AFG Financial Group Fraud
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This fraud should not be confused with any other company of the same or similar name - the website screenshot below and the following fraud evidence define and refer to this fake company alone and no other company or no other person of the same name.
AFG Financial Group Scam screenshot: 22nd. December 2009
AFG Financial Group Scam screenshot: 22nd. December 2009

AFG Financial Group is just another fake financial site with stolen content used as a vehicle for money laundering fraud and phishing for personal details as part of the recruitment process. The website has been cobbled together using stolen content from various sources. This is an identical fraud to the Rodney Neil Financial Services and Campbell & McConnachie LLC scams and a simple single letter name change from the identical AFS Financial Group which is self-evident and clear evidence of serial fraud.

They claim on their 'About Us' page:
"AFG Financial Group was founded in 1991 under the name of the AFG Financial Group by Mike Wilson and Sir Mark Weinberg and is a provider of a wide and growing range of financial services of outstanding quality". Apart from the fact that it makes little sense that it should have been founded under that name by those people, it is exactly the same claim made by the other criminal's aliases and their domain afgfinancialgroup.biz was only registered with MELBOURNE IT, LTD. D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLDWIDE (Yahoo domains as reseller) on 14-Dec-2009 for the 'criminal's domain' minimum period of only one year. A clear indication of a fraud domain.

The payload of the site is the usual part-time, work from home money-mule position of accepting payments to your personal bank account disguised in the usual way as a 'training course'. The MO of this fraudster is pretty well identical to the Henry Dedek Finance scammer and completely identical to his above other aliases.

Evidence of Criminal Fraud:

i) From their 'About Us' page: "AFG Financial Group was founded in 1991 under the name of the AFG Financial Group by Mike Wilson and Sir Mark Weinberg and is a provider of a wide and growing range of financial services of outstanding quality". However, the fraudster's initial domain afgfinancialgroup.biz was only registered with MELBOURNE IT, LTD. D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLDWIDE (Yahoo domains as reseller) on 14-Dec-2009 for the 'criminal's domain' minimum period of only one year. Clear evidence of fraudulent misrepresentation.

ii) The company number they quote on the above screenshot (04038504) is completely fake and doesn't exist - check for yourself.

iii) There is no company by the name of AFG Financial Group registered with the UK Companies House - check for yourself - irrefutable evidence of fraud.

iv) There is no company by the name of AFG Financial Group registered with the UK Financial Services Authority, (FSA) - check for yourself - irrefutable evidence of fraud.

v) The fake AFG Financial Group website content has all been stolen from various places and cobbled together, for instance, their above home page content has been constructed with the selectable content from this 'Positive Solutions' website and their 'About Us' page has been stolen from this St. James's Place page. All clear evidence of site theft and fraud.

vi)
They claim on their
'About Us' page to be listed on the London Stock Exchange which is a complete lie - there is no company by the name of "AFG Financial Group" listed on the London Stock Exchange - check for yourself. Irrefutable evidence of fraud.

vii) Fake 'Contact Us' details (from the website): (Bear in mind that these criminals are not a UK registered company, so their address details are bound to be fake).

AFG Financial Group
54 MOSQUITO WAY
HATFIELD, AL10 9AZ

e-mail info@afgfinancialgroup.biz


• - A Google search for the address "54 MOSQUITO WAY HATFIELD" shows no sign of these criminals at that address.
• - They have no telephone number on their fake website.

viii) The Spam:
From: Melissa Butler <info@afgfinancialgroup.biz>
Date: Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Subject: Vacancies for xxxxx in AFG Financial Group

Thursday, December 17, 2009

AFG Financial Group.

54 MOSQUITO WAY, HATFIELD, AL10 9AZ.

Registration number:  04034504

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello xxxxxxx.

Your resume has been reviewed and we consider that the following positions might be interesting for you:

1- eCommerce Customer Service manager;
____________________________________

2- Payment processing coordinator;
____________________________________

3- Mail distribution coordinator;
____________________________________

4- Clients  database builder.
____________________________________

The following points outline the terms and conditions we are proposing.                                                  

Consulting clients via phone and e-mail, working with software and databases.                                                                                     
Annual gross starting salary of $30,500(full-time)and $13,200 (part-time)
Insurance plans, vacations, bonuses.
No up front payments, on-the-fly education.                                                                                               
The  positions  are   h0me  based  due  to  our new policy on remote employee  program "Virtual Office".                                                                  
All  the  positions  are  open in our new eCommerce  section.  You don't need  any special  education in services or finances, company provides a free training course to cover all aspects of available positions.

