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September 09, 2008

I suppose lots of people list themselves with job-finding sites. From what I can tell, there are also a number of web sites that have the name CareerBuilder in them, from dot-com to Inc. Thus, when a message with the following Subject: line lands in your inbox, a lot of recipients are likely to notice:

From: James Morgan / StandardP Inc
Subject: Job Alert From CareerBuilder Inc

Here's the whole pitch:

Dear Potential Employee You have been contacted as a potential employee who has registered on one of the Websites owned by CareerBuilder Inc.

StandardP Inc is looking to fill Entry Level Payment Clerk Positions.
Full paid training will be provided , full time and part time positions
are available. Good communication skills and responsible personality
is a plus. Second language is not necessary but a plus!

StandardP Inc is a leading provider of business process outsourcing
services including accounts receivable management, customer relationship
management, and other services.

Principle Responsibilities:

* Process all work on a daily basis as described in training and
at direction of Management.
* Process all work in priority order.
* Balance at a batch level as well as balancing the data path/directory
at EOB each day.
* Responsible to keep all pertinent back up to substantiate payment
posting as necessary.
* Responsible for organizing backup and archival information as described
in training.
* Responsible for reconciling any differences found in balancing
at a batch level as well as at EOB.
* The job can be done from your own home however employee is responsible
to be present on last day of each month for Mandatory Month End Close
at your local office.

Requirements
Qualified Candidates Should Possess:

* High School Diploma.
* Some PC skills.
* Excellent written and oral communication skills.
* Ability to work independently and in a team setting.
* Ability to uphold highest level of confidentiality.
* Ability to work in a multi-tasked environment.
* Ability to accommodate schedule as listed below.

We offer a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package,
paid time off. If you have the background we seek and are looking
for a position in a dynamic, fast paced organization with career growth
opportunities, please submit your resume. Interested candidates only,
no third parties.
If you are interested please email at [removed]@live.com to receive
further information about the positions available and our company.

James Morgan
Direct manager
StandardP Inc

What the ad isn't telling you is that the post is for a Money Launderer, first class. Somehow, that terminology didn't make it into the job description. The same, or similar, ad for "StandardP Inc" has appeared in blog spam postings and even (temporarily, at least) in some free job posting sites.

I giggle at the line about a second language being a plus. Which language, I wonder? Russian? Romanian?

An added teehee comes from the usage of a free live.com email address. Now, that shows a class act for any company trying to hire employees.

It's easy for me to spot bogus offers like these. First of all, to suggest, as this message does at the top, that I have registered at a career-related web site is a joke. I left my last 9-to-5 j.o.b. in March of 1981—I'm determined to make a go of this independent contractor/freelance thing one way or another. Second, the messages were addressed to an address of mine that had been compromised some time ago at someone's malware-infested Windows PC. That address is circulated widely among botnet patrons. The two copies I saw came from bots in Russia and Dubai.

Other recipients, however, may not be as circumspect, especially if they are desperate for work, or looking for that work-at-home opportunity to earn some extra income. Although a mule and an ass are separate animals, you'd be the latter upon becoming the former.