Is OptimalUsLogistics.com A Legitimate Website Or A Scam?
A reader contacted us with that question and I’m sure a lot of our readers is likely wanting to know the answer to that as well. We looked into this website as well as a business called Optimal Us Logistics LLC registered in Clearwater Fl and although it may appear as though optimaluslogistics.com is the business website for this company, we have good reason to believe that it is not. Below is a screenshot of the website:
What We Know About Optimal Us Logistics LLC
Optimal Us Logistics LLC is a registered entity in the State of Florida and was incorporated in 2016 by Roger Frampton who is the CEO of a company called ExportAction LLC located at 4500 140th Avenue North, Ste 101, Clearwater, FL 33762 which is the same address as Optimal Us Logistics. Roger Frampton is the Registered Agent for Optimal Us Logistics which was formerly BIGGER PICTURE, LLC. So it appears the registration was basically a name change.
What we also discovered is that apparently there are approximately 42 businesses also registered at this same address.
ExportAction LLC is a company based in the UK that works in behalf of UK companies to basically set their businesses up in the US by registering their LLC, opening company bank accounts and various other legalities required to do business in the US. The actual owner of Optimal US Logistics is Paul McCormack located in the UK. You can read more about what ExportAction LLC does and who they represent at exportaction.com.
Other than what we have shared, there is very little info about this company available.
What We Know About OptimalUsLogistics.com
OptimalUsLogistics.com was just registered for 1 year on 10/06/2017 to someone named Eric Mannen using the address 4512 150TH AVENUE NORTH, SUITE 201 Clearwater, FL 33762, which is an address that DOES NOT EXIST and is not the same as the address shown on the website! Below is a google map screenshot of that area:
The website was also registered under the business name OPTIMAL US LOGISTICS, INC not LLC! Also the registered phone number 727-464-6119 is not the same phone # shown on the website or the phone number for the actual physical business address!
If you think all that seems shady as we do, just wait..there’s MORE!
The website features names and pictures of all their “Forwarding Agents” supposedly located and currently working in various states in the US. We discovered these pictures were taken from various sites on the internet, mainly profile pictures of unsuspecting Linkedin members who has no idea their picture is being fraudulently used under some fake name!
The same is true of the reviews listed on the website which is all fake names with stolen pictures, as well as the Pictures on the “about” page under “Who’s behind Optimal US Logistics”! They have Roger Frampton listed as the President, Director, however, that picture is NOT Roger Frampton! It is actually a picture of Mahmoud El Assir
who is senior vice president and CIO of Global Technology Services at Verizon. The picture was stolen from https://www.cmswire.com/author/mahmoud-el-assir/. The other names and pictures are all fake as well!
The website is NOT secured by a SSL certificate (https), but yet they are asking for customers to register and/or log in with their personal information. This means any information they enter can be stolen by hackers!
Not long after the website was registered, there was several “press releases” and reviews posted at various blog sites in November about this company and website. One I found amusing was posted on wordpress.com at https://optimaluslogisticsllc.wordpress.com/2017/11/10/my-optimal-us-logistics-llc-review-was-this-such-a-relief/.
There were 2 reshipping scams we warned our readers about a few months ago, Sendmeabox.com and Mainmailer.com, that used this same tactic of posting reviews on various sites to appear legitimate to anyone researching the businesses and website. We now know we were correct, that those sites really were reshipping scams and we know that several victims received visits from their local Law Enforcement about the packages they received and reshipped for these fake “employers”!
Now if all of this information isn’t enough to raise suspicion..then keep reading!
Recruiting Emails For “Shipping Agents”
Yep, you guessed it. Someone with the email address gary-brandon@gmx.com is sending recruiting emails to job-seekers with resumes on Careerbuilder inviting them to apply for a home based shipping/receiving job!
Wе suggest уоu tо submit аpрliсatiоn for а fullу rеal hоme basеd рosition in thе shiрping industrу with а comрensation оf $2500 еvеry mоnth аnd withоut investmеnt. The full-time pоsitiоn is prоvided by а trusted USА shipping businеss.
Thе emplоуer beliеves in thе remotе оperatiоns business mоdel, because it allows to dесrеase wаrehоusing сhаrgеs аnd рrovidе shiрping роints from асross thе US.
Jоb Resроnsibilities:
– Stау at your addrеss to rеceivе рaсkаgеs sent to уour аddress viа UPS/Fеdex/USPS during regular wоrking hоurs 10аm – 6pm daily.
– Accерt thе list оf currеnt pаckаges, yоur dаilу work tasks, аnd thе рrеpаid shipping labels.
– Сhеck pасkаges аnd takе аnd uplоad рictures of the сontents of еverу packagе.
– Rерaсk расkagеs if requirеd.
– Fоrward thе mail to customеrs bу рrinting and putting lаbеls аnd transроrting the mаil to the nearby USРS offiсes.Jоb Requirements:
– US rеsidencе with а postal аddress.
– Quаlificаtiоn is cоnsidеred, but nоt vеrу importаnt.
– Аbilitу to functiоn indepеndеntlу with nо supervisiоn.
