AppliedGraphicsTech.com Scam Alert
AppliedGraphicsTech.com was just created 2/11/2015 and hosted on Vooservers in the UK at IP address 91.227.223.49. They list the address on the website as Applied Graphics, Inc. 28 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010 and the Phone number as (347) 467-1055. UPDATE 2/27/15: The address on the website has changed and now shows the address as Applied Graphics, Inc. 221 Glen Cove Ave, Sea Cliff, NY 11579! The whois registration has the business phone number listed as (212)627-4111. I find it interesting how the website is an exact replica of the same fake website the scammers set up in Oct 2014 for Alphagraphics Jacksonville with the exception of the company logo.
UPDATE 2/27/15
Interesting! A new website/domain has just been registered on 2/25/15 on Vooservers at IP 91.227.223.95 called AppliedGraphicsCompany.com and the whois information lists the address as 221 Glen Cove Ave, Sea Cliff, NY 11579. They are using the same website as shown below and the the web panel is http://appliedgraphicscompany.com/panel
BEWARE! Applied Graphics Inc is suspected to be yet another fake web development and graphics website set up as a front for a “work at home” employment scam to get unsuspecting “employees” to wire stolen money overseas to their so called “programmers”! See Advantage Web Development Scam Alert and SCK Design Scam.
Applied Graphics Technologies appears to be an legitimate business that may have operated at one time at these mailing addresses, but it is unclear if any of the businesses they are targeting is actually still in operation. But I can assure you appliedgraphicstech.com and the new website appliedgraphicscompany.com is not associated with the actual legitimate business.
Here is a screenshot of the fake website:
I would say they are sending out “job information” emails to potential “employees” as we speak that may say something similar to this:
Job Available in Your Area
My name is (Fake Name), I’m with the Human Resources Dep. Please consider this email as a job offer for a recently available position os a Customer Service Manager with our team. Basing on your online resume and references, we believe that your expertise and personality would be a perfect match for this job, and with your input we will be able to bring our customer service quality to a new level.
We offer permanent employment with the base pay of 3500 dollars per month with bonuses, full-time and part-time shifts and a decent benefits pack. Please note that this is a work-from-home job, so you can work from any location within the USA.
To apply for this opening and receive further information on it, please respond as soon as you can. I will forward you our employment documents for review, and hopefully we will be able to get you started already in March.
—
Looking forward to your reply,
Some Fake Name
Human Resources Division
If you reply to that email, they will then send you a follow up email that might say something like this:
Your new job: Full information
As a Customer Service Manager you will represent the company to our existing clients, communicate both with our local office in New York, NY, and with our contractors from Europe. We offer permanent employment with full-time and part-time options; this is a home-based position, so you will need a laptop with an Internet connection. A working cell phone or landline is also necessary in order for your supervisor, team members and clients to contact you directly at any time during regular working hours. No additional software is required to purchase or install, only standard office programs and any free PDF viewer. Relocation or travel is not required, as this role is performed out of your home. All training is free and web-based.
Your day will start with logging into our web server and getting new messages and tasks from your supervisor. You will be looking for clients’ business information, reviewing contracts, communicating with clients, assisting with their orders, etc. By the end of the day you will prepare a short report on the completed tasks and send it to your supervisor on the website.
The base monthly salary is 3500 USD, however, all Customer Service Managers receive incentive bonuses based on individual performance and customer satisfaction. The amount of bonuses accumulated during the month can double the base salary and makes the average monthly income of a Customer Service Manager up to 7000 USD. Since taxes will be deducted from your salary, you will need to fill out a W4 form, which will be sent to you along with our standard employment paperwork. And after the first 6 months of work, you will be eligible for a vacation of 21 calendar days, 401k and a corporate health insurance program.
To apply for this position, send me a reply to this email, and I will follow up with the employment documentation package for your review. This position is available immediately, and candidates available to start next week will have the priority.
Best regards,,
Some Fake Name- fake title
Applied Graphics, Inc
Call us: (347) 467-1055 (fake business phone #)
Do Not Reply And Do Not Provide Any Info!
