Billing Manager Job Scam At AqueDigital.com
Beware job seekers of yet another fake recruiting email going around for a Billing Manager position with a fraudulent company called Aque Digital in Detroit Michigan! The domain aquedigital.com was just registered on 11/15/16 for one year only and the website is showing as “Temporarily Unavailable”, however the scammers typically only use this domain just to send recruiting emails to jobseekers they find on job sites like CareerBuilder etc. Possibly coming from careers@aquedigital.com.
The Recruiting Emails
Below is an excerpt of the typical recruiting email that the scammers send to jobseekers to lure them in:
From: careers@aquedigital.com
Your responsibilities as a Billing Clerk will be the following:
– Dealing with 3rd party orders and bills,
– Entering order information into the system,
– Managing account and client records,
– Helping clients with billing procedures.Billing Clerks are NOT responsible for:
– Searching for new clients: this is a task for our sales executives, you will be working with our existing customers only.
– Performing any design activities: this is a task for our technical staff, your role is client support and billing only.You can work from home anywhere in the USA as long as you have the access to the Internet; you would also need a laptop/tablet/PC with a web browser and basic Office programs installed. No need to purchase any special programs or equipment: your progress will be monitored at the corporate web server which you will be logging in Monday to Friday. A typical day will begin with clocking into the corporate website, checking for messages and tasks from your supervisor and working on them. Typical assignments can include going through a pile of invoices and sorting them out, editing customer information in the database, confirming and processing a payment from a customer, etc. At the end of the shift each Billing Clerk sends a daily report to the supervisor and logs off.
We offer permanent employment with W2 job contracts. There are full-time and part-time options for your choosing, which will require 20 or 40 hours of your time weekly, Monday to Friday. The first 3 weeks will be considered a training/trial period, which is covered separately. The initial monthly salary after the trial period will be $4500 for full-time and $2500 for part-time; plus all Billing Clerks are eligible for accumulative bonuses based on individual performance and customers feedback. After the first 3 weeks of work, you will be eligible for a paid vacation of 21 days, 401k and a corporate medical insurance program.
To apply for the Billing Clerk position, please respond to this email, and we will send you our employment paperwork for review with additional information on your salary, schedule and other position related details. Please note that our company never asks for any payments from candidates to secure the positions!
—
Best regards,
Angela Vickers
Customer Service Manager
Once the jobseeker responds, they will quickly hire them for a training period and send them to their “web panel” to register for an account and get further instructions:
Hello!
My apologies for a delay! We’re having a huge seasonal workload, most of our supervisors are juggling multiple clients, so during your first 3 weeks of work I will be supervising you personally.
Our mission now is to get you registered at our Web Panel, where you will receive all training documentation as well as everyday tasks. Please follow these 3 simple steps:
1. Click the following link (or copy it from here and paste in your browser): https://aquedigitalpnl.com/signup
2. Complete a short registration form, it’s just one page long. We don’t design a username and password for you, the more secure way would be for you to create them yourself.
3. If you did everything right, your registration should be successfully completed, and you will receive an email with your registration info. Visit the following link: https://aquedigitalpnl.com and log into the Web Panel using the username and password that you received.
I’m waiting for you there with a welcome message along with your first task. See you at the Web Panel!
Best regards,
Angela Vickers
+1 (313) 462-0036 —
Inside the web panel is a series of pre-written emails about the work schedule, training manual, and tasks etc. Here’s the email that is the telltale sign of a money mule scam that states exactly what they will expect from the employee. I have highlighted the paragraphs in red.
Some tasks will require visiting Wells Fargo bank and Bank of America.
Please locate branches (1-3 ones) that you can visit when needed.
Please find the list of appropriate branches using ZIP-code at the websites: www.wellsfargo.com www.bankofamerica.com
When you compile the list please send it to me.
