed from many people
Ah, the ol' over checking scam...
I really hope everything turns out ok. I wish you catch the bastard too but that's highly unlikely :(
Quarterly, I receive emails with a similar scam - Different persons want me to give private marital arts lessons to youth that will be in my are for 3 or 6 months... What they really want is for me to write a letter to their govts and our embassies in their countries to present a legitimate reason (sponsorship) for them to get an entrance visa to the USA. That's why I don't post my picture or birthday on the Internet - they were used, unsuccessfully, to attempt to forge a sponsorship document once.
i got scammed.=[ ill explain later
Boy, I'm glad I found your page: I just got contacted by this Charles Mai individual. I was stupid enough to send him my resume, but luckily I removed my address and phone number information before I sent it: so he's only got my name and e-mail address.
But now I'll know to be (even) more paranoid about these things.
Thanks, all!
Thanks for all of your stories and your good advice! Patty, is there a certain type of photo they use over others?
Great story. The comments from all of the others with similar experiences are definitely worth reading as well.
Thanks for sharing this.
Darn! You can't simply trust anybody these days, especially online. Reminded me of the time (long ago) when I was stupid enough to give my details through text to somebody who says he has something for me. When I refused to go with it, he texted back my info in a threatening manner. It was kind of frightening but I refused to be frightened because I thought that if they will really use that info against me, they will not threaten me through text, rather they will do real harm physically (my address was there) or financially (so was my bank account number). Thanks for this hub, it's a great warning for people out there. =)
Stoytellarsareus - From my experience, scammers like to steal headshots that in which the features are clear and attempt to do everything online so the authorities never see their own face.
Thanks, Patty. That helps. Blurry photos from now on, lol!
THANK GOD FOR GOOGLE! I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that you made this hub page! The exact same thing that happened to Runner 09 just happened to me (same person: Fierle Judd). I am really interested in working in education, and this job seemed like a great way to make some money while getting to teach - so I stupidly sent my resume, contact info and all (4 years of a top-tier university and no common sense). I'm supposed to be getting a check soon and starting to "tutor" on Monday. But everything about my interaction with this person had started to give me the creeps (and, just like you, my parents were concerned), so I googled his name and, low and behold, I found your hub page. Needless to say, I'll be writing back to this Judd person and saying I'm not available to tutor anymore, and then giving any checks I receive over to the police. My parents also have a very good friend in the FBI - so, though she may not be able to help, I'll certainly be forwarding all of this info on to her.
Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to ensure this doesn't happen to others. As a recent college grad trying to support myself, it would have been a MAJOR bummer to fall victim to this scam. I'm just glad I at least had a momentary flash of common sense and googled to find your page!
PS: Not sure if anyone already said this, but the Internet Crime Complaint Center (http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx) is recommended on Craigslist as a place to report scams - might be a good place to start. Having the check they sent you and all related emails should get you somewhere.
Good Story. it example in our real life.
I get several of these scams in my email everyday. I don't know how to stop them. I delete them as soon as I get them. I'm glad you are there for your daughter, because this scam works on some, or else they would not continue. Whose to say that your innocent daughter wouldn't have been completely taken in by it. Good mother, Good hub.
Wow that is some seriously scary stuff. Well told story though :)
liked your hub I have gotten so many of these on my email someone even wanted me to go and deposite money into an account and then they would send me money for doing so...I guess they think we don't have any sense..I'm so glad i found your hub i hope others read so they won't fall for the scam either thanks for sharing ..God bless
lol, Tracy711, I agree! Thanks for being too wise!
Yah, I figured this guy was a scammer from his first response to my ad: normal people say things in certain ways; for some reason these scammers don't know how to write like normal people. So I googled him and lo and behold: came up with your post.
glad you found us, dogrib. good luck with legitimate tutoring positions.
Storytellersrus, wow, thank you thank you thank you!! I was a victim of the EXACT same scam you were! After I received the exact same email, I had a feeling something was fishy. So I did a Google search & came-up on this website. Thank God! How funny, they used the same location of Jamaica, etc., This time, here are the name changes/ specifics that this 'man' wrote back to me (after the same email you received):
"Well my son is still new at this.so you just have to start from the
beginning with him,i will also ask him to bring other materials needed
so if there is any hand book needed just let me know with the charges
for it OK, my son will be coming down there..I have make contacts with
my son concerning the arrangement of the tutoring which he told me is
alright by him and that he will be making arrangement for his arrival
any moment from now to commence .So I want you to know that i am going
to pay for a month payment like you said which is $360 and also i
want you to know that i will instruct my client in the state and will
be sending you my salary payment,so the rest of the fund will be used
to get accommodation beside your location and any other arrangement
for the lesson,So as soon as you get the payment then you will have
it process and deduct your cost of tutoring for a month, and send
remaining funds to my nanny so that he can relocate my son
accommodation to your nearest address for him to attend the lesson in
the appropriate time.i think i can trust you with the remainder of
the funds since you are going to be my son tutor.Regarding this
kindly get back to me with your full information to receive the
payment where its will be made out in time....
Your full name ................................
Your full address,apt # with zip code.......................
Your phone number for contact................................