- xxxxxx,   please confirm that you are interested in the employment and ready to start the free training course to receive the detailed information about the position.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With respect, Melissa Butler

Hiring Coordinator,HR Departments.

Notice that their fake company number in the spam etc (04034504) doesn't correspond with the fake company number on their web-page (04038504) - they are both equally fake, however - neither is a genuine company number - check for yourself.

ix) Their 'Careers' page:

We need people who are looking to grow with a company.

We have multiple field positions available including:

    * eCommerce Customer Service manager;
    * Payment processing coordinator;
    * Mail distribution coordinator;
    * Clients database builder.

Benefits available at no cost include:

   1. Life insurance
   2. Sick leave and short-term disability
   3. Basic long-term disability
   4. 401(k) option with company match

You can find detailed information about the vacancy in attached "guide to applying".
Detailed.information.pdf

If you are interested to start the training course please find the attached Application form.
Application.Form.pdf"
Read, fill out and send form back to us on e - mail 

You do not need to be Hercule Poirot to work out what the twin functions of "Payment processing coordinator" and "Mail distribution coordinator" are. Try Money laundering mule and reshipping donkey for size.

x) This is their attached 'Guide To Applying for a Position':

Guide to Applying for a Position

About us

If you would like to know more about our company, please visit our site http://www.afgfinancialgroup.biz  

AFG Financial Group registered office The Listed Hangar, 54 Mosquito Way, Hatfield, AL10 9 AZ  are authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Company is registered in England and Wales with company registration number 04034504

Our company has representative offices in such countries of the world as: Great Britain, France, Japan, Spain, Germany and it ‘s focusing on expanding its E-commerce platform into  US market.  For the present we are  opening offices in the following states: Pennsylvania, New York, California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Michigan, Arizona.

Positions available

We are also forming a worldwide customer service network.
Company is hiring people from USA willing to work in a team of high-skilled professionals for the positions listed below.

- eCommerce Customer Service manager
Your responsibilities will be to provide assistance with eCommerce platform to company’s clients. Customer service manager's accountability is to instruct users, to provide current statuses of their operations in the system and to be ready to answer any general question about eCommerce .

- Payment processing coordinator
Responsible  for  maintaining  the  daily   work  flow  between  several  operating  areas  in  the  company  necessary  to  minimize  losses  in  converter and remote control equipment.  
Monitors delinquent and voluntary disconnect activity for proper instructions and execution of equipment recovery procedures, coordination  and reporting  of internal and external resources for loss prevention.

-  Mail distribution coordinator
The person in this position will be responsible for  taking stock of all the emails submitted by our clients, sorting and directing them to appropriate managers,  considering specifics of questions, making reports, handling patterns databases.

- Clients database builder
The  position  requires  an  individual  who   can work   independently.  This person must be able to work with a  variety of  database resources  of varying levels.  Good  documentation  skills  are  required  as  the  individual will work with a broad team of resources  and will  need  to  communicate effectively.

At   The   Network,  we   are  dedicated  to  improving  our  customers'  performance,  which  extends  to  helping  each  other achieve results.  There will be times when we will be  required to  perform other  duties
 outside of our competency profile as requested, directed or assigned in  order to meet business  needs, maintain  high  quality  of  service and  uphold the mission and values statements of our company.

The  positions  are   home -based  due  to  our new policy on remote employee  program "Virtual Office".
Such an approach allows to create more work places and to provide a higher salary level. After opening the offices some of the employees will be transferred to office job.

Training courses

No special education in eCommerce services or finances needed, you will get all the necessary experience while passing the training course.

On-line training is a proven, flexible  way  for  you to  take  training  courses at a time and place that suits you. Our interactive online training courses are detailed guided courses that  reinforce lessons with  interactivity,  assignments,  and  self- tests. The underlying methodological approach used by  AFG Financial Group  trainers is "learning by doing" or "learning through action", emphasizing active participation of the trainees.

We know  that  how  we  develop  our  employees  and  their skills  will  determine our future success.
We continually encourage employees to enhance their skills and knowledge  and  have  created a learning  organization  focused  on  providing new  opportunities for growth and professional development.

