Beware Of The Proud Griffin Cheese Company Job Scam
Over the last 3 years a group of money mule scammers has conned job seekers into not only fake Web Design job scams, but Virtual Assistant job scams, income tax client managers and most recently fake Craft Beer territory manager job scams. But now they are trying their hand at scamming job seekers in the Cheese making industry with their new website just registered on 5/7/16 for one year at proudgriffin.com.
Below is the screenshots of the home and the contact us pages:
Proudgriffin.com is registered to someone by the name Trevor Bates, 5551 N University Dr. Coral Springs, Fl 33067 with the Phone #+1.503-980-4191 which is a Portland Oregon area code.
5551 N University Dr. Coral Springs, Fl 33067 is also the business address listed on the website, however this address is a high scale professional office building called Coral Springs Professional Campus whose tenants includes several medical, surgeon and dental offices, attorneys, insurance agents and investment firms. However there is no tenant that can be found at this address by the name of Trevor Bates nor Proud Griffin Cheese Company! However at the bottom of the website it says:
Proud Griffin Cheese Company manufactures dairy products in the Norther Parts of European Union. Our company produces various types of cheese kits, ingredients and cheeses such as Gouda, Romy, cream, and smoked. It also offers special equipment for. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Coral Springs, Florida “Best Cheese Company operates as a subsidiary of Lactalis International Snc”
Notice it changed to “Best Cheese Company” and NOT Proud Griffin Cheese Company! Oops they missed that little oversight!
Of course a little more research revealed that there IS a legitimate company called Best Cheese Company founded in 1995 but is based in Egypt NOT in Coral Springs Florida. Here is the information we found on Best Cheese Company and you will notice it is almost identical as what is shown on the proudgriffin.com website :
Best Cheese Company manufactures dairy products in the Middle East. The company produces various types of cheeses, such as gouda, romy, cream, and smoked. It also offers glass jars. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Cairo, Egypt. Best Cheese Company operates as a subsidiary of Lactalis International Snc.
We believe this information was copied and used on the proudgriffin.com website so that potential victims would not question when asked to wire cash to their “Northern European Union “suppliers” for orders and transactions from their “supposed customers”! This area would include the Czech Republic which is the location these scammers has instructed most of their victims to wire money to in many of their past money mule job scam “Tasks”.
So Beware! They may be sending recruiting emails to job seekers possibly offering Territory Manager positions or perhaps Client Manager positions or similar with a too good to be true work from home offer with high monthly salaries and full benefits. After providing a signed employment agreement, and bank account information etc. victims will receive instructions for logging into the company “webpanel” for training and “tasks”.
How These Scams Work
They require the “employees” bank account supposedly to deposit the employees paycheck (of course the employee never receives) but actually as they tell you later, a checking account is required so the employee can receive funds from “customer orders” and then send the funds to a third party or their “out of country suppliers or contractors” to complete the customers order.
The employee’s task is to withdraw the deposited funds, go to Western Union or Money Gram, document and wire the funds to the third party (possibly the Czech Republic or Germany) which is usually several thousand dollars! However, the funds the scammers deposited in the employees bank account is stolen of course and the third party “out of country” supplier the employee wired the cash to, is actually the criminals who then vanish, leaving the “employee” holding the bag to repay the stolen funds out of their own pocket or possibly face prosecution once the stolen funds has been traced back to the employees bank account.
Instead of bank deposit, the scammers could instead send the employee a counterfeit check sometimes instructed to be used to purchase office equipment etc that may be much more than the cost of the equipment or perhaps payroll and request the check be cashed and the over payment wired back to the scammer before the check is discovered to be fake by the bank. Once it bounces, and they always do..you will have to cover the full amount out of your own pocket.
What To Do If You Are A Victim
If you have fell victim to an employment scam like this, you need to contact your bank immediately and close your account IF you have provided your account information to the scammers. 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/
If you provided your personal information like ss # birthdate etc , you need to contact the 3 credit bureaus- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, and place a fraud alert on your report. These criminals can steal your identity and may try and obtain credit in your name. Doing this will alert you for at least 90 days about any suspicious activity.