They are targeting job seekers that may have a resume posted on a job site like Indeed.com, Careerbuilder or Monster.com and also from job boards.
What To Do If You Are A Victim
If you have found yourself to be a victim of this or a similar scam, you need to contact your bank immediately and close your account, hopefully BEFORE they try to reverse the transaction. Next file a police report with your local authorities and then file a complaint with the FBI’s internet crime center at http://www.ic3.gov/
Next you need to contact the 3 credit bureaus- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, and place a fraud alert on your report. These scammers has your Social Security number so they can steal your identity and may try and obtain credit in your name. This will alert you for at least 90 days about any suspicious activity.
Disclosure** We get paid a commission when you purchase from LifeLock using one of our links.
This is not my real name, of course. I had to repay my bank a couple grand within 24 hours or face grand theft charges b/c the check that was supposed to pay “programmers” overseas was basically toilet paper. My bank loved me, but the fraud officer treated me like she was the warden and I was the murder of a baby.
I’ll be back with more later. I can not give dates or other details now b/c Redface prolly reads this, but hope to soon when he’s behind bars! Oye do I hope so.
I’m so sorry you are one of the MANY that has fell victim to these criminals.
Unfortunately not all banks value their customers as much as others, some know these scams exist and will work with you and try and protect you and others won’t. I hope you have reported this on the ic3.gov website and also filed a police report as well. Maybe once the feds get enough complaints, they will finally do something about it. In the meantime all we can do is try to forewarn others to try and prevent anyone else from becoming victims. Thanks for the information and your comment.
I did fall for it and have already given bank info. they said it was for direct deposit of my paycheck. What do i do and have all of these been proven to be scams
Close your bank account immediately and file a complaint on the ic3.gov website.
Well thank goodness I didn’t get hammered…almost…I had to shut down my bank and have to go and lift the security hold on the account as the REDFACE jerk had requested I set out a voided check to deposit my so called paycheck into and they made sure they let me know they were going to withdraw money if I didn’t log in each day at 9am. I had already sent the dumb voided check. That was the first day, the second day there were some signs that it wasn’t totally on the up and up! I do XHTML and HTML so I went to the developers tab and low and behold it was an empty placeholder website. Redface called me actually, three days before this and pretended to ask me questions related to my ability to do the tasks. I am so mad at myself for allowing me to believe this company was real. I actually qualify and the wage was on target for the type of job and the stuff they were asking the employee to do only they wanted you to commit Money Laundering!
They port you from there to the other two pages that link off the others. They string you along hoping you will give them a way to rip you off in that first week so they know they got you coming and going the bank I went to verify that this was a scam because I have been doing this internet thing for 29 years and the Nigeria scam nagged at me all day yesterday! So my IT side said just check and sure enough the Redface crap made me mad for sure…as in a reference to egg on our face for falling for his scam!
Joseph Redface
To
me
Feb 27 at 1:05 PM
Hello!
Thank you, I received and reviewed your Employment Agreement, everything looks fine. I’m looking forward to see you join our team!
Now, in order to work with our clients, a bank account will be required. The reason is quite simple: as our company’s policy is a personal approach to the customers, you will be working directly with them, which would entail receiving the fees for the projects ordered by the company, and paying the teams working on such projects. These would be your responsibilities as well. Plus, we would need your bank account information in order to deposit your payroll, as we don’t usually send out paper checks, since there are too many risks connected with them.
You can open a separate checking account for working with us. It could even be a business one: “Your name DBA Applied Graphics”. Or, if it sounds too complicated, we can accept an existing personal/business checking account for the 1st month of work. However, as soon as you receive your first paycheck, we would still like you to open a business account to continue working with us.
I’m sending you a Banking Form to fill out; it’s required for tax purposes: your income tax will be deducted from your salary. Please fill both forms out and email back to me. As soon as we’re done with the papers, I will be able to set up the access to our corporate server for you and get you started next week!
