More Scam Jobs

I got an email today from what appeared to be a recruiter via Monster.com. Only problem is that Monster always says that it's sent through their system--this email did not. But the subject line said, "Respectful company seeks new staff."

I began reading the recruiter's sales pitch--I could work at home for a few hours a day and make $2000 a month. The title of the job sounded promising: Money Manager Assistant. So, what would I need to do for a few hours a day to obtain such a pipe dream?

It seems I would have to process money. "You will receive payments (Direct Bank Deposits and wire transfers) from client within United States and send it by instant payment sistem such as Western Union."

So, this "job" would require me to provide my bank information so that I could receive "money" from "clients," and I would then send this "money" to someone else via Western Union. (I also like the misspelling of system.) Odd how this "job" sounds like money laundering. But it can't be illegal because they also say, "We do not ask any personal information and we run business according to laws of the United States of America."

Of course the company email addresses are on different servers. The one I got was through live.com and the one I'm supposed to respond to is on gmail.

Scamming Immigrants

Jia had her first run-in with online scammers this week. She applied for a vague job for Chinese speakers. Her email was responded to politely with a list of basic employment questions (availability, knowledge of subjects, etc.). We were a little confused by the email address not being a company address--and the signed name didn't match the email name. We looked up the company, and it was legitimate.

Then they asked for Jia's social security number. Fortunately, she didn't reply--I explained how important that number is when it was issued. She called up the company to find that the person attached to the email address doesn't exist at the company.

Desperate economic times lead us to apply for any available positions that are posted. And it seems that there are more scams out there catering to the desire to work. I guess the scammer's hope is that Chinese immigrants don't know enough to not give out such information when it isn't absolutely necessary.