Job Discussion Forums

akolsky1 · Joined: 08 Mar 2009 Posts: 39 Location: Pennsylvania

Does anybody have any info on this school? Also what is life like in Dubai? Seems like a rapidly growing, modern city.
Thanks!

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

For some info on Dubai - take a look at www.gulfnews.com - however, bear in mind that the content usually reflects what image the government chooses to project, not always the reality.

daemonic · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 25

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=70471

i've just added a link here. check it out. may or may not be of interest to you.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Rather than starting a new thread with a vague warning, I think you should have posted that here.

Both of you can edit your titles to say something like "Dubai British School - SCAM?"

VS

daemonic · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 25

yeah i guess sorry. just wanted to make that warning a bit more visible. may avoid even more postings from people who have questions about how good a salary of $4500 US really is in the UAE after they get the same spam e-mail..

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

The question/scam comes up about once a week for the last few years. That is why there is a sticky at the top of the page. Apparently there are plenty of people who think that they can come to the Gulf and get $4000+ a month with no qualifications and a couple of years teaching conversation in Asia.... and are naive enough to send them money... with a money order yet.

The problem has gone viral... and the old saying seems to be true... there's a sucker born every minute. Laughing

VS

daemonic · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 25

people actually sent them money? wow. I never followed up on those e-mails so had no idea.

Iamherebecause · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:58 am Post subject: Dubai British School

Dubai British School is a real school. One shouldn't necessarily assume that akolsky1 is being scammed. akolsky are the contact details you have correct? Check them against http://www.dubaifaqs.com/dubai-british-school.php for example. The site also gives a salary range.

That said, I am astonished at the people who seem to think job offers they receive out of the blue might be bona fide. Suppose it could be the result of people leaving cv's on websites in their search for jobs.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Not only an email offer out of the blue... but no interview... and a salary offer that is way above what would be paid to someone with limited credentials. They have now caught on to using the names of schools that actually exist and have websites.

daemonic... after getting all of people's paperwork, they claim that some person with a hotmail or Yahoo or other odd address in the ministry needs a few hundred dollars to do the visa... but you need to send him the money by money order???

People who naively fall for the out of the blue offer with no interview are often naive enough to send money.

VS

akolsky1 · Joined: 08 Mar 2009 Posts: 39 Location: Pennsylvania

Yeah--I almost fell for it--but thanks to Veiled Sentiments, I immediately realized what was going on. It was a fake email and the Wikipedia article was just too tacky. Of course I would have never taken it to the next level of sending them money. but part of me was hoping it could be true. But getting an offer w/out a phone interview is just plain obvious! Another school named Oxford Crown did the same thing--they offered me a job without an interview.. When i checked out the website, there was nothing--and I am a Googler, so I was instantly suspicious.

Thanks for all the info and I will be more cautious in the future.
Regards,
Amy

mizzoumike76 · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:45 pm Post subject: scams

Hey,

Don't be so hard on the folks that fall for these scams. To those just starting to collect information on teaching, the sheer amount of information on the internet can be very intimidating. They likely don't know that the same salary that allows you to live like a king in one country will run you broke in another, or what pay range to expect where. I think these job offer scams work because, as said above, people leave a trail of resumes out there, and the scammers also post on legitimate sites, so they probably net the newbies more than the old hands.

For any newbies out there, you are wise to always check the email addresses in the job offer or posting against the actual school website to see if it checks out. If there really is, say, "Central Dubai English Academy", then the website and contact email address should match, and an address like [email protected] or @yahoo.com should be dead giveaways something is amiss.

Also, you're reading one of the best resources of information out there, the forums at Dave's! Poke around, lurk, ask questions, and read read read.

I hope that helps, and best of luck!

Michael