In the hands of a thief, just your name, address, Social Security number or date of birth, can be used over and over months- even years down the road to:
Open new lines of credit
Seek medical attention
Drain savings and retirement accounts
Provide an alias when arrested
Get a job or file false tax returns
Get Payday Loans in your name
Obtain service agreements for cellular service or utilities
Obtain Government Documents such as a drivers license or passport
And MORE!
That’s why I highly recommend you get some sort of ongoing identity theft protection such as the services offered through companies like LifeLock-Visit Their Website Here or Identity Force-visit their website here! LifeLock and Identity Force are both reputable companies that monitors your accounts and alerts and protects you from identity theft.
Have you received a suspicious email offering you a “job” with Proud Griffin Cheese Company or other work at home “Territory Manager” or “Client Manager” job etc that you never applied for? Feel free to copy and paste the email in the comments so we can help alert and prevent others from becoming victims.
You Can Also Help Us Alert Others By Sharing This Post! And Be Sure To Like Us On Facebook!
Disclosure** We get paid a commission when you purchase from LifeLock using one of our links.
A few minutes ago I sent back an executed employment agreement and authorization to conduct background check. Here is the first email I got:
______________________________________
Good day cary schulman ,
Your resume was found on-ine. I reviewed it and I would like to offer you a Sales Representative position in our company. You can read the job summary below and reply to me if sounds interesting to you.
Thanks to the extensive growth of our industry, we are expanding our management staff and currently have an excellent opportunity available for a home-based Sales Representative position. The Sales Representative is person responsible for supporting our existing client base , searching for new customers, promoting the company’s products, process orders and communicate with our European suppliers.
There is a test period, during which you are going to be prowided with training materials. We’ll prepare test assignments for you as well. This is a great career opportunity for a person with an enthusiastic attitude, strong work ethic, and a desire to make a career in a successfully developing industry even working from the comfort of your own home. The base salary is $55,000 per year (that’s about $4800 after taxes) plus commissions and incentives, allowances, medical dental and vision insurance and a 401(k) plan.
If you are interested in the position and would like to get a full job description and information on how to apply, please respond to this email at your earliest convenience. Candidates available within 1-2 weeks will have a priority.
—
Best regards,
Donny Clyde Green,
Swift Modern Staffing Agency
Recruiting Executive.
____________________________________________________
the second email I received after I replied to the above one is this:
_____________________________________________________
Good Morning!
Thank you for your interest in our job offer! During 5 years of hard work our company, Proud Griffin Cheese Company, has been growing to become one of the leading suppliers of top quality organic ingredients, up-to-date home cheese production equipment and amazing customer service in the South. We’re a company where people who put their efforts to work are rewarded and promoted. We’re currently expanding the list of clients along with our sales territory in the United States. That is why we need you!
Being our Sales Representative, you’ll represent the company to our existing clients, scout for business opportunities in your area, communicate both with our headquarters in Coral Springs, FL and our retailers and suppliers from Europe. This is a remote position, so you can work from home, stay with your family and manage your time by yourself!
Sales Representatives are responsible for the following:
– Working on the list of prospective clients;
– Presenting products and services by the company to clients;
– Establishing and maintaining accounts;
– Enhancing new business relationships.
You have 2 shifts to choose from: full-time (9am to 6pm), and part-time (9am to 4pm); both include an optional lunch break of 1 hour. Since this is a remote position, you will need a laptop/desktop/tablet/smartphone connected to the Internet. No special software is required to purchase or install, only standard office programs and any free PDF viewer. A working cell phone or landline is also necessary in order for your supervisor, team members and clients to contact you directly during your working hours. We also offer a short online training course with a lot of useful materials to study to all new Sales Representatives for free.
