Craigslist Scam! The Saga Continues with Robert Choice and Scott Doyle -- Seventy Ninth Post

So you thought that the medical-type reception job posting scam was over? You would be wrong, at least if you're me.
That posting is impressively linked to not just one, but three scammers, by my count. Ashleigh Loudon was probably the worst, but Robert Choice and Scott Doyle could probably do some damage. I'm holding out for a Nigerian prince.
I've taken screenshots of the emails for your convenience, but you'll want to click on them to actually read them. They're long enough that they're huge pictures. Also, I got these within a day of each other, although they were days almost two weeks ago. Sorry 'bout that. I got on a workout kick and couldn't be asked to blog.

Robert used too many line breaks, and I couldn't fit the whole email onto my screen. He finished with 'I will await your prompt response" and his name.

Other than line breaks and some minor details, it's the same thing. Eerie.

I should point out that none of the scammers I've run across so far have actually related their replies to the job posting, which is in fact the subject of the email. Robert and Scott actually have the exact same letter, with slight differences. The gist of it is that they want you to deliver stuff to foster homes "in your area" which will be paid for by money order or something as soon as you give him your mailing info and suchlike. Unfortunately, you can't meet Robert or Scott (or, presumably, their "lovely Wife and 2 Beautiful daughters") because Robert and Scott are both out of town for the month. Bummers!
Both use gmail accounts and want you to email them back with contact information, and Robert wants you to email it to "krgiggs@googlemail.com". The job sounds, you know, too good to be true, with $600 from Scott and $700 from Robert weekly, full benefits, etc., all for a part-time job where you work from home. The emails are almost identical (the only notable differences being the salary and where the contact info should go), as mentioned, with some alterations that are pretty obvious, as they didn't change the capitalization. It's interesting to note that they don't want PO boxes, which seems like a good place to send a money order if your house isn't your mailing address. Hmm.
I feel kind of angry that they use "FOSTER HOMES" as a hook for soft-hearted suckers. I'm incredibly grateful for my parents being sane, not on drugs, and alive through my childhood, and I think that losing or being taken away from your parents would be just about the worst thing ever. Being stuck with strangers would make things even worse, especially when you're a kid or teenager. Helping out kids in foster homes is a great thing to do. I rate it just below curing cancer and AIDS, sending vaccines to underdeveloped countries, and stopping child marriages in improving the welfare of the world. Doing away with One Direction is next.
I'm not really sure how this scam would work. How would they use this information against me? I guess that just proves that I don't have a criminal mind. If they were legit, the email wouldn't be a minimally-altered form letter and it would be listed under something more closely resembling "Help out foster kids" instead of "Vet Receptionist and Front Desk".

To report the scam, go to the craigslist main page, click "about craigslist" and then "contact form".  See if you can find the original postings so that you can report the post ID, found at the bottom of the page. I found this out from "Anonymous" who commented on my post about Ashleigh Loudon.
Here's the link in case you get lost: Craigslist contact form 
I've already reported the post as a scam for Ashleigh, so I'm not going to bother posting again. Unless I get really bored tomorrow, and then who knows? Crazy things happen when I get bored.

EDIT: If you're looking for more information on craigslist scams, try Let's Get the Craigslist Scammers.

80-Day Challenge -- Seventy Eighth Post

This is an 80-day health/weight loss challenge that I've found on tumblr, and I'm thinking about giving it a shot. I'll be skipping some days probably, since we don't have a scale at my house and I'm rotten at guessing my weight. I'm Raeann lbs, you know? There's a chance that I'll measure in waist circumference, since this is about me wanting to look good and live a healthier, more considered lifestyle, not me wanting to lose a bunch of weight and be skinny. If there's one thing the internet and my mom have taught me, it's that I'm more than a number. Also, I weigh less than Tyra Banks. If she's considered gorgeous at over 150 lbs, I can be gorgeous too.
I'd like to emphasize that this is not me thinking I'm "fat" or "ugly" but rather me thinking that I need to take control of my health. I'm vegetarian and try to be healthy, but my workouts and eating habits always fall apart during school. As such, I've decided that if this is going to change in this last, most jam-packed, stressful year of university, I will have to be very firm with myself about it.
I especially like this challenge for being very long term. It seems to be more about making you think about your lifestyle, asking questions about your goals and eating habits, and why you want to lose weight. It brings up new ideas for people who are used to boring, processed food that's all the same color and comes in a bag or box. To me, it seems to be encouraging people to take charge of their diet, be it disordered or just lazy. As someone who buys her own food all the time and is too poor for lots of pre-made junk but also too poor for lots of fresh stuff all the time, I already kind of think about what I'm eating. Unfortunately, it is mostly with regret, since boxes of pasta and jars of sauce are cheaper than fresh foods. So, I'm hoping that this can galvanize my flabby abs and equally out-of-shape willpower in time for me to be in full swing when school and work hit.
Without further ado, here's the 80-day challenge, found in various places by googling "80 day challenge":


