Job Discussion Forums

[codyepic]

Message: I was offered this job, do you think it's a scam?

Dear Cody,

Thank you for the email and in response to my advert. I am Cheng-Gong
Da, from Gansu province, in PRC. Me is Engineer and me work with oil
servicing company. Me hope email not go bore you because me want to
talk to you about meself, family and talk about job offer me is have
for you.

Me is come England a month ago and me is come with me family since
comapany I work with is in England. Me need Teacher of English to
teacher my family English so they is make English better and go back
school for me kids. Me is like swim, read, play ping pong, cycle and
cook. Me childen like sing, play piano,swim and play soccer. wife is
so much into business papers and she like cook, sew and watch TV.

Me treasure me family well well and me is want the best for them. Me
wife Shu and kids Hui and Meili not speak English fine an not write
well and me want them to write and speak Eglish well so they be able
go back to school and Shu get job.

Contract is last 12 months long and me pay you month end 3,500GBP, me
give you health insurance of 300GBP at month End.

If me accept you come work for me family, me pay you ticket come to
England and me pay you ticket go back you country when contract
finish. Me give you apartment where you live in my residence and car
is for you use.

You teach family 6 hours Monday to Friday and weekend you have off.
All national holiday in England and you country you take day off. You
teach Shu for 3 hours and you teach Hui and Meili for 2 hour 30
minutes after u have 30 minute break. Shu is 36 years old, Hui is 6
and Meili is 4.

You take 150GBP bonus home each time you go vacation and you have 2
weeks vacation twice per year. If you like, you take it once or you
take it 2 weeks separate.

Me hope you understand contract, if you have question, ask me and me
answer. Me is work in offshore site, so me is hope Thursday night and
Friday, so these day me is have time reply to your email because me
not have time in offshore site reply email, but me is try me best keep
in contact ok. me see papers you send me and me is interest in you.
me try give you decide before me leave offshore on day off thursday.

Thanks and look forward see you response soon.

[Shroob]

One of the oldest tricks in the book. Avoid.

[johntpartee]

[spiral78]

Me think 150% yes.

Please note that England is full of native speakers of English - why import one from the US?

[codyepic]

Where does the scam part take place? How do they go about scamming me?

[spiral78]

Me is gonna ask you for some money, probably by wire transfer, to get your visa (which is legally impossible to get). Me will promise to pay you all the money back in your first (nonexistent) paycheck upon your arrival in Merry Olde, the home of millions of native English speakers who do not need visas to work for Me.

Another common tip-off: what are the last two letters of the email address Me is using?

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=74712

[codyepic]

gmail.com?

[spiral78]

gmail's ubiquitous. Some used to often use .tk - it's the ending for some little country in Africa, if I recall, where scammers grow on trees.

Me is still a scammer, though. Send no money! But it would be interesting if you play along until you're asked for money, then let us know what the exact angle was:-)

Anyway, you know it's not going to happen, a US citizen (assuming from your location) getting a work visa to teach English in the UK, right? It would be the same if some Brit were invited to come teach English in the US; no-go.

[codyepic]

ha thanks. I appreciate you all breaking my dreams. I will let you know where the scam goes.

[nomad soul]

Yep, these types of scams are banking (no pun intended) on the "victims" being distracted by the lure of big money. Always read between the lines. But seriously, this one was so obvious.

[johntpartee]

Even the scammer's pseudo-Chinglish is skewed. In all my years in China, I've NEVER heard anyone use "me" as the nominative personal pronoun.

[Cool Teacher]

A Japanse teaher at my school was very excited one day and asked me and an american teacher about some big news he got on google. It was a letter he prineted out saying he won 1 million pounds and he was a little excites but suspicious.

When he showed it to us we really laughed at the letter because it had so many spelling mistakes and grammar problems and we knew it can no way be a native speaker and said it was obviously just a scam. I felt bad thought because he looked disppointed.

[MotherF]

Scam

Surely I'm not the only one here who is certain they have read this exact same letter before. Does this guy move to England each year? You'd think his English would have gotten better by now!

[BadBeagleBad]

The one I got was from a Colombian doctor.......

[bulgogiboy]

Hehe. Funny. Scam? Hmm seems blatantly obvious it is.

Me love you long time?? I don't think I've ever heard anyone erroneously use me instead of I, unless you count native-speakers who are trying to mock Asian people.