—
Best regards,
Joseph Redface
Applied Graphics, Inc.
Phone: (347) 467-1055
—————–
Joseph Redface
To
me
Feb 27 at 1:13 PM
Dear Applicant.
Because of technical problems with the hosting we are forced to move to a new domain. Our new address is http://www.appliedgraphicscompany.com
The old one will be shut down within 3 business days.
My email address will change to jobs@appliedgraphicscompany.com
I apologize for the inconvenience.
—
Best regards,
Joseph Redface
Applied Graphics, Inc.
Phone: (347) 467-1055
Reply, Reply All or Forward | More
They changed the website because they now realize we tipped off their potential employees on the previous website. They can’t run their scam if they can’t get unsuspecting people to fall for it. Unfortunately a lot of people has been falling victim to their scam for quite some time because the business always looked to be legit to the potential employee researching the business and these scammers knew that. They do their homework before they choose a business to spoof.
I received same information as everyone else, except the name on the letters and emails are from a Mr. William Babaian. There were red flags, so before I gave any information, I continued to do research and this site helped confirm what I have been thinking. Thank you for clearing up the last questions I had regarding this company and job.
Hi, I received the same information as the other candidates. I even did a phone interview and submitted the employment application. But I knew something was not right when they suggest that they need a bank account. Thank fully I did not supply them with that information. However they do have my name and address. Should I
report this to protect my identity?
Nadia, As long as you did not give them your Social Security number or bank account information you should be okay.
Thank you for a quick reply.
This is what i got today .. crap . i just figured out that it is a scam..From: Joseph Redface
Date: Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 12:06 PM
Subject: Applied Graphics: EA
To: samuduni perera
Hello,
Thank you for such a prompt reply and my apologies for a delay with the reply! I’m sending you our standard Employment Agreement in the attachment to this message, please take your time to read the document, as they have detailed information on the position duties, pay, schedule, benefits, etc. Any additional information about the company can be found at our website.
In order to proceed, please print out the Employment Agreement, sign it and send back to me by email. If you have questions, please feel free to send them to me or call us. Also please check our website: https://www.appliedgraphicstech.com.
We’re looking for people who can start working with us ASAP!
—
Best regards,
Joseph Redface
Applied Graphics, Inc.
Phone: (347) 467-1055
oh yes the standard employment agreement where they just change the name of the company and the company president’s signature. Next comes the BF (banking form) and the W-4 (tax form) and then the registration to their “web panel” where you will get your “task” once they can successfully steal the money from someone else and deposit it into your account!
Holy potatoes Ive been researching and even called the dude “Joseph Redface” He had a thick foreign accent and he just said to fill ou the Employment agreement and return it. I though it was alittle fishy. you guys saved me alot of headache.
Here’s what the email looked like:
Morning,
Thank you for accepting our job offer for the recently announced Client Support Manager position! Our company, Applied Graphics, is a renowned team of creative designers from New York City. Our services include, but are not limited to graphic design, branding, packaging, marketing and creative management. We work with customers to create, extend and build corporate identities and marketing materials. We are listed with the BBB and proudly contribute all efforts to maintain our business reputation flawless in all aspects.
As a Client Support Manager you will be a key player in every stage of the process, from managing customers and processing orders to coordinating the final results delivery. We offer permanent employment with full-time and part-time options Monday through Friday. This is a strictly home-based position, so you will need a laptop with an Internet connection. No additional software is required to purchase or install, only standard office programs and any free PDF viewer. Relocation or travel is not required, as this role is performed out of your home. All training is free and web-based provided by our experienced supervisors.
What we offer our employees:
– Starting base pay of $42,600 per year before taxes;
– Performance bonuses up to 100 of the base pay;
– Medical benefits;
– Profit sharing and 401K;
– 21+ days of paid vacation per year.
Your day will start with logging into our website and getting new messages and tasks from your supervisor. You will be looking for clients’ business information, reviewing contracts, communicating with clients, assisting with their orders, etc. By the end of the day you will prepare a short report on the completed tasks and send it to your supervisor on the website.