Thanks and waiting to read from you soon
Warmest Regards............"
"Warmest Regards," yeah right. Sigh, it has been disheartening at times, as I recently finished my master's in education & have been looking for supplemental income. This is about the 2nd or 3rd time I am receiving something non-legit. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to write this out, it really helped me a lot!! God bless you! :D
Here's the rest of the information that guy sent/ with specific names & email address he used:
from sir usain kanimodo
date Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 6:43 PM
subject URGENT : English Teacher/ Tutor Available
Thanks, Anonymous! I added this sir to my list for others to reference. What a bummer.
oops, for some reason the email didn't come out. It was:
"sirkanimodo1@gmail.com"
Thanks!
got it- the @ doesn't compute up there but I will add the first part! Thanks so much.
Really a wonderful hub
I think I'm going to request the student's name, grade, and school attending in my ads, with the comment that it will help weed out scammers quickly.
I received the same message from a Charles Mai [simmchm4@gmail.com] recently (Oct 26 2009).
I responded: Apparently, you think tutors are pretty stupid and make easy victims. Clearly, whatever conscience you were born with no longer exists. I pray that eventually you will receive the bad kharma you so richly deserve.
Hello,
Oh!Am glad to have your response to my Ad,my daughter Barbra will be coming for her holiday in Annapolis area and i want her enroll for a English lesson due to her poor performance in her last grade,she is heading for her first high school learning after her holiday here in the United Kingdom where i work now due to my company's transfer from the state, If this is possible,i will want you to back to me with the cost for a month which can start as soon as she gets to the state,she should be in the state very soon and will be coming to your place for a hour each morning or evening, I have someone that will always drive her down to your place.She is aged 15 with a little experience.I will want you to calculate a hour per day for Mondays,Wednesdays & Saturdays for a month reply me so that we can arrange on payment.you free to ask me any question ,Kindly get back to me with your total charge for a month if she is to be taken thrice a week.
Thanks in Anticipation,
Charles.
Thanks victor!
Annapolis tutor, What a great response. Perhaps you will inspire others who are in the middle of this scam to respond in similar fashion. Karma... yes, good one.
Googled his name "usain Kanimodo" and found your post. I just got one of those emails after advertising lessons on Craigslist. Thanks for sharing
Glad you found us!
Dear Storetellersrus and the rest of the posters here,
Thank you for the great information. I received the same type of e-mail from sirusainkanimodo@gmail.com, and couldn't believe I was stupid enough to even consider it as a valid request. Great detective work, and thank you for saving me a lot of time and money!
positivechange, I added the name again as one unit, in case someone searches in this way. Thanks for finding us!
I just got a Craigslist response to my piano teaching ad and it looked very odd. I mean his response was so retarded that I was about to delete it; I get enough frustration from trying to communicate with legitimate foreigners that barely speak english and this guy was so obviously fake...I mean 'sir usain kanimodo'; give me a break ! 'Sir Idiot' might be a more believable name. Just for fun, I thought I would I google the name. That is how I ended up here. It is sad, because I remember 15 years ago (before ebay) doing business with people that I met on newsgroups for music gear and never got a bad deal.
Now I assume it is a scam until I prove it otherwise...I always run an intellius check to make sure the name shows up before I send a response to anyone responding to my ads on Craigslist. If it is for a roommate I run a state criminal record check on intellius for $15. Too bad...Just a sign of the times.
Wise piano teacher. Wish you lived around here. I would hire you!
Ah storyteller-- you tackle yet another interesting and thorny topic in a personal yet universal way. Personally, I am now very wary of Craigslist. This is the third or fourth bad story I've heard-- not counting the medical student in Boston who was selecting murder victims from Craigslist. If Craig and his pals can't to a better job of vetting the ads, I think this is a site that should be avoided. I remember back in the '90's it was a great place, but times change. Craigslist is the pits. I would say why use it when there are so many better alternatives to it on the internet?
robie you do me great honor observing this "tackle yet another interesting and torny topic in a personal yet universal way" behavior. I had no idea I might be doing such a thing and feel a bit overwhelmed. Thanks for this comment and for stopping by to leave a bit of experience and wisdom for future readers.
This is REALLY excellent, Storytellerus, that you have this hubpage. Sometimes I get emails from a Craigslist ad I post and Google the name/email address and come up with not much. I'm usually a pretty good detective. Anyways, I got an email from that Sir Usian whatever from my violin tutor post about his son needing a tutor. I live in LA, so I'm thinking maybe there could be a Sir that lives here, but his email still didn't seem right.
Anyways, thanks so much for having this and updating it with all the scammer names!
Glad to help, Lysh!
great hub!
That was an excellent story! I was just kind of skimming it but I ended up reading it the whole way through. Whatever happened with that check? Did you destroy it?
wow... good story! good hub!
MartinV again?! I am honored, artist friend.
LazarDRod, thanks for your enthusiasm. We scanned the check and filed it, I think... great question! I will have to do some digging.
J-ART, sad tale, isn't it!
good post
I was not sure of craig list before
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livewithrichard says:
5 months ago
Not only are you a good storyteller, but you're also a pretty good investigator. Glad you caught onto the scam and hope the "bad guys" get theirs.