Job Discussion Forums

[Mojoski]

Got this email from another website, and it refers to a scam that had me going at first.

Dear TotalESL Users

I regularly receive emails from users asking whether certain job offers are 'legitimate'. Please note that as the global economic environment continues to worsen, the number of "scams" increases. I would hope everyone follows a very simple rule when looking at job offers: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". Whenever I receive a complaint about an actual posting from the site, I investigate and delete the ad if I find anything questionable. Unfortunately, this doesn't stop all unscrupulous individuals from contacting teachers with fraudulent offers even when there is no ad in question.

Recently, I have been receiving emails asking whether I thought a particular job offer from a school was legitimate. There was no actual job posting on TotalESL.com to investigate but it was easy to see that it was a scam. The school in question offered 10,000 GBP (that is British Pounds!) a month...the equivalent of about $14,000 USD a month! Common sense would tell you that no-one is going to offer that much money for a teacher. In addition, they offered this contract without ever having interviewed/contacted the applicants. Finally, the contract sent to them didn't even list their name. Again...if it sounds too good to be true...Trust me that if I thought there was even a remote chance of a school actually offering that kind of money, I would be on a plane the next day!

I would suggest reading through my article Evaluating Teaching Job Offers. There is also some good Employment Scam Advice on Wikipedia. In addition, do some very basic background work on a job offer such as:

1. Did they actually post the terms of a job offer on a public Job Board or are they just contacting teachers at random? If they did post, do the terms they state match what they are offering or is there a very wide variance.

2. Ask for contact information for present teachers employed with the school and speak with them.

3. Ask them for their contact information (Name, Address, Phone Number, Website, school email, etc.). If they don't give this, don't continue with the application.

4. Google the school name to gather information about them. Double check it with the information given in item #3 above. If the school or agency has a website, contact them through the website to ask about the job offer in question.

5. Compare the job offer to others. If the terms and benefits are far greater than the industry norm then it is probably not legitimate.

Regardless, anyone using the internet to find any employment, regardless of the industry they work in, should use caution and discretion. In addition, you should limit any personal information you send/share (i.e. NEVER send Government ID numbers or Credit Card Information)...and NEVER send money for a promise of employment...Legitimate employers do not ask this.

If you ever encounter what you believe to be a scam and want to take action, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission at [email protected] or to Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov) though it seems from the notice at IC3 that even they and the FBI are victims of scam emails�In addition, there are international agencies such as ICPEN (www.econsumer.gov) that handle cross-border fraud.

We at TotalESL.com wish everyone the best of wishes in this difficult global environment and hope for your continued success.

Thank you.

Admin

TotalESL.com

They represented themselves as the recruiting office at the university. When I got the "appointment letter," it became obvious. Anyway, some good pointers here.