SCAM ALERT! Tell your kids!

[ccnewcc]

SCAM ALERT!  Tell your kids!

Many colleges and universities have dedicated Job Boards for students whereby they can login and apply for jobs.  These dedicated Job Boards only give job-applying access to students who have an affiliation with that particular college/university.  However, any employer (or Scam Artist) or anyone acting as an employer may Post jobs on these dedicated Job Boards.  And the criteria to Post jobs are fairly lax and Posters often go unverified.

Here is the SCAM:

edited (yes “edited” with two 2 o’s)

edited

The Job Postings are always the same guy, using the same name, and using the same email address on these dedicated Job Boards for students.  I guess "his" MO is to prey after the young, innocent-minded / naive college kids and those looking for work.  The Job Posting ALWAYS has something to do with Country Clubs and Golf Courses / Golf Clubs.  

A typical posting is a sales position with these Country Clubs and Golf Courses / Golf Clubs doing sales and renewals for memberships.

Here is word for word a Job Posting from “him”:

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“We need help calling our golf club members to ask them to renew their annual membership. Our members are very loyal and these will be warm and easy calls to make. Commission and bonuses available. We offer paid training and very convenient hours.”

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The posting asks the job seeker to send an email with resume to the email address above.  Once sent, an auto-reply message is sent from: edited+canned.response@gmail.com asking to click on a link and reveal more information (SSN and etc).

Here is the auto-reply message that the job seeker gets from edited+canned.response@gmail.com :

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Thanks for your interest. We are working with Sales Team on this particular campaign. Could I ask you to please fill out an application via their website salesteam.co/register/salesperson Note - this will require you to record a 15-20second introduction to yourself.

Could you also reply and let me know the email you use to sign up (so I can find you). Let's chat after you've done that.

Thanks,

Donovan

+1 (415) edited

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Please Tell your Kids NOT to apply to these kind of jobs.

Please do a Google search on “edited” or his email and you will see job posting after job posting. This scam will harm your kids’ credit!

[beb86]

Don't think I would go so far as to libel this person.

[ccnewcc]

Libel an Identity Thief?  Libel a Scam Artist?

You GOT to be kidding, right?!!!????

First, we don't know who this "person" is or if this "person" works for a group, or if this is an American or a an Off Shore Scam.

And Shame on the the MOD who edited the name and the email being used.  SHAME!  This post was meant to be an alert, a heads up.

If this MOD really thinks that the ID thief is using their REAL NAME and REAL EMAIL, then I don't know want to say other than that it not the reality.

MODS:  You may, at any, come to your senses and unedit the post.

[QAMngrGirl]

Hopefully the job seekers know to never send your personal info/blind resume to any anonymous/vague posting. That applies to all job posting venues, not just college/university themed venues.

[llecs]

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@ccnewcc wrote:

Libel an Identity Thief?  Libel a Scam Artist?

You GOT to be kidding, right?!!!????

First, we don't know who this "person" is or if this "person" works for a group, or if this is an American or a an Off Shore Scam.

And Shame on the the MOD who edited the name and the email being used.  SHAME!  This post was meant to be an alert, a heads up.

If this MOD really thinks that the ID thief is using their REAL NAME and REAL EMAIL, then I don't know want to say other than that it not the reality.

MODS:  You may, at any, come to your senses and unedit the post.

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Hi ccnwewcc, I was the one that edited it. I don't give a flip if this guy feels libeled or not, or if his reputation as a scam artist (or not) is harmed in any way. We've always had the policy of editing out non-public figures' names and other identifying info like e-mails, phone numbers, etc. We aren't in the business of deciding whether or not this is a scam. It might very well be. But we get dozens of posts each week posting names and contact info and we don't have the resources or time to go through every single one to determine whether or not they are a spammer, scammer, or otherwise a swell guy. We would edit this post just like we'd edit out a post posting corporate contact info, scam or not.

I personally think it's a scam based on what you posted and left enough identifying info on the screen to alert others. If his e-mail has "canned" in it then very likely he's using the same canned e-mail with everyone. And anyone who happens by your post would easily identify their own e-mail as scam-related had they received one. I haven't been in college in 15 yrs+, but I remember those days of job postings. IME, they were all scams and time shouldn't be wasted on them, but I suppose scamming someone has been around as long as time itself.

[ccnewcc]

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@llecs wrote:

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@ccnewcc wrote:

Libel an Identity Thief?  Libel a Scam Artist?

You GOT to be kidding, right?!!!????

First, we don't know who this "person" is or if this "person" works for a group, or if this is an American or a an Off Shore Scam.

