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tpm11260
Joined: 15 May 2012
Posts: 14
Location: The Gulf
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 Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 1:24 pm Post subject: Scam Alert: Segi University College Malaysia |
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TEFL vacancies have been advertised on a number of sites for Segi University College recently. I applied, was interviewed (via Skype) and then sent a contract. Clause 13 of the contract requests a deposit of 2,650 USD to guarantee the position. I became suspicious so telephoned Segi University College for verification. They confirmed it was a scam.
The email addresses the scammers use are: [email protected] and [email protected]. The representative from HR is Yong Vafa and the interviewer is Dr. Julius Sengah. The Skype ID is livesegiunivcollege
I wonder how many people they have scammed. Fortunately, they didn't get my money but they do have my personal information as I sent a CV and filled in an application form. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Academic institutions worldwide generally use .edu for their websites and email systems. This scammer's .org email extension as well as the other nondescript email address should have been the first red flags. |
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Hod
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 1613
Location: Home
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| Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| This scammer's .org email extension as well as the other nondescript email address should have been the first red flags. |
Couldn't agree more.
http://www.britishcouncil.org
Cheers, tpm11260.
I wonder why these scams seem common in Malaysia right now. |
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Deats
Joined: 02 Jan 2015
Posts: 503
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| Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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Oops, I sent my documents to them. What is weird is they never offered me a contract or asked for any money.
Not sure if there is anything I can do now it is sent...?
Applying for jobs is a minefield with data theft - a CV alone has your full name, D.O.B, address, citizenship, places of study etc etc.
I actually looked up Yong Vafa somewhere, I thought I saw his name listed at the uni. Also finding several websites advertising this job made me think it was legit.
Hope this doesn't come back and bite me on the ass. |
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KayuJati
Joined: 21 Feb 2010
Posts: 313
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| Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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Another tip off is the use of extremely strange names: Yong Vafa and Julius Sengah. Yong is a common Chinese name, but Vafa? Likewise, the Indians (Tamil) often use Julius as a man's given name but Sengah is unusual. Sengah sounds more like a Malay name (e.g. tengah = middle) but in the 17 years that I lived in Malaysia, I never saw either name, Vafa or Sengah.
I knew SEGI when it was still Systematic College. It is fairly well-run and part of a conglomerate that is listed on the Malaysian stock exchange. I would always doubt the requirement that money be sent to hold a position. |
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Deats
Joined: 02 Jan 2015
Posts: 503
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| Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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How should a person know what is and isn't a normal name in this part of the world? Also, just because a name isn't common, doesn't mean it's fake.
Or are all Chinese people called Li and All Brits Smith?
It's so easy to say 'I knew it was a scam' when you already have been told. Shame people never seem to tell these things in advance  |
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KayuJati
Joined: 21 Feb 2010
Posts: 313
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| Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Deats wrote: |
How should a person know what is and isn't a normal name in this part of the world? Also, just because a name isn't common, doesn't mean it's fake.
Or are all Chinese people called Li and All Brits Smith? No
It's so easy to say 'I knew it was a scam' when you already have been told. Shame people never seem to tell these things in advance |
Point taken. And that is the reason for a Dave's ESL Cafe: to help people find jobs and navigate around the scams. So you could learn from this SEGI episode.
1. Never send money to secure a position. Does that occur in your home country? Schools pay teachers to teach classes. I have never heard of a western school requiring an incoming teacher to pay to secure the position. If money is required for some up-front expense, it would be taken out of the first month's pay check. This rule is not unique to Malaysia either. I wouldn't pay money to secure a position anywhere.
2. Check out the names of urls, schools, and recruiters. You don't need to have been in Malaysia or China for years to know that Vafa is not a Chinese name. Or a Malay name. Or an Indian name. If the name is real, I would want to know who is trying to recruit for a Malaysian school that has such a strange name.
I found a man with that surname and he is Iranian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumrun_Vafa). I wouldn't trust an Iranian to recruit for a Malaysian school just like I wouldn't trust a Norwegian to make good Chinese food. Likewise, the first person to pop up on Google with the surname MOD EDIT
Is that pre-judice? Yes sir, it is. When applying from afar, I would be very careful. All of the jobs that I have held in Asia (Malaysia, China) were either on-the-spot interviews (in person), or else through a trusted intermediary.
It is hard to get jobs in Malaysia from a distance. That is a shame but it is reality. Malaysia has plenty of Malaysians getting English-teaching credentials, and even if they don't speak good English, many schools don't care to hassle with hiring an expat. FWIW, in my 18 years in Asia, I taught English for only 2 years. The rest of the time I taught either content subjects in English or else in Malay. I found the subjects that no one else wanted to teach, or for which the failure rates were high, and offered to cover them to save the school from the hassle of finding someone else. They don't like hassles in Malaysia. |
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wailing_imam
Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 580
Location: Malaya
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 8:20 am Post subject: |
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| Sengah could be an Iban/Bidayuh/Melanu name. |
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