I know 2 female personal trainers who have been hit with this. Be aware and beware.
FITNESS TRAINING SCAM (from personal experience)
After 8 years of being a personal trainer, I actually responded to this one! I am sharing this information because I want to make sure that NO OTHER reputable trainer is ever faced with the same situation.
This turned out to be a mass email so if it will help just one other person avoid the situation, this will be worth posting...PLEASE feel free to post my story anywhere you think it may help other fitness and/or personal trainers avoid this scam or ones like it!
I received an email from a girl named “Kimberly Henderson.” In it, she stated she was studying abroad and was going to be entering West Point Academy for military training. She wanted to train with me for two solid weeks in preparation for the physical part of the program. I have previously trained clients that have come to me through other international competitors over the years, so this situation was not all that uncommon to me. I even researched the person she claimed to be her father, Rear Admiral Ronald H. Henderson (USN). He is, in fact, the current Defense Attaché to the U.K.
I responded cautiously that I might be interested in the task and that if she was willing to travel thousands of miles for training, then I would try to make the necessary time to train her.
Five days later, I received an email from a second email address representing themselves as "Rear Admiral Ronald Henderson"...the email introduced him, his busy life, and his intentions for his daughter's training. Attached were the REAL Admiral Henderson's picture and an actual speech the admiral delivered onboard the USS John F. Kennedy on the eve of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Still skeptical, I emailed "the admiral" back about my training qualifications and my interest. He responded 2 days later with an offer specifying training fees and a story that he would departing the UK for the Middle East within a few days. He wanted me to forward my name, address, and phone number so that he could notify me when my fees had been mailed. Red flags up, I give him the address of the gym I work at, instead of my home address. I agreed to the fees and told him to have a safe trip...
Two weeks later, "Kimberly" checked in saying she was caught up in final exams and was going to delay her trip slightly, but she was still planning to come out...that was on 9/29/08. I sent a follow-up email on 10/7/08 to Kimberly and the admiral asking for a status update...no response...so I let the whole thing go, no worries.
WAIT! It gets better...
An entire month goes by without a second thought. I wish now that it had stayed that way.
On 11/10/08, "the admiral" emailed me out of the blue saying that Kimberly is scheduled to arrive locally on Friday, November 14, and that training will take place from 11/15/08 - 11/29/08. He apologized for the delay due to his Middle East conferences and stated his military secretary had already mailed the funds to me.
The next day, "Kimberly" sent me an email stating how excited she was to finally begin training and that she knew the Thanksgiving holiday would fall during our scheduled training period; she even asked to join my family for holiday dinner – it was almost comical, now that I think about it.
Okay, so now what? I wait...all week; I live life as usual, not really expecting any mail to show up in my name, and what if a girl should show up with no payment in hand, would I turn her away?
Friday, November 14, 2008, I received an envelope postmarked "Royal Mail" from the US Embassy to the U.K. - OMG - Imagine my surprise! I opened it to find a letter with five (5) MoneyGram International Money Orders issued by Wal-Mart. The letter is from the military secretary of "the admiral" and the money orders add up to 4+ times the amount I'm supposed to be paid. I sent an email to “the admiral” stating simply that I have received the envelope and nothing else.
Ding, ding, the red flags are going up again...obviously, I am NOT going to assume those money orders are meant for me and I am NOT going to make myself entitled to any more than I have agreed to in the contract! Each of the five (5) money orders is made out to the same amount, and one (1) will cover the bulk of my training fees.
So, thinking I am playing it smart, I do something I never do...I use the teller, rather than the ATM, to make the deposit at my bank. I assume that if I go up to the desk, if something is wrong with that one (1) money order, the teller will catch it right away and it'll be done. WRONG! The money order scans and gets deposited straight to my account! Assuming that I will see "Kimberly" by the next morning, I decide I will give her the rest of those money orders and she can give them back to her father...
Saturday comes and goes, no "Kimberly"...
Sunday morning, I sit down at my computer to write the admiral that I have had no contact with his daughter, but to my surprise there is an email in my box from him...hold on to your boots, kiddies...OOPS! We accidentally OVERPAID you! The extra money was supposed to be sent to Kimberly and her travel agent! We are so very sorry, can you wire the excess funds back to them and then she can catch the next flight out…ROFL
That was it - THE SCAM!!! Of course, it was an oversight and if I just go deposit all those money orders and get the cash out to wire it back, everything will work out...NO WAY!
Sunday, November 16, 2008, I notified my bank of the fraudulent money order that would be returned to my account, contacted MoneyGram verifying that the ones I still had in hand were actual numbers that had been cashed a week prior, and filed a "Fraud" case with the local authorities!
Needless to say, I was lucky to have caught it in enough time to save myself and my family from the financial hardship that this situation would have put us in! For anyone that does not know - Money Orders work like checks nowadays...they can bounce back against you!
The one thing I do want everyone to realize about this latest scam is that it was NOT a "too good to be true" situation. While some may not understand why I would even entertain the thought of training someone who came across me via the Internet, I want you to know that I have actually trained similar clients over the years.
This was not a "free" money situation or a sudden "windfall". The fact is that I took this job seriously and intended to earn every penny. The accepted training fees were well within the actual pay rate of my position. And it wasn't until I received payment with the excess of funds that I realized it was not what it seemed.
Good luck to all and may karma wreak havoc on "the admiral" and "Kimberly"!
By the way, they are still waiting on me to wire the funds...
Always,
P.S. Apparently, the real Admiral Henderson has been notified of the use of his identity in this scam and, of course, he does not have a daughter named Kimberly.
