http://www.nbc10.com/news/14256341/detail.html?dl=headlineclick
THIS SHIT ISNT FUNNY THOUGH.
Answering Job Ad Leads To Death Threats, Woman Says
POSTED: 8:48 pm EDT October 2, 2007
UPDATED: 10:49 pm EDT October 2, 2007
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- She was looking for extra money.
But now she and her family are living in fear after answering an online ad for a job.
The threat was so alarming that local police have gotten the FBI involved, NBC 10 investigative reporter Harry Hairston said.
"He said, 'I know where you live, and I'm watching, and you better get my money or I'm going to kill you and your daughter,'" said the woman, who is too terrified to reveal her true identity.
For this interview, we'll only refer to her as Vivian. (Read Vivian interview excerpt)
"I was shocked. I went into shock. I just stood there. I couldn't even move," she said.
The threat came just days after her 21-year-old daughter answered an e-mail for part-time work.
"I never imagined anything like that opening an e-mail, and then all of a sudden you are running for your life because someone decided to terrorize you," said the daughter, who we'll call Lee. (Read Lee interview excerpt)
Lee said she was simply trying to make enough money to help pay off some student loans. So, she did as the e-mail requested, "send your name, phone number and address."
"It sent me an e-mail back saying that I've been accepted to be the representative for a U.S. branch that was being opened but wasn't open yet," Lee said.
The job promised to pay Lee good money processing travelers' checks while working from home.
"They were going to mail me checks from people in the U.S. who are suppose to be customers," she said. "I would cash it and take 10 percent out of the payment, and the 10 percent would be my payment."
Lee said she was to forward the rest of the money to a list of addresses in Nigeria.
UPS delivered checks within a few days but with no return address, and by week's end, "another batch came, and within three to four days, I had $8,000 in checks."
Lee said she became suspicious and decided not to cash the checks. Instead, she told her mother.
"Why would somebody take money in large increments, send it to someone that they don't know and tell that you can keep a portion of it -- you just have to send me some. It made no sense to me," Vivian said.
So she contacted UPS and had the checks returned.
And that was the beginning of the terror.
"The phone calls started coming like two or three days after UPS took the checks back," Lee said.
"They started calling at 4 in the morning," Vivian said.
"The guy on the phone sounded really impatient and frustrated," Lee said.
"He never expressed who he was. He just said that he wanted his money and that we better get it to him," said Vivian, adding that she stopped answering her phone.
The calls stopped, but only for a while.
"And then he called again," Vivian said.
The message said, "I will kill you if you don't send my money. I will kill your daughter and you. (Expletive) take this threat seriously."
Ridley Township police Capt. Chas Howley is taking the threat seriously. (Read Howley interview excerpt)
"We already had an extra two-man patrol in this area, and they are monitoring the house at night," Howley said.
Police said, so far, they haven't caught anyone hanging around the house.
But investigators said they have traced the calls to locations in Houston, Texas and Richmond, Va. However, they would not say much more.
And Lee, who lives with her mother and sister, said she regrets ever answering that e-mail.
"Three other people are in danger because I was trying to get some extra money so I could pay my students loans," she said.
The NBC 10 Investigators also traced the e-mail offering the job, and it came back to a location in the South Pacific.
When NBC 10 tried to contact them, the e-mail came back undeliverable.
Hairston said he also dug a little deeper and found online warnings in England advising people about money laundering scams in connection with that company.
THIS SHIT ISNT FUNNY THOUGH.
Answering Job Ad Leads To Death Threats, Woman Says
POSTED: 8:48 pm EDT October 2, 2007
UPDATED: 10:49 pm EDT October 2, 2007
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- She was looking for extra money.
But now she and her family are living in fear after answering an online ad for a job.
The threat was so alarming that local police have gotten the FBI involved, NBC 10 investigative reporter Harry Hairston said.
"He said, 'I know where you live, and I'm watching, and you better get my money or I'm going to kill you and your daughter,'" said the woman, who is too terrified to reveal her true identity.
For this interview, we'll only refer to her as Vivian. (Read Vivian interview excerpt)
"I was shocked. I went into shock. I just stood there. I couldn't even move," she said.
The threat came just days after her 21-year-old daughter answered an e-mail for part-time work.
"I never imagined anything like that opening an e-mail, and then all of a sudden you are running for your life because someone decided to terrorize you," said the daughter, who we'll call Lee. (Read Lee interview excerpt)
Lee said she was simply trying to make enough money to help pay off some student loans. So, she did as the e-mail requested, "send your name, phone number and address."
"It sent me an e-mail back saying that I've been accepted to be the representative for a U.S. branch that was being opened but wasn't open yet," Lee said.
The job promised to pay Lee good money processing travelers' checks while working from home.
"They were going to mail me checks from people in the U.S. who are suppose to be customers," she said. "I would cash it and take 10 percent out of the payment, and the 10 percent would be my payment."
Lee said she was to forward the rest of the money to a list of addresses in Nigeria.
UPS delivered checks within a few days but with no return address, and by week's end, "another batch came, and within three to four days, I had $8,000 in checks."
Lee said she became suspicious and decided not to cash the checks. Instead, she told her mother.
"Why would somebody take money in large increments, send it to someone that they don't know and tell that you can keep a portion of it -- you just have to send me some. It made no sense to me," Vivian said.
So she contacted UPS and had the checks returned.
And that was the beginning of the terror.
"The phone calls started coming like two or three days after UPS took the checks back," Lee said.
"They started calling at 4 in the morning," Vivian said.
"The guy on the phone sounded really impatient and frustrated," Lee said.
"He never expressed who he was. He just said that he wanted his money and that we better get it to him," said Vivian, adding that she stopped answering her phone.
The calls stopped, but only for a while.
"And then he called again," Vivian said.
The message said, "I will kill you if you don't send my money. I will kill your daughter and you. (Expletive) take this threat seriously."
Ridley Township police Capt. Chas Howley is taking the threat seriously. (Read Howley interview excerpt)
"We already had an extra two-man patrol in this area, and they are monitoring the house at night," Howley said.
Police said, so far, they haven't caught anyone hanging around the house.
But investigators said they have traced the calls to locations in Houston, Texas and Richmond, Va. However, they would not say much more.
And Lee, who lives with her mother and sister, said she regrets ever answering that e-mail.
"Three other people are in danger because I was trying to get some extra money so I could pay my students loans," she said.
The NBC 10 Investigators also traced the e-mail offering the job, and it came back to a location in the South Pacific.
When NBC 10 tried to contact them, the e-mail came back undeliverable.
Hairston said he also dug a little deeper and found online warnings in England advising people about money laundering scams in connection with that company.
