Friday, February 02, 2007
If it's too good to be true: Job scam
I submitted my resume to Monster.com on the off-chance that someone might find me interesting enough to hire me. My current job, although stable and pays well enough, has evolved into something that consists of a series of tasks interesting only to robots and possibly tax accountants. I like the people, but the work is slowly sucking away my will to live.
Anyway, the emails I’ve received in response to my resume are mostly from recruiters, but I received two very interesting ones that both have the distinct rank stench of a scam. The first one had me fooled. (I’ve changed the first name they used to my alias.)
Dear GDG,
I recently saw your resume online and feel you would be ideal for an immediate opening as a Website Developer with our company. We are TooSpoiled.com, one of the most exciting website launches in the last few years.GDG , if you are looking for a real opportunity and a real long-term career with an exciting cutting edge company, you may be the person we are looking for.
TooSpoiled.com is a combination of a modeling and acting database and MySpace.com with much more. We offer Models and Actors the opportunity to gain international exposure, interface with the world’s largest entertainment industry network, and make money through advertising.
And, best of all, TooSpoiled allows Talent to earn money instantly. TooSpoiled allows each member to earn money by displaying ads on their portfolio page.
Unlike many other sites in the entertainment industry, TooSpoiled is 100% free for Models and Actors to join.
Our tech department involves working as a team to constantly maintain and upgrade our website. The majority of our programmers/developers work from home maintaining contact by telephone, e-mail, and instant messaging.
We offer our Developers the following:
Highly competitive salary
Bonus plan that can add 25% or more to Base Salary
Medical, Dental, and Vision plan
Expense Account
Paid Vacation
Tuition Reimbursement
Rapid Fast Track Advancement ProgramGDG , if you feel the Developer position is right for you, visit the link below and fill out the online application. (If the link does not work in your e-mail you may copy and paste the address in your browser.)
http://www.TooSpoiled.com/Careers/opportunities.cfm?jp=4490824
Once I receive your online application, I will contact you within one to two business days.
Regards,
Bethany Reagan
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? The working from home part is especially compelling. The odd thing was, there were no job descriptions on their website. Their application was merely a form that collected your information. I was suspicious, but didn’t want to lose an opportunity just in case I was just being paranoid.
As they say, if it’s too good to be true… My sneaking suspicion was right. A few days later, I get the following email from some other company:
DearGDG,
I recently saw your resume online and feel you would be ideal for an immediate opening as a Website Developer with our company. We are USAVoice.org, the fastest growing news site on the web right now.GDG , if you are looking for a real opportunity and a real long-term career with an exciting cutting edge company, you may be the person we are looking for.
The power of the Internet is allowing USA Voice to launch a worldwide news network, focusing on news reported by local reporters in over 1,000 cities worldwide.
Our tech department involves working as a team to constantly maintain and upgrade our website. The majority of our programmers/developers work from home maintaining contact by telephone, e-mail, and instant messaging.
We offer our Developers the following:
Highly competitive salary
Bonus plan that can add 25% or more to Base Salary
Medical, Dental, and Vision plan
Expense Account
Paid Vacation
Tuition Reimbursement
Rapid Fast Track Advancement ProgramGDG, if you feel the Developer position is right for you, visit the link below and fill out the online application. (If the link does not work in your e-mail you may copy and paste the address in your browser.)
http://www.usavoice.org/careers?A=4490824
Once I receive your online application, I will contact you within one to two business days.
Regards,
Lauren Piccoli
Looks oddly familiar, doesn’t it? It’s the same freakin’ form letter. And guess what, their “career” page was exactly the same layout too! Same form fields, same unwillingness to divulge details about the actual “jobs”. I don’t know what their deal is, but they sure as hell never contacted me. I’m probably on lots of junk mail lists by now. Fucking scammers and spammers. I hate ‘em all.
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Categories: • Grrrrrr... • I see stupid people • Okay that's just weird