PEOPLE responding to a job offer have been unwittingly caught up in an international money scam.
The rip-off involves getting applicants to cash fraudulent traveller’s cheques, which have been sent from overseas, at banks in New Zealand.
People are then told to keep 10 per cent of the money for themselves as a form of commission – but to send the rest back to America.
The scam has been exposed by Beverly-Anne Rhodes after she replied to a newspaper advertisement for an accounting bookkeeper position.
The company uses the email address of Amigos Hair Braids Trade International, but in details supplied to Ms Rhodes it calls itself Ashleigh Textiles.
It is described as a New Zealand/US textile company which produces and distributes clothing materials.
The person placing the New Zealand advertising is based in Hampshire, England, but the company is also using an address in Georgia, America, for financial transactions.
People were asked to email their CV as part of the application process.
Ms Rhodes, of Flat Bush, received a reply saying she had the job, despite the fact the company continued to advertise the position. The primary task, she was told in an email, was to receive payments from customers or clients.
Last Wednesday, a Federal Express courier package arrived at her and her partner, Stuart Wright’s home with five US$500 American Express (Amex) traveller’s cheques.
Ms Rhodes was instructed in another email to immediately cash the cheques, take 10 per cent and forward a money order for the balance via global payment services organisation Western Union Company to the regional accountant in the US state of Georgia.
“We tried to phone Amex locally but we could not get hold of a human to talk to,” Mr Wright says.
Worried about the authenticity of the traveller’s cheques, they took them to the Botany branch of the National Bank where their accounts are held.
After an examination with a manager, they were cleared to take the cheques to a teller and they cashed one.
Later in the day, they tried to cash another one at ASB’s Otahuhu branch.
Again they asked for an opinion on the authenticity of the documents – but this time they were told the traveller’s cheques were counterfeit.
“We went back to the National Bank to let them know and we refunded the money we had received,” Mr Wright says.
That night they got a phone call from a man with an Asian accent who wanted to know whether they had received the package and if they had cashed the traveller’s cheques.
“We said we hadn’t cashed them because we didn’t believe they were real. He insisted that, yes, they were real.”
On Thursday morning, Mr Wright phoned Amex in the US and spoke to someone who ran the traveller’s cheque numbers through their system to confirm they were not authentic. Amex recommended they alert the New Zealand authorities.
“At face value, the cheques looked authentic,” Mr Wright told the Times.
“But if Bev has got the job and received these cheques, we can assume they have not stopped with one person.
“We want to let people know if anyone successfully cashes one of these cheques, the banks may come back to them after they’ve spent the funds.
“And they’ve been asked to repatriate 90 per cent of real money back to the company from the fraudulent cheques.”
The National Bank confirms it is aware of the scam and is investigating.
It is not common practice to receive traveller’s cheques through the mail as a form of payment from overseas, a spokesman says.
Traveller’s cheques are meant to be used by the person who bought them and cannot be passed on to someone else for negotiation.
“If customers come across traveller’s cheques as a form of payment from overseas they should be suspicious and seek advice from their bank or the police, letting them know how they came into possession of the cheques.”
ASB’s Otahuhu branch has sent the counterfeit cheque it obtained from the couple to the bank’s fraud department.
It is standard procedure to get identification, such as a driver’s licence or passport details.
In this case, the vehicle licence plate was also obtained as an additional measure because the traveller’s cheques were identified as counterfeit and the couple were not ASB customers.
“Our branch staff members are trained to look for any suspected fraudulent activity,” a spokeswoman told the Times.
“If we see a trend, or are made aware of a potential scam, we will inform our branch network to be extra vigilant so they can keep customers informed of safer banking practices.”
The bank advises people to be wary of any requests via the internet to cash traveller’s cheques and remit the proceeds – or to be paid for internet purchases using traveller’s cheques, especially if they are overpaid and a request is made to remit the balance.
It says all traveller’s cheques have security features imbedded.
“If there is any doubt whether the cheques are genuine, then customers should take the traveller’s cheques to a bank branch where they can obtain advice.”