The training course is to be done distantly (it means that you can study from your own home or any place with Internet access). Duration of the course is 10 days (2-3 hours per day). You don’t have to pay for anything and in the beginning of each training day you receive your daily training wage $48 (as a recovery of expenses related to the training and a guarantee that you don’t waste your time).

After completing the first part of the training course you sign a paper contract for the training and start practicing with company's software and databases. After you complete the training course you become company’s employee and receive the Customer Service Specialist Certificate.

Salary
 Annual gross starting salary of $30.500 (full-time) and $13.200  (part-time),  paid  in biweekly.
 Performance  Bonuses:  + 5-30% of monthly salary (paid in the end of each month).

The training period wage shall amount $48 for each training day  ($480  for the entire course). During the training period you will be paid daily.

The salary, training wage and money for the training can be received on an account in any bank or credit union.

Benefits

 AFG Financial Group   believes its employees to be the most valuable asset. Recruiting, retaining a winning team of employees dedicated to the company's mission and purpose is critical to  AFG Financial Group  ability to serve its customers' needs on a day-to-day and long term basis. That's why we offer one of the most comprehensive total compensation packages available.

 AFG Financial Group offers its management employees a complete menu of benefit options to fit as much as possible their personal and family needs. In addition, company's hourly employees receive world class benefits. In fact,  AFG Financial Group  is one of only a few companies offering its part-time employees full benefits, from medical/dental coverage to tuition assistance:

- Medical and Dental coverage;
- 4 weeks (20 days) paid holiday;
- 401(k);
- Exceptional cash incentive, bonus programs, and recognition programs;
- comprehensive assistance;
- No need to pay for anything.

Getting started

NO MONEY NEEDED FOR JOB (TRAINING COURSES) OR ANYTHING.   COMPANY PAYS FOR ALL.

If you are interested in the position and ready to start training, please fill out the attached employment application and send it in response to this e-mail.  You can fill it out on your PC or print it out and fill it by hand (in that case please write block letters; illegible applications may be excluded from consideration).  You
will be contacted by a company manager within 48 hours.

You can start the training course within 1-5 business days after signing the application.

xi) and this is their attached 'Job Application Form/Agreement':

Job Application Form
United States

 This Agreement is a Contract between you hereinafter referred to as Customer Service manager and  AFG Financial Group here in after referred to as Company "we", "our" or "us" as appropriate.
This Agreement describes your and our rights and responsibilities in the context of providing services related for the e-Commerce training courses.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the Parties hereto agree as follows:

1. SUBJECT OF THE AGREEMENT

1.1. The present Agreement comes into force and is considered valid provided the following conditions are observed:
1.2. The Agreement is signed by both parties or all incurred terms and conditions are observed by the Client.

2. GENERAL TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT

2.1. The Parties acknowledge the legal force of documents' records received via communication channels equal and as effective as the documents made in writing.

3. LIABILITIES OF THE PARTIES

3.1. Customer Service Manager is liable to:
3.1.1. Follow the provisions of the present Agreement
3.1.2. Provide and confirm the following data:
3.1.2.1. Legal status of residence in the country.
3.1.2.2. Bank  account valid for accepting payments from company side for the job and money for the training courses.
3.1.2.3. Telephone number available to be contacted by the Senior Manager.
3.1.3. Devote 2-3 business hours per day of free time to be spent for training courses.
3.1.4. Receive money on his/her account for the following purposes: salary, money for the training, payment for taxes and fees to Customer Service manager from Company.
3.1.5. Start working in Customer Service according to the chosen plan after completing the training course.

3.2. COMPANY AGREES

3.2.1. To follow all provisions of the Agreement.
3.2.2 To provide a training course to cover all the aspects of the job.
3.2.3 The training wage should amount $480 for 10 days ($24 per hour).
3.2.4 To hire the Employee after completing the training course to the full time or part time customer service manager position (according to the chosen plan).
3.2.5 Annual gross starting salary of $30.500 (full-time) and $13.200  (part-time),  paid  in biweekly installments by your choice of check or  direct deposit. In addition to your salary you can receive a bonus from 5 to 30% for successful working.
3.2.6. To provide Customer Service Manager with all company benefits during the training period.
3.2.7. To advise Customer Service Manager on all questions related to cooperation during the duration period of the Agreement as stipulated herein.