1st week
1.    Write your current stats: height, current weight and goal weight. Why are you losing weight?
2.    Describe your dream/goal body. 
3.    Is your UGW in an “unhealthy“ range of BMI? 
4.    Have a vegan day today. No meat, no eggs, no dairy, no animal products whatsoever. Give it a try!
5.    What is your favorite healthy food? 
6.    What is your favorite unhealthy food? 
7.    What is your least favorite healthy food?  
2nd week
8.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?  
9.    What is your favorite type of cardio? 
10.    Do you count calories? If so, what is your daily limit?
11.    Today you will be cooking for your whole family. Find a healthy recipe online that they will also enjoy and show them how tasty healthy food can be!  
12.    What is your least favorite type of cardio?  
13.    What is your favorite type of strength exercise?  
14.    What is your least favorite type of strength exercise? 
3rd Week
15.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
16.    Which part of your body do you wish to change the most and why?
17.    Do you have a special event/date you want to lose the weight for?
18.    Try to use as little salt as possible today or maybe even none! Don’t buy microwave meals and don’t eat foods high in sodium. 
19.    Are you losing weight the healthy (<2lbs/week) or the unhealthy (>2lbs/week) way?
20.    Who is your biggest weight loss inspiration and why?
21.    Do you focus more on getting „lean and mean“ or „tiny and fragile“?
4th week
22.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
23.    How much water do you usually drink in a day?
24.    Have you ever had an eating disorder?
25.    Today you will try a new smoothie. Find a new healthy recipe online and mix & match fruits and veggies and enjoy! But it must be totally new and adventurous!
26.    Do your friends know about you wanting to lose weight? Do they support you?
27.    Does your family support you in your weight loss?
28.    What is your favorite type of snack?
5th week
29.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
30.    Are you a vegan or a vegetarian?
31.    What are your favorite workout clothes you own?
32.    Try a new fruit today. Learn how to cut/eat it and enjoy! How was it?
33.    Are you on a diet or are you making this a lifestyle?
34.    Do you take your meals from home to work? If so, what do you usually prepare?
35.    Have you ever „fasted“? What was the reason for it?
6th week
36.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
37.    Have you ever purged? If so, how did you feel afterwords?
38.    Have you ever binged? If so, what is your “binge food“?
39.    Try a new veggie today. Learn how to prepare it and enjoy! How was it?
40.    What is your body frame? Small, large or medium?
41.    Where are you from? Is your country’s diet healthy or unhealthy in general?
42.    How many meals do you usually have a day?
7th week
43.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
44.    Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Does (s)he know about you losing weight? Does (s)he support you?
45.    Do you have a rest day when you don’t work out? Which day is it?
46.    Try changing your routine today. Don’t do the same exercises as the week before, learn a new move to cinch that waiste or to tone those thighs!
47.    Have you forbidden yourself any type of food?
48.    Do you reward yourself when you reach your short-term goal? What are your rewards?
49.    What do you usually have for breakfast?
8th week
50.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
51.    Do you have a cheat day?
52.    What do you enjoy the most in your weight loss? What makes you happier than ever before?
53.    Try to eat nothing but raw food today. No cooking, no baking, no grilling. Eat raw carrots, canned tuna or smoked salmon, maybe even sushi! Just eat fresh, non-termal processed food. It might be weird and „unnatural“ but that’s actually the healthiest way to eat. Enjoy your healthy day!
54.    What is your favorite weight loss blog?
55.    Will you continue to write your blog after you reach your UGW?
56.    Have you ever been on a low-carb diet? How was it for you?
9th week
57.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
58.    Do you believe in restriction or in moderation?
59.    Describe your dream outfit, the one you imagine yourself wearing once you reach UGW.
60.    Ditch sugar and ALL sweets today. For just one day promise yourself you won’t eat any candy, sugar, sweets or any similar food.
61.    Write your usual meal plan for one day.
62.    When watching TV, do you usually watch the „food channels“ or movies/TV-shows/series?
63.    What are your fitness goals? (Splits, hand-stands, push-ups…)
10th week
64.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
65.    Post a picture of your goal body or a person you strive to look like.
66.    Do you have short-term goals too? What are they?
67.    Today is „no tumblr day“. That’s right, you will try just one day to be off tumblr, post your progress/food log/training schedule tomorrow, because today, you are going „back to basics“!
68.    What is your least favorite unhealthy food?
69.    Which part of your body do you like the most and why?
70.    Were you ever obese or underweight?
11th week
71.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
72.    Do you eat the same meal as your family or do you eat specially prepared food?
73.    What do you usually order when eating out in a restaurant or at someone else's house?
74.    Today you won’t count calories. You won’t look at food labels. You will try to eat intuitively. What does that mean? Eat when you’re hungry, don’t look at the clock! Eat whatever your body desires! Just make sure it’s healthy. If you crave anything sweet, eat it! But a healthy amount. And remember, today you must forget all about calories!
75.    Do you have a „trigger food“? A type of food that is impossible for you to say no to or stop eating?
76.    Do you drink smoothies? If so, what is your favorite recipe?
77.    Do you enjoy eating healthy or do you find it being too expensive or that it takes too much of your time?
12th week
78.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week?
79.    What was the most recent compliment/comment about your body?
80.    Write your current weight. Have you lost anything in the past week? If not, what are your plans for this week? + Today is the last day of this challenge. After writing your stats, describe how you’ll continue eating/exercising from now on! 

