USAID.gov -- Tony Mayer -- SCAM - Virtual Assistant Forums

ChristinaVOS · #1 (**permalink**) 07-26-2010

Just wanted to alert my fellow VA's to a new scammer out there.

I was contacted the other day by a man named Tony Mayer who stated he was a Consultant for USAID.gov and was in need of my services. his email address was @roysupport.com

I had a weird feeling from the get-go but decided to pursue it a bit further to either find it legit or to get more info to alert USAID.gov to a scam.

I did a ton of research and found Anthony Mayer was indeed a Consultant for USAID.gov but could find nothing on the roysupport.com domain.

Well after several days back and forth the kicker email showed up this morning.
He had asked how invoices would be paid and I provided Paypal as an option.

Today's email? he stated I would have to transfer the money to MY bank account to pay contractors by check.

Just the red flag I was waiting for.

So he has been notified to not contact me again for illegal activities and I then emailed the REAL Tony Mayer to alert him to the problem as well as USAID.gov's.

~C

Office Goddess · #2 (**permalink**) 07-26-2010

Thanks for the follow-up and posting, Christina! I was also contacted by this person but am not in a position to take on new clients. It is AMAZING how many scammers there are out there!

JLRobinson · #3 (**permalink**) 07-26-2010

Glad you posted. The scam is still going. I just got an email from "Tony" with the same information you listed. I'm glad I did my due diligence. And I'm glad you did yours.

Your Virtual Assistant · #4 (**permalink**) 07-26-2010

Thank you for the information.

I have no patience for scammers and I'm glad you're getting the word out.

bluewaterbusiness · #5 (**permalink**) 07-26-2010

I received a similar email from the same scammer. I too had a weird feeling from the get-go, did some research and I followed up on the initial email with my rates, but have not heard back. ...why don't we listen to those instincts? Glad I am not alone in this one. Do people really have this much time on their hands to waste our time?

Office Goddess · #6 (**permalink**) 07-27-2010

Originally Posted by bluewaterbusiness

Do people really have this much time on their hands to waste our time?

Unfortunately, it is NOT a waste of time for the scam artists! Lots of folks fall for this type of scam and end up not only losing a considerable amount of their own money but can also be held legally responsible for 'money laundering.' It is reinforcement to me that 'if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. - follow your gut instinct'

Lady M · #7 (**permalink**) 08-02-2010

Many thanks for this posting. I, too, was approached by this "Tony Mayer" and got as far as his asking which I preferred between wire transfers or PayPal to pay their suppliers. Still having that nagging feeling that something's not quite right, I once again Googled "roysupport.com", which resulted in this VAF string of alerts. Yeah, it did seem way too vague on details, but I spent some time on responding since I was hoping it would mean some income. Thank you for the support, confirming my instincts, initial and secondary.

amylynn · #8 (**permalink**) 08-02-2010

Thank You for the heads up on this!

Rita · #9 (**permalink**) 08-15-2010

I, too, was approached. My first reaction was to look for the domain name. When I couldn't find it, this was my first red flag. I still pursued it to see how far it will go. I just received an email with an email address where I could send a PayPal invoice. Before I sent the invoice through PayPal, I decided to Google his name once again and this thread came up. When I was approached approximately a month ago, no search engine results came up. I'm so glad I followed my gut instinct. Thanks for the confirmation.

equipbiz · #10 (**permalink**) 08-15-2010

Hey ladies, just to let you know this particular scam artist is back at it again so please watch out. This time he is calling himself Ray Mayer (raymayer@roysupport.com) and is using this as his contact information: Ray Mayer Esq,51 West 52nd Street,New York 10019,+1 800 798 5827. We didn't reply at all as his message from the get-go was very strange and it rang alarm bells as we get quite a few scammers at the best of times (sadly). I hope by posting this that we can forewarn someone else who might be hopeful that it's an income source, believe me it's really not ... he seems to be working through the directory on here from what we could see as that's where the hit came from when we checked the source from our log. Keep a watch out ladies and stay safe.

Amanda1987 · #11 (**permalink**) 08-23-2010

I to Got an email from said roysupport.com. When I first got it I looked it up and nothing, the only difference is that he is working under the name 'Ryan Max' now.

I didn't really think anything of this email and request until I was told that things would be going into a "retainer account" and then split (he was talking about a commission?) Yeah no thanks buddy!

kathyh · #12 (**permalink**) 08-23-2010

Thanks Amanda. I just received Ryan Max's email. It was very vague, so I responded asking for more information. It sounded too good to be true, so I came here to do a search.

I know now to just delete the email.

sbreva · #13 (**permalink**) 08-23-2010

I have received emails twice from the @roysupport.com addresses: one from "Tony Mayer" and one from "Ryan Max". Watch out for them!

I just sent a reply saying that this was widely known to be a scam. I also told them to find a legitimate line of work.

mhoyte · #14 (**permalink**) 08-23-2010

I just received an email from him today. My first impression was that is was a scam. I googled roysupport.com and then I found this thread. You have to be so careful out there.

jenzva · #15 (**permalink**) 08-24-2010

The lovely (urgh) Ryan Max contacted me as well! I sent him a reply with my rates and asked for more information. Just gotta feeling it wasn't right so I did a search for his name on here and sure enough! So glad to have this forum!