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shellymac · SOHOjobs Member

MyStarStravel Scam

SOHOjobs Moderator · TEAM SOHO

RE: MyStarStravel

shellymac · SOHOjobs Member

A know scam or suspected scam?

Shelly

SOHOjobs Moderator · TEAM SOHO

I would say a suspected scam. We do not have any specific information on this company. However, there are many known scams that operate the same way.

Hope this helps

christiethornton · SOHOjobs Member

NOT only is this a suspected scam-from what they are saying-it could be something highly illegal..if they are saying they are going to pay you from a refund, putting money into your account-you would actually need to give someone from Latvia your name, and your account information..at worst, it could be a scam and they could have ways to steal your identity, but what is more alarming is that they could be attempting to launder money-which can net you fines and jail time. They are paying you and then having you send money back to them..I'm thinking some type of money laundering scheme-and as soon as that money hits your account-and especially since you are taking money from it-you could be breaking the law.

I agree, I'd end ALL convo's with this company..There are several great companies that don't have to go through any hoops to pay you..they are here in the US and even do direct deposit...

SOHOjobs Moderator · TEAM SOHO

Hi and thanks for posting this.

What do I think? I think it smells like a big stinkin scam, that's what I think. Here's why:

1). They used a free email address (yahoo.com)

2). They have misleading company names: Gulliverstravelsinc (on the email address), mystartravel for the web URL and Star Travel LTD in the message.

3). There are typos in the email message.

4). It just doesn't make sense. They could call Bank of America today and have their "account" set up by 5pm. All they would need to do is provide some personal information and wire some money to fund the new account.

5). Were you interviewed? I doubt it. BEWARE OF ANY JOB THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE AN INTERVIEW. A real employer is not going to just offer you a job without first talking with you on the phone or, at the very least, conducting an online chat with you.

6). These check cashing scams are - I am sorry to say - very common. Here's how it works:

An individual receives an email or actually applies online at sites such as Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com for a work-at-home opportunity.

• The criminals pose as top overseas companies

• The victims are told that due to some problem (such as delays in clearing checks and money orders in Europe) they need your help to process payments.

• The victims are promised a long-term "job" with the company and a percentage of the transaction-which seems to vary between 4-10%. In your case it's $300.00

• The victims will receive checks representing U.S orders and deposit them in their personal accounts. They are then instructed to immediately transfer the money, minus their supposed fee, to the company. By the time victims discover that the checks that they had deposited are bad, the criminals already have the money that was wired to them and the victims account information for further transactions.

• The criminals seem to change their corporate identities every few months.

There are many versions of the this scam. See this link for another story (the scammers techniques will sound very familiar....) http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/pa_jobhunter_scam.html see also http://latviansonline.com/news/article.php?id=1287_0_2_0_C (Lativa is a hotbed for scammers for some reason...)

I would suggest that you Report the incident to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center by using the following link; File a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center

Also beware of jobs listed with Core Bit Software, EType Financial, Watz Creative, Evolve First, Rilan Labs, T Sector, Symbol Team, MedStart, VeraMed, DAT Technology, DATA TECH, and many others.

Trust me - this type of scam has been around for ages. It was one of the first online job scams I had to deal with here at SOHOjobs back in 1998. (Back then it was called the Nigerian Check Scam because they all seemed to be located in Nigeria.) These things are VERY hard to catch because they provide you with all the things you need to believe them: a real website, a real address, a name, sometimes even a telephone number. So as not to get caught they move on every few months or so setting up a new company name, new website, new address and new job ad.

So, PLEASE DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS SCAMMER. Remember, anytime you are asked to deposit a check in exchange for a fee its a scam.

Best wishes,

MICHELLE - Team SOHO

Meyre · SOHOjobs Member

I read these postings and i was sure i also got an email from them because i applied to that same gulliver email. I did get a response from my star travel also... below is the email. I want people to be careful because i guess they are trying to scam people in a more legit way, by actually making it look like a real job offer.

I only sent my resume with name, telephone #, address and email, hopefully that is not enoiugh for them to get me...

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in our company. My name is Valdis Lodzins,
I will provide you with more information on the job and will guide you
through the application process.

Star Travel Ltd is a ?no thrills? travel agency based in Riga, Latvia.
We operate tours to numerous destinations with departures from many
cities in Europe. We work in conjunction with low-cost air carriers to
provide the lowest possible price to our customers Europe-wide.

We sell our travel products both directly to customers and through
partner agents with several EU countries. 70% of our customers originate
from the UK. We also offer incoming tourism support to tourists from the
US, Australia and New Zealand.

Right now our customer support and sales base is being restructured.
Instead of creation of a major customer support center in Riga, our
management has decided to create a computerized system which can be accessed
by customer support reps from their respective locations. This way we
do not have to have a physical location for a customer support center.
Real estate prices are on the the rise since Latvia joined the European
Union. Absence of a physical location will save the company alot of
money. Moreover, with a computerized system we can hire agents from all
over the world, in different timezones, speaking fluently in their
respective languages.

