"Amir Mohammed" Heritage Petroleum (Western Union Scam.)

[MrRoopz]

UPDATE: Confirmed SCAM.

Only looking for sensible answers, not any jokes at this point in time. Has anyone gotten a call from "Amir Mohammed" who claims to be a part of Heritage Petroleum and is asking if people need a job, then proceeds to offer them a job. Such as courier, I.T. specialist, etc. He claims that the wage is $95/hr, he also states that you have to pay for your uniform as you did not apply for the job, the cost is $3,500 + VAT, that brings it up to $4,000 which he expects you to transfer via. Western Union.
Has anyone else gotten this call, is it a scam, is it legitimate? Does an "Amir Mohammed" even work at Heritage Petroleum as an O.R.? I would appreciate some feedback as I could not find anything about this being a scam on the web, the cost of the uniform and the transfer medium is ticking off some alarms though.

[VexXx Dogg]

That smells like scam even before I reach the second line.
Ignore, move on.

[maj. tom]

So a random phone call from someone you never knew, offered you a job that you didn't even know existed and never applied for, but you have to pay $4000 via WU to get the job.

And you need a 2nd opinion on this.
Me eh know what to say nah...

Except that I'm a Nigerian Prince from Kangalolpooza. And I inherited $6 million USD in Diamonds from an abandoned mine in the jungle. I want to send you $3 million, but I don't have the funds right now to mail it. Plz send $6000 USD so I can FedEx you the diamonds. Only accepting MoneyGram, Western Union, US Postal order please.
P.S. they're not Blood Diamonds!

[MrRoopz]

There's a little more to it, I had goats posted up for sale, so he got my number off there, then proceeded to call about the goats which he claim he is coming to pick up later, THEN he offered a job.

[Redman]

HOPE YOU TAKING CASH FOR THEM GOATS.

[MrRoopz]

UPDATE: Guy claimed to have the orientation happening at Paria Suites tomorrow. Called up Paria Suites' banqueting and asked about it, there is nothing happening there tomorrow. Informed them about him and they took his name down for any other victims calling.

[sMASH]

U taking the job?
Seems great! U get to pay 4k for ur uniforms. All u needed to do was post up goat, and u had skills for it specialist or courier.

[16 cycles]

kicks aside....thanks @ OP for posting....might save some folks who research it some headache in this guava season...

[Slartibartfast]

UPDATE: Guy claimed to have the orientation happening at Paria Suites tomorrow. Called up Paria Suites' banqueting and asked about it, there is nothing happening there tomorrow. Informed them about him and they took his name down for any other victims calling.

Good job following up to get proof that it's a scam.

[tr1ad]

a fool and their money are easily parted....

didn't even need to read past the second sentence as well.

[ADONI]

OP, tell the man take out the uniform money from ur 1st pay check!

[pugboy]

It’s a numbers game man
There surely are other suckers who will get caught
The uniform part is the catch

[MrRoopz]

Thanks to everyone who left feedback and for the few humorous comments to lighten up the mood. I hope this can help someone out now or even in the future, I'm sure there will be other scams that come in the same concept just under different company names. I figure the guy is going to collect the money, expect you to show up for orientation tomorrow and then claim that the orientation was cancelled or something along those lines. Be aware!

[Les Bain]

This needs to be making the rounds on social media so that desperate job seekers don't fall victim to that smartman.

[pugboy]

amir not too smart, they "upfront fee" should be smaller to string you along
a high fee makes a person very wary at the start

that is how the nigerian scams work, they make you send small amounts of money in a process
and that is all they usually get which is their goal and the victims dont feel like they lost a lot
in hope of claiming the millions hidden in some bank account

[rspann]

Ahmmm, op $3500 plus vat is not $4000. That alone shoulda alert yuh.

BTW what is the menu for the orientation? Goat curry?

[rspann]

Sensible answers to this post is asking too much.

[toyolink]

"Well Amir boi, I so thankful and aint gong to miss out on this.
Unfortunately, I would have to rush and get the cash.
Why yuh doe pass back at 4.45 this evening nah."
I leave the rest to your imagination.

[sMASH]

how did u confirm its a scam? i know u said u contacted paria suites. did any other thing confirm it for u?
its bad cause some poor fella gonna get take with it.

[MG Man]

MrRoopz, somewhere out there is a Nigerian prince seeking your help

[Monk BANzai]

UPDATE: Confirmed SCAM.