If you’re interested and ready to start within a week, simply email me back, and I will send you the official papers to review and sign. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send them to me as well.
—
Best regards,
Joseph Redface
Applied Graphics, Inc.
Phone: (347) 467-1055
Thank you for your comment. Yes they can be very convincing.
Scam. And i figured it was : (((
I knew it was cuz they contacted me! I never contacted them it started with this:
Dear Job Seeker,
You have received this message as a notification of a new position available in your area. If you are no longer looking for a job, please ignore this email: no further action is required to unsubscribe.
An IT firm is currently seeking for an energetic Customer Support Manager. You must be people oriented with strong interpersonal skills and have the ability to work independently. IMPORTANT: This opening is available only for US residents and individuals currently located and authorized to work in the USA, no visa sponsorship is offered!
Customer Support Manager will be the key point of contact for both the assigned customers, and our staff members, balancing the best interest of the team and our customers. No previous experience in programming or web design is required! This position does NOT involve any sales, advertising or cold calling; it’s mostly customer service plus minor project management routine. If you possess an entrepreneurial spirit, have excellent organization and communication skills, and enjoy reaping the rewards of your efforts, we encourage you to apply!
Customer Support Managers can expect the remuneration in the amount of $42,600 per year before taxes plus monthly performance bonuses. All our employees are eligible for 401(k), health insurance and dental after the first 2 months of work. There are flexible full-time and part-time shifts to choose from as well as paid vacation, sick leave, days off, etc.
You can apply for the Customer Support Manager position by responding directly to this email: we will forward you the additional information on the job and the instructions on how to apply. Candidates who can start this week will have the priority.
—
Best regards,
Natalie Phillips,
Human Resources Department
Then:
Morning,
Thank you for accepting our job offer for the recently announced Client Support Manager position! Our company, Applied Graphics, is a renowned team of creative designers from New York City. Our services include, but are not limited to graphic design, branding, packaging, marketing and creative management. We work with customers to create, extend and build corporate identities and marketing materials. We are listed with the BBB and proudly contribute all efforts to maintain our business reputation flawless in all aspects.
As a Client Support Manager you will be a key player in every stage of the process, from managing customers and processing orders to coordinating the final results delivery. We offer permanent employment with full-time and part-time options Monday through Friday. This is a strictly home-based position, so you will need a laptop with an Internet connection. No additional software is required to purchase or install, only standard office programs and any free PDF viewer. Relocation or travel is not required, as this role is performed out of your home. All training is free and web-based provided by our experienced supervisors.
What we offer our employees:
– Starting base pay of $42,600 per year before taxes;
– Performance bonuses up to 100 of the base pay;
– Medical benefits;
– Profit sharing and 401K;
– 21+ days of paid vacation per year.
Your day will start with logging into our website and getting new messages and tasks from your supervisor. You will be looking for clients’ business information, reviewing contracts, communicating with clients, assisting with their orders, etc. By the end of the day you will prepare a short report on the completed tasks and send it to your supervisor on the website.
If you’re interested and ready to start within a week, simply email me back, and I will send you the official papers to review and sign. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send them to me as well.
—
Best regards,
Joseph Redface
Applied Graphics, Inc.
Phone: (347) 467-1055
But this is what the first one looked like, and ironic enough, his name was “Joseph”, just different last name.
Dear Job Seeker,
A work-from-home position is now available in your city! See the job information below. This is a one-time notification, no additional action to unsubcribe would be required from you.
A local design company is now looking forcandidates to fill the position of a Client Support Manager.
A perfect candidate would be a very organized and motivated individual, who can operate efficiently both independently, and as a part of a team.
No prior experience in the design sphere is necessary, as the employer provides all contractors with the free online training course and assigned supervisors.
Please note that this is a work from home ONLY and no travel or relocation will be.
The Client Support Manager is supposed to consistently provide top notch customer service to the clients as well as communicate client requests and questions within the team to ensure high quality and timely response.
