Student Discovers Ad Scam in Daily Nebraskan

Sara Williams is a sophomore hospitality, tourism and restaurant management major at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Williams recently browsed through the classified ads of the Daily Nebraskan for a job and she could have sworn she found something to apply for, which was an ad for a nanny job. The contact in the ad was a person named Brenna, according to the Daily Nebraskan.

Williams claims that Brenna was on a business trip to Qatar, working for a company known as Venessia Petroleum. Williams was asked by Brenna to take care of her personal items while she was away and then be her nanny upon returning home. Williams did not see a potential scam until Brenna asked her to send $1,900 to someone in the Philippines.

“I began to get very skeptical at that point,” Williams said.

Williams then researched the name Brenna Buckstaff and could not find any evidence that the person existed. While Williams was investigating these people, she received a check for $2,500 from Brenna.

“(She) wanted me to keep $300 for myself, send $1,900 to the Philippines and she would tell me what to do with the remaining $650,” Williams said.

The situation turned scarier when Williams was told the package came from someone named Laura Jameson in Philadelphia but the check was signed by someone with the name of Jenny. Brenna contacted Williams via email, telling her that they should meet upon Brenna’s arrival back home, but Williams never went.

“I’m afraid it might have been a ploy to get me to meet with someone and I would have been in danger,” Williams said.

Williams accumulated all of the information she had and went to the Lincoln Police Department, who noticed the check Williams received was counterfeit.

Lincoln Police Capt. David Beggs made the following statement,

“A lot of checks have things like safety marks or watermarks,” he said, according to the Daily Nebraskan. “The report said (this check) did not seem to be printed on the right kind of paper. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. If you get a check for something, even if it’s for the exact amount, make sure it’s legitimate. It’s a big red flag if someone sends you a check for more than the amount.”

Nick Partsch, the advertising manager for the Daily Nebraskan, was also notified of the potential scam. The advertising managers of the paper usually receive their classified ads via email or phone calls. Partsch said that there is no official screening process for classified ads but the advertising managers know what to look for in ads submitted to the paper in terms of finding scams.

“It’s kind of up to the recipient if they’re dumb enough to follow through,” Partsch said.

“It opened my mind to actually knowing that scams like this really do exist,” Williams said. “I never thought I would potentially be a part of one, but I was.”