by Brianne Johnson

Created on: July 08, 2008

I am a stay at home mother that seriously wanted to find work online, so I started putting my resume on all the employment websites, but nothing much came of it. That is, until I received an email from a person claiming to be the General Manager of John Partridge Investment's in London, United Kingdom.

She told me she had received my contact information from postjobfree.com, which I quickly recognized as one of the employment sites that I had uploaded my resume on. She stated they were interested in finding an honest person (isn't that a joke) that would be their Book-keeper/Company Representative, and assist them in processing payments from their clients in the United States. At that moment, all the things I could do for my children with the extra money flashed through my mind. I wrote back immediately saying I was interested in learning more about the position.

Not even thirty minutes later she wrote and further explained the position. I would contact customers as needed, but my main purpose would be to take their payments anywhere from 5,000-10,000 dollars and cash them at my bank, keep 10 percent and Western Union the remaining amount to the them. It sounded too good to be true. I didn't think this could be legal. I continued reading the e-mail and it started answering all my questions like it was reading my mind. The position was made because they didn't want to deal with the high interest rates and taxes of the U.S banking institutions. So, they contacted the UK High Commission in the United States, and they assured them that using a person from the U.S to process the payments was within federal law. I was still not convinced so I called for my husband. We decided before I took the job we would search the internet and research their company.

We found out that the company was legit, but was what they wanted us to do legal? So we called the Sheriff's office and the FBI. We couldn't get a definite answer. We couldn't even get the Agents' name! I did take the job and received a check by UPS the next day with the business name of Zellweger Family Chiropractic, for the amount of 2,550. They wanted the money sent to them the same day, but bank wanted to put a hold on it. I asked for it back and went to a Check Cashing Center. As soon as she tried to verify it she told me it was fraudulent. She informed me that an investigation was being held and that I should take the check to the Post Masters.

I only wish I had followed my instincts and not took the fake job. If someone asks you to cash a check and Western Union it, don't, it's a SCAM! If you ever receive an email from Cassandra Hail or the company John Partridge saying they have a job opportunity, delete it immediately! That was my first contact with an online scam job and I'm sure it won't be my last. I'm positive there are real jobs online, but at least I can use what a learned to keep you from becoming their next victim!

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