Job Hunter Scam Alert: "Learn French" - FLC/isbanking.com

This is a head's up to any of you who have been surfing the usual job boards of late (ie: Monster, Careerbuilder, HotJobs etc). There is a scam job listing showing up on these boards. Here it is:

<<Learn French! Homeworker.Part-time. Monthly salary:

Company or Recruiter - FLC
Industry - Education
Function - Education Admin
Location - City not disclosed, NY
Position Level - Entry Level
Position Type- Part Time
Salary- No Preference

There is a new job position from FLC.

Our faculty members and their counterparts made an unique programme for intensive learning
French language. It's the newest programme, which helps to learn or improve French language
in the shortest time.

We've just completed the second/online version of the programme.
FLC invites you for a test.
ONLY 11 hours of tuition per week.
FLC offers you to test the programme.
You need to have 11 free hours per week for the course.

ONLY 10 workers needed.

You'll get:
$2050.00 as a monthly salary
free and the newest course of learning a foreign language
only 11 hours of tuition per week.
Certificate of Completion at the end of level 5
no expenses
flexible hours

Contact us for more informaion: jobs@i-flc.com>>


I did some checking into this, and it is a total scam. When you reply to the job posting, you're contacted by an imaginary FLC administrator (Nicaise Vanreust). If you accept the offer, you get contacted by one Wallerand Waynin who asks you to open an imaginary bank account at isbanking.com. This site is a fake that has been stolen from a legit bank (www.hebronsavingsbank.com). You set up an account with minimum personal info given out - no credit cards, bank acct #s etc. Wallerand Waynin tells you that he will deposit your first month's salary in the isbanking.com account, and you can withdraw the funds either through a wire transfer or a check. If you go to the isbanking site, you will, indeed, see a deposit of imaginary funds in your imaginary account.

Here's where the scam gets going. Read this posting that I found over at The Diligizer Board:

<<At the same time over at isbanking.com there is a transcation that is "not yet funded" to my account. Next I get another e-mail from Wally. This is the one I was really expecting to see...they want me to western union money to another "worker" in the Ukraine. They can't do it because isbanking doesn't do business in that country and they want to make sure I'm handsomely compensated for my trouble...

It's a good read:

"Thank you for your e-mail.

Good day.

The parcel has been sent today.
You should receive it in next 3-5 days.
Please rewiev all materials and then contact to your personal teacher.
He will tell you about your exams.

I want to ask you for a question?
One of FLC worker lives in Ukraine.
He is a widely known scaintist in scatistical researches and have seventeen-year
experience
in such kinds of tests. He helps us in current study. His name is Sergiy Miheev
He leaved Romania (he finished 2003R/m community study in Romania) and came back
to
Ukraine last month. We paid him through www.isbanking.com, but
now we unable to pay because ISBank does not work with Ukraine. FLC has to make
all
payments through www.isbanking.com.(it's a policy of FLC).
We must pay his weekly payment($1450) till 28 of March.
We are chary of our reputation and it's VERY important to pay him on time.
Can you do us a favour.

I'll send you $1900 to your ISBank account and you will send $1450 to our worker
via western union. $550 is payment for your time and to cover western union
fees.
It's an exception of the rules and next pays to Sergiy Miheev will be accourding
our policies.
It is not demand or request, you may deny this offer and just continue your
learning
till the end test course, but you will lose nothing and will help us to solve a
problem.
First, you will get about $450 for your time ($550-WU fees).
Second, you'll help us to stand to our promise to the Ukranian worker.
Please send me your answer.
Your help will be appreciated.

Wallerand Waynin
FLC
79 avenue de Toulon,
83400,
Hyeres,
France,
5301379"

Meanwhile I tracked down the website that was hijacked which is really www.elfca.com. They used elfca's entire business model as the premise of the scam. They hosted it on tripod.com as i-flc.com and changed the name slightly enough to make you think it was real. Now, i-flc.com is completely down probably because of the complaints elfca.com has made. I contacted the owner of elfca.com and she explained to me that she has notified the French Authorities. I have notified the FBI.

The physical address of Elfca.com and the fake i-flc.com are interestingly similar - I asked the owner of elfca.com what is exactly at the fake 79 avenue de Toulon that the 'people' at i-flc.com but she hasn't responded yet...I wonder if it exists at all. Eflac is at 66 avenue de Toulon in Hyeres, France.

One ther interesting aspect of this is that all the e-mail addresses that are used for isbanking.com and i-flc.com are generic yahoo accounts. I found this when performing a "WHOIS" at networksolutions.com.>>>


I applied for this job via Monster, was contacted by these people, smelled a rat, and starting doing some investigating (the first clue was that they said they had already hired 9 out of 10 workers - so, hurry up and sign on quickly. The second was that they said they had been having problems with their computers). It wasn't easy, but I found some decent info on the scam. I don't know if anyone has actually sent any money to poor Sergiy, but if you bothered replying to this scam in any respect, you would do well to alert the job board from which it came.

BTW - neither i-flc.com nor isbanking.com registers as a legit website through the Earthlink security check.


Further BTW - this scam is still showing up on job boards as I write.

Just ridiculous.