Lots of people post each day on tumblr, which I might do. I might make weekly posts here with the answers to each day's question, or I might not. I won't be doing daily posts, since there's no way I can keep that up, and weekly posts would require more commitment, in some ways. So, we'll see. Hopefully this isn't just another project that I start and promptly lose interest in.
For old times' sake, I would like to add that "eighth" is the weirdest word ever.

Craigslist Scam! Watch Out For Ashleigh Loudon -- Seventy Seventh Post

If you've been job-hunting on craigslist lately, you've seen the big scam warning that pops up before you get to the actual postings.
Guess what! I found a scam!
So far, it's come up on two medical-ish office jobs. They look pretty legit, but the email response sets off all the warning bells.
I took a screenshot of mine. My housemate, incidentally, got the exact same email response for a different job.

The first thing that got me was the bit about "a high financial environment". This is supposed to be a VET'S OFFICE. Sure, veterinary services are expensive, but not that expensive.
Second was the email address. What "head of the human resource department" uses her personal email for setting up interviews?
Third was the fact that they want me to fill out an online credit form, which involves a lot of my personal information. This was in the warning that craigslist put up.

So, I did a few google searches.
Ashleigh Loudon is common enough name that nothing came up for her. However, Numark Systems, LLC doesn't appear to be a real company. Numark Systems makes sound equipment. That link -- I clicked it in hopes that it wouldn't eat my computer, which reminds me that I should run a scan just in case -- redirects itself five times and drops you at a "get your credit rating FREE! It just takes a few seconds!" site.

I decided not to follow up on the job offer after discussing it with my dad, just to talk it out. I felt like my problem-solving skills had been proved when my housemate was wondering out loud (she conducts almost all of her thought processes out loud, actually, a concept that I kind of understand, but not really) about craigslist scams, and I excitedly informed her that I, me, her very own housemate, had received a scam email that very morning. [That was one hell of a sentence.] She demanded that I use my scam-spotting expertise and see if her email was a scam.
Lo and behold, she had the exact same email., word for word, from Ashleigh Loudon.
If anyone knows how to report scam job postings to craigslist even if no crime has been perpetrated against you, let me know. I'm too lazy to google it myself.

EDIT: To report the scam, go to the craigslist main page, click "about craigslist" and then "contact form".  See if you can find the original postings so that you can report the post ID, found at the bottom of the page. I found this out from "Anonymous" who posted the first and probably only comment below. Thanks to whoever posted that!
Here's the link in case you get lost: Craigslist contact form 

EDIT AGAIN: If you're looking for more information on craigslist scams, try Let's Get the Craigslist Scammers.