A typical working day of yours will start with logging into the corporate server and receiving a list of your assignments for the day from your supervisor. Typical tasks may include researching local business opportunities, arranging a phone conference with suppliers, confirming and processing a payment on an order, etc.
Permanent employment is possible not for only full-time employees but for employees working part-time as well. In addition to the guaranteed base salary all Sales Representatives get monthly performance bonuses up to 100 %t of their base pay and full coverage of all job-related expences such as travel, cell phone/Internet, office supplies, etc. Also, full-time employees are eligible for a 3-week vacation, 401k and a corporate health insurance program after their first 2 months of work.
Please, let me know if you’d like to proceed with this job offer and get our employment package with additional information on your pay, schedule and other job details for review. Please, note that we never ask for any payments from applicants in order to secure the positions!
In case you are not interested, please contact us with an e-mail with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line and we’ll never contact you again.
—
Donald Weidman
Proud Griffin Cheese Company
(954) 840-3446
_______________________________________________________________
After I sent back a reply to this one, I got this:
______________________________________________________________
Good morning,
My apologies for the delay and thank you again for your interest in the Sales Representative position with The Proud Griffin Cheese Company!
I’m sending you our standard Employment Agreement in the attachment to this message: please take your time to read it, as it includes important information on the position duties, pay, schedule, benefits, etc.
Additional information about the company can be found at our official website: https://proudgriffin.com.
I’ve also made a list of FAQ and the answers to them about this position.
1. What hours will I be working?
There are 2 work shift options: you can work either part-time (20 hours per week), or full-time (40 hours per week). The hours in the Employment Agreement are given for YOUR time zone; they include an optional lunch break for 1 hour: if you don’t need one, you can simply start later or finish your day earlier. Unfortunately, evening hours aren’t an option. It is possible to start working part-time and switch to full-time later (or vice versa); however, you will need to notify us at least in 2 weeks prior to the desired schedule changes.
2. Does the company provide me with a laptop?
No, we don’t provide our employees with equipment, because any device with the Internet access will be suitable for this job. If you have a laptop or a Mac, a tablet of a smartphone, you will be able to access our corporate CMS.
3. Is there special training for this job?
There is a free online training course for 1-2 days, which are considered as your first days of work and are paid by the company. The training materials will be available upon your signing all paperwork and officially becoming a new employee.
Your assigned supervisor will be helping you with your first clients: sending you detailed guidelines, giving you hints and recommendations and taking you step-by-step through the whole process. We believe that practice is more efficient than theory, and getting to actual work right from the very beginning would be more helpful than taking extensive training courses.
4. How do I get started?
When you’re ready, please print out the Employment Agreement, fill in your contact details and put the start date of your choice, then sign the document, scan it and send back to me by email. If you don’t have a scanner, you can simply make a legible photo of a signed contract and email it to me.
I will review the paperwork, ask additional questions if necessary, and then send you the rest of forms to fill out, such as the W4, 1099, payroll, etc. We’re looking for people who can start working with us ASAP, preferably next week.
If you have questions, please feel free to call me or email them to me as well.
—
Donald Weidman
Proud Griffin Cheese Company
(954) 840-3446
______________________________________________________________
After I sent back the authorization for them to access my credit report, criminal records etc and after I signed and sent back the employment agreement, I found this story and thought, oh sh*%^*^t. I will look into it more, but there are some things which are now jumping out at me. However, I did plan to call Mr. Weidman…based upon what your story says, I find it curious how that conversation will go. I mean, do they have thick accents or are these American scammers?
Now I do not have a job and am sure to my credit, name etc. utilized by criminals all over the world. The funny thing is I am unemployed and have no money in my bank account so they would not be able to get money from me.
Thank you for sharing this information. If you review some of the previous comments on some of our recent articles, you will see these emails are the same method of operation used in all of those scams. You may not have any money in your account, but they deposit money in and instruct you to withdraw it and wire it overseas, which you will be held responsible for when the deposit gets reversed by whomever they stole it from.