– Аbilitу tо deаl with расkages up to 15 lbs.
Shоuld you bеcоmе willing tо bеgin, рleаsе rеply tо this cоmmuniсаtiоn.
Then they follow up on the job-seekers reply with this email:
From: Recruitment Department <recruitment@optimaluslogistics.com>
Subject: Shipping/Receiving position
Thank you for your job enquiry.
Optimal US Logistics LLC makes it easy for customers in almost any country to buy from retailers and e-commerce stores in the U.S, even when the retailer does not offer international shipping. We do this by receiving our customers’ goods at a U.S. address before forwarding them on to their final destination. As well as making it possible for our customers to purchase from stores in the U.S., we also make it cheaper for them by providing the lowest shipping rates. Our customers find our service to be reliable and efficient. Our business model lets us provide this cost-effective logistics and shipping service to customers. It also creates opportunities for you to become a shipping agent.
Unlike standard logistics firms, we don’t focus on running expensive warehouses. Instead, we have created a network of individual shipping agents working from their U.S. homes. Our customers’ orders are delivered directly to these shipping agents from U.S. retailers. Once a shipping agent receives an order, they check it and repack it (including consolidating multiple items) before shipping the order to the customer’s preferred international address.
If you meet our requirements, you will benefit from the flexibility that being one of our shipping agents brings. There is no investment required from you, you can work from home, and you can earn a rewarding income.
Details of our shipping agent requirements are below. The most important is that you need to have a U.S. address and that you must be present at that address during normal business hours.
Requirements:
• To ensure high standards of service for our customers, you can’t work full time somewhere else and be one of our shipping agents at the same time.
• You must be at your designated address between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. This could be your home or a private office if you have one. You need to be at the address at these times in order to receive deliveries of our customers’ orders.
• On some occasions, you will be asked to collect packages. This will be from retailers like Walmart and Best Buy or from the local office of a shipping company like USPS. All collections will be within 10 miles of your home.
• As you will need to make collections, you will need reliable transportation. You also need transportation to take customers’ orders to the local post office for onward shipping to their selected destination.
• You will be required to inspect each order you receive. Therefore, you need to be thorough and careful.
• You must have a level of physical health and fitness that allows you to handle packages weighing up to 25 pounds.
• You must be able to work on your own initiative, and you must be trustworthy.
• You will need a digital camera, a printer, and Internet access.
• Logistics experience is beneficial, although it is not essential as you will start small and get training.Duties:
• Check the expected packages daily.
• Print prepaid shipping labels for each package.
• Receive deliveries on behalf of our customers. This could be by a range of shipping carriers, but will include USPS, FedEx, UPS, and DHL.
• Open the outer package to inspect the item, ensuring it meets predefined quality standards.
• Take a photo of the item, and upload it to our portal.
• Combine multiple orders into a single package to reduce onward shipping costs, if required.
• Prepare items for onward shipping, including applying the prepaid shipping label to the outer packaging.Compensation:
Our shipping agents get a monthly fee of $2,000 paid directly into their bank or PayPal accounts. This covers up to 50 packages per calendar month. If you handle more than 50 packages in a single month, you will get a $500 bonus.
You will also be paid all reasonable expenses. This includes the cost of Internet access, fuel, and packaging materials.
We will provide you with a W-2 form each year detailing taxes withheld.
Get Started
Are you interested in becoming one of our shipping agents? Do you meet our requirements? Are you self-motivated and dependable? We’d like to hear from you. Please apply below.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mXhFIlvDEmkz2ltQuvc3OJQEKWAJfjPBYWkutKXSpPA/
Please get in touch if you have any questions or queries by phone 727-260-4281 or email recruitment@optimaluslogistics.com.
—
Sincerely,
Eric Harris,
Optimal US Logistics, LLC
Recruitment Department
4500 140th Ave North Ste 101
Clearwater, FL 33762
Toll-free: (800) 258-0622
Beware! We believe that this website was registered fraudulently and is in no way associated with the legitimate registered business Optimal US Logistics LLC. These emails and their method of operation are typically the same as those we have shared from our readers in all of the previous reshipping scams we have warned our readers about in the past. We believe scammers saw the perfect opportunity to steal this legitimate business’ credentials without their knowledge in order to appear legitimate to job-seekers they contact. Legitimate registered businesses that doesn’t have a website or has a vague web presence are prime targets for scammers and is what they look for to create their scams.
We have contacted the legitimate registered agent for Optimal US Logistics LLC questioning him about this website and will post an update once we receive a response.
What To Do If You Are A Victim
You can visit the USPIS website here for more details about re-shipping fraud.
If you believe you’re a victim of a re-shipping/forwarding scam, file a complaint with Postal Inspectors online or call Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455 (option 4, Mail Fraud).
You will 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 also report the scam at http://ic3.gov which is the official site working in conjunction with the FBI to help stop internet crime.
If you provided your personal information like your social security #, birthdate etc , you should 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, your driver’s license, 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 Optimal US Logistics or other work at home “Shipping Agent”, “ Logistics Manager” or “Package Manager” job etc. that you never requested info 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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