4. BENEFITS   

Company benefits shall include:
4.1 4 weeks (20 days) paid holiday.
4.2 Bonuses for successful working.
4.3 Medical and Dental coverage.
4.4 Life insurance plans.
4.5 401(k) Plan
4.6 Domestic Partner Benefits.
4.7 Money from company side for all purposes related to the job: Internet, cell phone, training, bank fees and taxes.

5. LIABILITIES OF THE PARTIES

5.1. The Parties bear responsibility for non-performance or inadequate performance of their liabilities in the context of the present Agreement in accordance with the governing law of the USA and with respect of the provisions of the present Agreement.

6. FORCE MAJEURE

6.1. Neither Party shall be liable for any delay or nonperformance of any provision of the present Agreement due to force majeure circumstances arising after the date of conclusion of the Agreement.
6.2. The following circumstances shall be acknowledged as force majeure events: fire, explosion, flood or other natural and industrial catastrophe; terror; warfare; strikes or labor difficulties; other unforeseen or precluded circumstances preventing the Parties to follow their liabilities stipulated by the Agreement.
6.3. The Party shall notify the other as promptly as practicable, but no later than 3 (three) working days of the occurrence of a force majeure event herewith. Failure or the delay to notify the other Party of force majeure events shall not release the Party from its liabilities hereunder.

7. PERSONAL INFORMATION

* First name: _____________________
* Last name: _____________________
* Address: _______________________
* City: __________________________
* State: _________________________
* ZIP Code: ______________________
* Country: United States
* Home phone: +1 ________________
* Cell phone: +1 __________________
* E-Mail address: __________________
       
8. POSITION

            *Preferred position(s) ___________________

9. ACCOUNT INFORMATION

On this account you will receive money for the training courses from the company side and money for your job (daily or weekly). All given information as strictly confidential will not be shared with any third parties.

*Bank name: _____________________

* IF YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNT IN BANK OF AMERICA, YOU RECEIVE A NUMBER OF ADVANTAGES. SINCE OUR COMPANY HAS A LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH BANK OF AMERICA, YOU CAN RECEIVE YOUR SALARY AND MONEY FOR THE TRAINING AND WORK EXPENSES (INTERNET, PHONE CONNECTION ETC.)  DIRECTLY TO YOUR ACCOUNT WITHIN ONE BANKING DAY AFTER THE MONEY IS SENT.

10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

After first part of the training in e-Commerce Services for payment systems I will be available to meet my manager face to face in my local area for the second part of the training in e-Commerce Services.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first written above. The parties hereto agree that facsimile and E-mail signatures shall be as effective as if originals.

AFG Financial Group
By: Stephen Breeden                        By:____________________
Its: Main Manager                         Its: Customer Service Manager


It's the usual load of unenforceable nonsense. The 'training' is a standard ploy of these criminals and consists of accepting stolen funds to the mandatory account and transferring a balance back to these criminals via Western Union or Moneygram. The first time that the money comes back as stolen, (from phished accounts), then the game is over and the crooks disappear, leaving the victim considerably poorer when the stolen funds are recovered, with his bank account and finances frozen and having to answer some very tricky questions from law enforcement - don't be fooled, it is the classic money laundering mule scenario.

Taking into account the proven fake nature of the website it is crystal clear that there is no real job in that agreement. The way this one works is that the 'Customer Service Manager' (mule) receives money to his personal bank account and as part of the 'training' he is be asked to send money bank to the company. The money deposited in his account is of course stolen from phished accounts, and any money sent back to the crooks by the mule will be lost for good when the stolen funds are recovered.

The above evidence clearly demonstrates beyond any doubt that the stolen AFG Financial Group fake company website has been set up very recently by money laundering criminals purely for the purpose of spamvertising an illegal money laundering 'mule' job. If you are an abuse team that has received an abuse report regarding these fraudsters, please consider immediate termination of their services in view of the absolutely undeniable evidence of criminal activity - please don't delay - these criminals will not respond to any communication from you, (all their whois data is false), but will simply take advantage of any attempt at communication as a delaying tactic to allow them time to carry on their criminal activity and prepare their next network.
AFG Financial Group Fraudsters - hosting details
Domains, Registrars and Hosts  
Domain

afgfinancialgroup.biz
 
Registrar

MELBOURNE IT, LTD. D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLDWIDE  (Yahoo domains as reseller) - 14-Dec-2009
Host Network