And Shame on the the MOD who edited the name and the email being used.  SHAME!  This post was meant to be an alert, a heads up.

If this MOD really thinks that the ID thief is using their REAL NAME and REAL EMAIL, then I don't know want to say other than that it not the reality.

MODS:  You may, at any, come to your senses and unedit the post.

---

Hi ccnwewcc, I was the one that edited it. I don't give a flip if this guy feels libeled or not, or if his reputation as a scam artist (or not) is harmed in any way. We've always had the policy of editing out non-public figures' names and other identifying info like e-mails, phone numbers, etc. We aren't in the business of deciding whether or not this is a scam. It might very well be. But we get dozens of posts each week posting names and contact info and we don't have the resources or time to go through every single one to determine whether or not they are a spammer, scammer, or otherwise a swell guy. We would edit this post just like we'd edit out a post posting corporate contact info, scam or not.

I personally think it's a scam based on what you posted and left enough identifying info on the screen to alert others. If his e-mail has "canned" in it then very likely he's using the same canned e-mail with everyone. And anyone who happens by your post would easily identify their own e-mail as scam-related had they received one. I haven't been in college in 15 yrs+, but I remember those days of job postings. IME, they were all scams and time shouldn't be wasted on them, but I suppose scamming someone has been around as long as time itself.

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Oh okay..haha i understand

[ccnewcc]

The more I look into this sort of stuff, the more I find out.  And appearently it is more common than I thought.  More so that it is termed "employment fraud."

Hmm, never knew this.

And according to a major hotel chain, this happens quite often and they are also a target of it.

Below is a copy and paste from [Major Hotel Chain's Job Page]:

2. WHAT IS EMPLOYMENT FRAUD?

It has come to our attention that individuals or companies have been contacting people with false offers of employment, claiming to act on behalf of [Major Hotel Chain], its individual hotels, or [Major Hotel Chain] brands including [self edit]. These offers are not legitimate.

Employment Fraud happens when individuals are sent false offers of employment with the sender’s goal of extorting money from the individual. Persons interested in working for [Major Hotel Chain] branded hotels are offered employment contracts in exchange for the payment of money in the form of "processing fees" or "payments towards work permits" or the like. Please note that [Major Hotel Chain] does not ask job applicants for money or payments in any form; protect yourself by never giving money to any person in connection with an application for a job with one of our hotels.

3. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EMPLOYMENT FRAUD?

The following characteristics are typical of Employment Fraud:

· The correspondence is unsolicited and usually in email format from unauthorized email addresses that use [Major Hotel Chain] brands [self edit] without [Major Hotel Chain] permission, such as career.[self edit]@hotmail.com.

· Individuals are asked to provide personal and financial information including address, phone number, Social Security (or similar) identification numbers, date of birth, passport information, and bank account information.

· Individuals are asked to complete false application forms for employment or visa approval or provide their career details.

· Individuals are asked to reach out to immigration officers, bank officials, travel agents, courier companies, and lawyers.

· Correspondence is identified as URGENT or TIME RUNNING OUT.

4. WHAT IS [Major Hotel Chain] POSITION ON EMPLOYMENT FRAUD?
[Major Hotel Chain] is not associated with Employment Fraud, the individuals generating the fraud, or the websites used. Our brands and names are used without our permission. [Major Hotel Chain] takes these matters seriously. We work with local authorities in an effort to stop this from happening. If you believe you have received a false offer of employment, please contact: employmentfraud@[self edit].com.

5. WHAT SHOULD SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES THEY HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF EMPLOYMENT FRAUD DO?
If you believe you have received a false offer of employment, we recommend you do the following:

· Save all information, including the email or letter with false offer of employment.

· Do not respond to the email or letter.

· Do not send any money or provide any personal or financial information.

· Contact your local police and alert them to this incident.

[llecs]

It's a very big problem and I certainly would encourage anyone getting out of college and into the realm of employment to avoid college job boards. Nothing beats good-ole-fashioned door knocking (calls, faxes, e-mails, etc., you get the picture). Back in 1997 when I was finishing up a good majority of the job postings presented by my university were potentially scam-related. I suppose it is easier now to "google" but definitely it's a criminal's market. 

On the flip-side, employees-to-be do a good deal of scamming too. Not too long ago I posted a job on the Washington Post for a position we needed filling. Probably about 10% of the applicants at least were scam artists whereby the past jobs in their resume were non-existent. Some even still had overseas telephone numbers from places of well-known scam-based countries, and would spam for months after the job posting with offers of this or that.

[Shogun]

Actually llecs handled the situation on this one better than I did. While he was editing it, I had removed the entire post from the boards.  After seeing his editing, I moved it back to the boards.