Our ideal vision of a call center is a network of employees working
from home who are connected via internet to our main communications
center. Ideally, this will cut our overall customer support costs by 15% in
the first year of operation.

Our customer service employees will be connected to us via a broadband
voice over ip line from Vonage. Personnel will use computer headphones
to take calls from our prospective customers, and with the help of our
software will assist the customer with reservations, file complaints,
and perform basic sales functions. The software is very straight forward
and requires no in-depth computer knowledge.

To be employed by us you will need to pass 3 weeks of training.
Training will be a mix of self-study and online tutoring. At the end of
training you will pass an online test. You will be paid salary during
training. All materials and training will be in English language. During the
first phase of training you will receive video materials and textbooks
which will guide you through the basics of the travel business, terms
and our company?s structure and business practices. You will be
familiarized with our software, voice over IP communication principles.
Afterwards you will start receiving your first training calls. Our training
staff will give you a chance to get used to the software and your new
position before you will be allowed to actually receive real customer
support calls. In the third phase you will be given a chance to accept real
customer calls. Our training staff will carefully monitor your
performance during this stage and guide you through your possible errors and
mishaps.

Now let me cover the working hours. The minimum allowed working hours
are 6 hours per day. Maximum is 9 hours per day. Our software will not
allow you to work over 9 hours per day. You may work either continuous
shifts or take brakes. For example you can break up 6 hours into 3
2-hour shifts during the day. Will finalize your schedule based on your
specific needs after you complete the training.

Also you do not have to change your current phone line to Vonage or
setup 2nd line. Vonage will provide you with an additional voip
phoneline, which is fully integrated into our software system and is working
over the Internet. It won't interfere with any of your own existing
services. Vonage services are settled directly with us.

During training your pay will be $14 per hour. Three weeks of training
at 30 hours per week will bring you training wage at $1260. This amount
is paid upfront. After you complete your training your wage will be set
at $24 per hour. You will be paid weekly. There are no overtime
bonuses. All carrier fees will (such as voip charges) be covered by the
company.

If you are interested in the position and would like get started you
must sign a preliminary employment contract. Afterwards you will be
referred to our accounting and training departments. Accounting will set up
your salary and training department will start your training.
Your final contract will be offered for signature once you complete
your training.
The contract is attached to this email in form of Adobe PDF file. You
should print it, sign and fax to us using our USA fax at (866) 304-7341
or (213) 947-4289. You may use either number. Afterwards please contact
the responsible person within our accounting department, Ms. Murane at
murane@mystartravel.com . Ms. Murane will arrange payment of your
salary for the training period.

Sincerely,

Valdis Lodzins, Star Travel Ltd.
Tel. +371-766-1097

shellymac · SOHOjobs Member

Yep, same e-mail I got.....sure makes me mad! I know nothing comes easy and I really had my hopes up on this one. But at least through I didn't go any farther and through this forum we can all work together to spot the bad guys.

Shelly

aimee98 · SOHOjobs Member

This is totally bogus!!! They will send you a forged check and expect you to cash it. I found out the hard way. Do not fall for it!!

Aqeelah · SOHOjobs Member

I can definately tell you this is a scam. I have not worked for any company of this nature,but I did correspond with a company similar that I gave my address to. 3 weeks after correspondence started sure enough I did receive a check by FedEx for $49,506.
I did not think it was real so I took it to my bank and asked them to check it out.They said I had to sign and endorse it into my account first so they could run a check on it.
They called me 2 days later and told me the check was legit and that I could cash it.So low and behold my husband , my 10 month old baby and myself went to the bank together.The bank clerk put in a private room as that was alot of money and there was some forms for me to fill out.Next thing I know 4 officers and the bank president were coming in the room to inform me that this was a fraudulent check and interrogating me.
I told them I did not know,but I was arrested anyway and taken to the police station right from the bank.I was then interrogated by the fraud department who informed me that this scam had happened to 6 other people that they knew of in different states who had received the same check same routing and checking number just a different name.
I was lucky as the bank president did not want to press charges and I was not brought up on fraud and theft because I did not take any money out of the bank.So I consider myself fortunate. But I cringe to think about if I actually had gotten that money and sent it Western Union to those people.I would have been facing 10-15 years prison time and I would have been fined all the money that I walked out with.
So even though I was arrested I'm glad they stopped me before I had a chance to do anything really stupid.
So please stay away from this company they mean you no good.They only want to better themselves financially no matter who they take down in the process.

Jodes1 · SOHOjobs Member

I received this job offer also - found it on HotJobs and it was listed by Cruise One Inc. When they responded, it was from mystartravel. I checked the website and thought it funny that none of the links worked. They also sent a pre-employment contract as an attachment - it seemed legit. When I received the e-mail stating that I could cash a check and keep $300 - that was fishy enough to make me think that something wasn't right. I searched the internet for everything I could find, and that search led me to SoHo - thank goodness. Avoid these people. After reading the posts here, I am so glad I followed my instincts. If something seems to good to be true, it probably it. I was very disappointed but, that's how I found this site, so something good came from it. Thanks, SoHo.

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-- Edited by SOHOjobs Moderator at 13:42, 2006-11-30