Yahoo! Inc.
Host IP

68.180.151.76


Key:
Active
Suspended/Disabled
Parked


Domain Whois Data:
Domain Name:                                 AFGFINANCIALGROUP.BIZ
Domain ID:                                   D37329140-BIZ
Sponsoring Registrar:                        MELBOURNE IT LTD
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID:                13
Domain Status:                               clientTransferProhibited
Registrant ID:                               B12608197500790
Registrant Name:                             Allison Russell
Registrant Organization:                     Private Registration US
Registrant Address1:                         PO Box 61359
Registrant City:                             Sunnyvale
Registrant State/Province:                   CA
Registrant Postal Code:                      94088
Registrant Country:                          United States
Registrant Country Code:                     US
Registrant Phone Number:                     +1.5105952002
Registrant Email:                            contact@myprivateregistration.com
Administrative Contact ID:                   B126081931058294
Administrative Contact Name:                 PrivateRegContact Admin
Administrative Contact Organization:         Private Reg US
Administrative Contact Address1:             PO Box 61359
Administrative Contact City:                 Sunnyvale
Administrative Contact State/Province:       CA
Administrative Contact Postal Code:          94088
Administrative Contact Country:              United States
Administrative Contact Country Code:         US
Administrative Contact Phone Number:         +1.5105952002
Administrative Contact Email:                contact@myprivateregistration.com
Billing Contact ID:                          B126081931058296
Billing Contact Name:                        PrivateRegContact Bill
Billing Contact Organization:                Private Reg US
Billing Contact Address1:                    PO Box 61359
Billing Contact City:                        Sunnyvale
Billing Contact State/Province:              CA
Billing Contact Postal Code:                 94088
Billing Contact Country:                     United States
Billing Contact Country Code:                US
Billing Contact Phone Number:                +1.5105952002
Billing Contact Email:                       contact@myprivateregistration.com
Technical Contact ID:                        D126081949519222
Technical Contact Name:                      PrivateRegContact TECH
Technical Contact Organization:              Private Reg US
Technical Contact Address1:                  PO Box 61359
Technical Contact City:                      Sunnyvale
Technical Contact State/Province:            CA
Technical Contact Postal Code:               94088
Technical Contact Country:                   United States
Technical Contact Country Code:              US
Technical Contact Phone Number:              +1.5105952002
Technical Contact Email:                     contact@myprivateregistration.com
Name Server:                                 YNS1.YAHOO.COM
Name Server:                                 YNS2.YAHOO.COM
Created by Registrar:                        MELBOURNE IT LTD
Last Updated by Registrar:                   MELBOURNE IT LTD
Domain Registration Date:                    Mon Dec 14 19:42:31 GMT 2009
Domain Expiration Date:                      Mon Dec 13 23:59:59 GMT 2010
Domain Last Updated Date:                    Mon Dec 14 19:42:39 GMT 2009

DNS Lookup: afgfinancialgroup.biz A record
Searching for afgfinancialgroup.biz A record at l.root-servers.net [199.7.83.42]: Got referral to a.gtld.biz. (zone: biz.)
Searching for afgfinancialgroup.biz A record at a.gtld.biz. [209.173.53.162]: Got referral to YNS2.YAHOO.COM. (zone: afgfinancialgroup.biz.)
Searching for afgfinancialgroup.biz A record at YNS2.YAHOO.COM. [66.196.84.168]: Reports afgfinancialgroup.biz.
Response:
DomainTypeClassTTLAnswer
afgfinancialgroup.biz.AIN720068.180.151.76
afgfinancialgroup.biz.NSIN86400yns1.yahoo.com.
afgfinancialgroup.biz.NSIN86400ns8.san.yahoo.com.
afgfinancialgroup.biz.NSIN86400yns2.yahoo.com.
afgfinancialgroup.biz.NSIN86400ns9.san.yahoo.com.

Looking up at the 2 afgfinancialgroup.biz. parent servers:

ServerResponse
yns2.yahoo.com [66.196.84.168]68.180.151.76
yns1.yahoo.com [98.136.43.32]68.180.151.76

The host for this criminal is Yahoo! Inc. on IP address 68.180.151.76.

***Latest News*** 22nd. December 2009 - Webpage created

***Latest News*** 23rd. December 2009
Yahoo have disabled the domain afgfinancialgroup.biz - please notify us of any active domains for this criminal.