In the Files Folder you can find your first Training Manual. The Manual is to be studied thoroughly. The instructions specified in the Manual are to be followed accurately. From your first Training Manual in the Files Folder you can see that an average amount for withdrawal during the training period would be up to 10,000USD. Depending on the type of the account and some other reasons, some banks can state limits on withdrawal. Please inquire in your bank if there are any limits on withdrawal from your account (daily, weekly). Let me know about the result. For successful completion of the assigned tasks relevant to your first Training Manual you have to map out 3-4 Western Union and 3-4 Money Gram locations in your proximity. You can look up WU locations at www.westernunion.com and Money Gram locations at www.moneygram.com. Remember, these systems are not the same! Our company reimburses all expenses of its employees. As the result of tasks relevant to your first Training Manual travel expenses may occur. Please answer the following questions to estimate possible costs:
a) Approximate distance to your local bank (where you are going to withdraw cash)
b) Approximate distance to 3-4 WU and/or MG locations
c) Estimate average time to complete an assignment according to your first Training Manual (visit bank, 3-4 Western Union locations) To get reimbursed for assignments, please save receipts from filling stations, parking, bus tickets etc.
d) Make sure you possess a valid ID/DL and SSN. A valid ID/DL is necessary to complete WU/MG tasks successfully.
If you have any questions after reading the Manual, please send a separate message to your training manager.
Sincerely,
Angela Vickers
The scammers also expect the employee to download and fill out a w-4 form which requires the employees social security #! They then have all the personal details they need to steal your identity as well!
This is clearly another money mule job scam in which they will expect the employee to process a customer payment in the form of either a direct deposit in the employees bank account (which will get reversed) or a fake paper check in which the employee will cash and wire the cash overseas to the “supplier” or the main office which is actually the scammer.
This “task” will be completed and the cash will already be in the scammers hands by the time the check is returned to the bank for insufficient funds and therefore the employee will be left holding the bag having to pay the bank back for the bad check, while the scammers are long gone along with the employees money (which in this case could be as much as $10,000!!) never to be heard from by the employee again until possibly months or years later they find their identity has been stolen since the employee also provided the scammers with their personal details!
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 Aque Digital in Detroit or other work at home “Billing Clerk, Account or Billing Manager” job 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.
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I have just been scammed.
Here was what I was asked to do:
Morning,
While we are waiting for the client’s payment, I have another task for you. Could you please look up any IT events in your state that will take place in January and February 2017? We would like to establish our market presence in your area, and events like conferences, presentations or expos offer a great deal of potential contacts and contracts. That’s a request from our Marketing dep, it would help us greatly.
Best regards,
Angela Vickers, Supervisor
Digital Aqueduct Team
I received the check, told my bank they put a ten day hold on the check. Of course it did it clear. I told Angela and she revoked my access to the portal.
On the direct deposit slips I used a prepaid card. So my bank information has not been compromised.
This is crazy!
I received this offer from Angela Vickers, with actual I9 download, and offer downloads, fortunately I found your website while investgating the offer
Dear
I apologize for the delay, we appreciate your interest in the Billing Manager job opening with Digital Aqueduct! Per your request, I’m sending you our hiring package, which you can download here:
The package includes the following documents:
1. Employment Agreement: It gives a general idea of the position, such as the compensation and schedule, responsibilities, benefits, etc. Download
2. Authorization for Background Check: Since this position involves full access to our clients’ personal, financial and confidential information, each contractor is required to undergo a basic background check to make sure he/she doesn’t have previous criminal record. Download
3. I9: As a legitimate employer, we are legally required to verify an employee’s identity and to establish that the contractor is eligible by law to accept employment in the USA. Download
WHAT DOES THE JOB ENTAIL?
Digital Aqueduct is a US branch of a web developer company with a headquarters in the UK. Our office in Detroit, MI is due to open before Christmas; however, we are looking for a reliable Billing Manager to perform tasks that will help us manage our income right now.
A typical day begins with clocking into the system online and receiving a checklist of assignments for the day. You will be responsible for keeping track of the monies paid to us by our clients, handling invoices, bills and statements and managing client records. Other duties will also include documenting orders, submitting order details into the system and getting in touch with customers regarding billing issues. Each Billing Manager is assigned to a supervising manager in the office, who provides guidelines as well as additional information and support on the position routine