Only looking for sensible answers, not any jokes at this point in time. Has anyone gotten a call from "Amir Mohammed" who claims to be a part of Heritage Petroleum and is asking if people need a job, then proceeds to offer them a job. Such as courier, I.T. specialist, etc. He claims that the wage is $95/hr, he also states that you have to pay for your uniform as you did not apply for the job, the cost is $3,500 + VAT, that brings it up to $4,000 which he expects you to transfer via. Western Union.
Has anyone else gotten this call, is it a scam, is it legitimate? Does an "Amir Mohammed" even work at Heritage Petroleum as an O.R.? I would appreciate some feedback as I could not find anything about this being a scam on the web, the cost of the uniform and the transfer medium is ticking off some alarms though.

This made news outlets late January as some ppl were caught falling for the "guise... Thanks for the post...in an environment where ppl are actively looking to keep their roofs over their heads and some semblance of a normal life "post retrenchment", some will fall for it.

Ignorance is no excuse but knowledge is indeed power.

[MrRoopz]

how did u confirm its a scam? i know u said u contacted paria suites. did any other thing confirm it for u?
its bad cause some poor fella gonna get take with it.

There was also a news article posted recently as Banzai confirmed. I googled for "Trinidad Western Union scam" and it came up. It pretty much depicted exactly what "Amir" was trying to do, just he did it over the phone instead of WhatsApp. The exact concept as well.

EDIT: Unfortunately when I paste the link here, it does not complete the request to go to the website, just do a quick Google search and the article would pop up. It's the one titled "Police warn of WhatsApp money for job scam" by CNC3.

[nervewrecker]

7 years later he not caught.
Went by the name john smith about 7 years ago.

Talks real nice and convincing. Even asks your location and directs you to the nearest western union.

He insist I pay it there and not cash in hand. Man eh serious about this $3700.00 I wanted to give him for the job.

About 10 years back a pal called me about the same scam. Pay $15k and get a job in kenson. Didnt get name and number tho..

[MrRoopz]

MrRoopz, somewhere out there is a Nigerian prince seeking your help

I think I go start taking payment for my help through Western Union yes..

[rspann]

Mr Roopz,why yuh doh sell goats through Western Union? Good money to be made.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

Let me see if I understand this and I believe I may need help from other tuners in understanding this.

A man you never heard of gives you a call and asks if you need a job you say yes offcourse then he offers you a job that pays an Engineer's salary. You are now employed, but you receive no money at all, and in order to give you this money you must pay him $4000 for some nonsense?

[sMASH]

how did u confirm its a scam? i know u said u contacted paria suites. did any other thing confirm it for u?
its bad cause some poor fella gonna get take with it.

There was also a news article posted recently as Banzai confirmed. I googled for "Trinidad Western Union scam" and it came up. It pretty much depicted exactly what "Amir" was trying to do, just he did it over the phone instead of WhatsApp. The exact concept as well.

EDIT: Unfortunately when I paste the link here, it does not complete the request to go to the website, just do a quick Google search and the article would pop up. It's the one titled "Police warn of WhatsApp money for job scam" by CNC3.

i was just interested to know if any agency was involved, eg police, fraud squad etc, had played a part or lent advice

but is good u ask, and not give out 3k jess so.

[pugboy]

dont be surprised if there are others of the same scam but using different names which are more in line with the target eh

[nervewrecker]

how did u confirm its a scam? i know u said u contacted paria suites. did any other thing confirm it for u?
its bad cause some poor fella gonna get take with it.

There was also a news article posted recently as Banzai confirmed. I googled for "Trinidad Western Union scam" and it came up. It pretty much depicted exactly what "Amir" was trying to do, just he did it over the phone instead of WhatsApp. The exact concept as well.

EDIT: Unfortunately when I paste the link here, it does not complete the request to go to the website, just do a quick Google search and the article would pop up. It's the one titled "Police warn of WhatsApp money for job scam" by CNC3.

i was just interested to know if any agency was involved, eg police, fraud squad etc, had played a part or lent advice

but is good u ask, and not give out 3k jess so.

Fraud squad told me a crime had to be committed for them to do something.
Well the waste of time ones at least. Better officers actually do give a flying f**k

[Closeout Deals]

Padna, you know the price of ah goat these days? Sell 2 goat and make yuh monthly salary wearing yuh polo jersey, 3/4 pants and ah tall boots.