We offer both permanent, and temporary job opportunities with part-time and full-time hours. The base salary is set as $42,600 annually plus individual bonuses as well as a special benefits package.
You can apply for the Client Support Manager opening now by replying to this email: we will contact you with further information on the position upon receiving your feedback.
This opening is available immediately; candidates who are ready to get started this week will have the priority.
—
Have a nice day,
Joseph Wimberstein,
Recruiting Team
I’m trying to find the email Mr. Joseph Redface sent me today and I marked it as Spam. But, It went into detail of what the job requirements would be and everything. (Crap!) I wanted you to see it! Well, since I did reply, requesting that he provide more info about the company, may be the original email will be included. Ugh! Smh
Yes they will send you an email with a little bit of background about the actual legitimate business that they found on the company when they chose that business to target along with a little more info about the “job” requirements (which is bogus of course).
I just looked at when you posted this…how ironic! Perfect timing buddy! (high five)
Oh and could you email me on how I can provide you a screen shot of the emails they’ve sent me? It’s a little different from what you’ve posted and way convincing. Only thing missing would be a logo of some sort.
If you like you can copy and paste the emails you received in the comments here. But yes you’re right, they can be very convincing, which is why people fall victim to it. They have been running these scams for a long time so they just keep getting better at it. Another scam I’ve been getting a lot of emails on lately also is the shipping/receiving work at home “job” scam but these emails are so poorly written, they scream scam..lol, I just laugh and shake my head as I hit the delete button. Thank you for your comments!
Thank you for posting this. I came across your post researching these guys. I have NOT, thank goodness, provided them with any personal information. I’ve just been emailing (sent second email out a few minutes ago) trying to get more in depth of who they really are. So, they only have my email.
I’ve been searching for work via the career builder and indeed job portals. So, how these guys got my contact is beyond me. Unless, any Jo-shmoe can post a fake job/position in which, these damn job boards need to develop a fool-proof/anit-scam way of allowing companies to post jobs available. Because, oddly enough, since I started looking for work, I’ve steadily been receiving scam calls.
Thank you so much again for posting such an informative article on this matter, shining a light on these scammers. Keep it up! 😉
You’re so welcome. This has become somewhat of a mission of mine since unfortunately I did fall victim to one of their scams. I found myself recently unemployed after 18 years and had a resume posted online as a requirement of my states unemployment office when I received their job offer. I have done online marketing part time for years and I can usually spot a scam in the internet marketing industry, but with employment it was different area for me so I did my due diligence and researched the company on google like most people do but everything I found seemed legitimate. What angered me the most was that the company they targeted in my case was still in business and had franchises all over the US and abroad, but the particular franchise they targeted had closed several years earlier, although there was nothing found online to indicate that. The main company headquarters became aware of this scam but did not post anything on their main website to warn anyone about it. Afterwards I started digging deeper and I was appalled when I discovered more and more of these fake websites out there and no warnings anywhere about them so I decided to start posting alerts so that hopefully I can prevent someone else from becoming a victim.
LIke I told my husband, it’s sad that Careerbuilder, Monster and Indeed, to name a few, don’t have blogs about these scams. You’ll have to just go through the yellow pages, whatever type of job or industry, look it up, then, go to the company website. Look for a section called ‘Careers’ and go from there.
I’m an almost victim too, going through this myself right now with Mr. Redface. Same exact emails I received from him. Thankfully did not submit any important information just back and forth email contact while I did some research. It’s a shame that us job seekers have to go through this. It’s a hard enough process as it is. Was doing my research as well, they almost had me convinced. I did Notice they state they are BBB accredited but no where on the website does it say that or and they are, and they are not listed on BBB website, also when you google that company their particular website does not pop up. I found your sight when I googled Mr. Redface. Thank you for helping others in the job seeking process not get scammed.
Thank you for your comment! Of course they will say they are BBB accredited, because the actual legitimate business usually is accredited. They spoof the legitimate company’s credentials and brand to make it more convincing to unsuspecting job seekers.