Korean Job Discussion Forums

mbristow · Joined: 28 Jun 2005 Location: long beach

I have been offered a job at a private school and the recruiter wants me to open up two bank accounts. One would be in my name and in his name. He told me that the money from the school would go into this bank account. Then he said that I needed to open up a second personal bank account where I would get my pay check. Any idea why I have to open up a bank account with him. I am talking to the school tomorrow, so any help would be great.

Demonicat · Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Location: Suwon

Sounds like he's getting ready to rob you. No money should be going into any account that he can access.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

This seems to be a common scam recruiters try to run. Who are you working for, him or the school? The school should be paying you directly. His job is to place you in a job and collect the head hunting fee from the school. Accept nothing less. Tell him this isn't the way we do it in North America, you're very uncomfy with the situation, and wish him all the best in his career as a low grade human being...

peppermint · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:06 am Post subject:

It's a scheme that's gaining in popularity lately, and basically it's so the school and / or the recruiter can avoid paying taxes. It would probably be fine so long as they don't get investigated for any reason, but is that a risk you're willing to take for an employer?

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

OK, here's what you should do. Open an account in your name, the recruiter's name, and also my name (JOE TOFU). Give me the ATM card. Every month on your payday I'll collect your pay, pass the recruiter's portion on to the recruiter, and then inform you how much is left and send it to your personal bank account. Let me take care of things for you. OK?

Jeonnam Jinx · Joined: 06 Oct 2005 Location: Jeonnam

You found his request strange enough to post here, so that should tell you something.

Bluntly, do NOT trust this person by ANY means. Seriously.

fidel · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Location: North Shore NZ

Hollywoodaction · Joined: 02 Jul 2004

It's one of the many different confidence scams that Korean con artists do.

blunder1983 · Joined: 12 Apr 2005

Lazy con men, you'd think they'd come up with original scams. These ones are seen through in seconds!

riley · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: where creditors can find me

silly korean con man, tricks are for kids!

Angrycareb · Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Location: Wifi Monkey Land

open an account in your name and give the account number to your school. tell the recruiter to sod off. if he/she pesters you about it, insist that a single account in your name will suffice and don't budge from that. if they want to hire you, they'll see the error of their ways and do things your way. if you show weakness, however, they will screw you like a stuffed bunny rabbit in a pound of uncastrated dogs. in this situation, think of unhappy words that rhyme with grape

fancypants · Joined: 22 May 2005

i had a job once doing the after school ESL thing in the seoul public school system. same situation (actually the same as dozens of other posters on efl.law), they opened a "special joint account" in my name which i didn't have access to but which the public schools paid directly into each month, recruiter would take his share and deposit the rest into my other bank account. i thought it was really suss, still do, but when i asked about it they said that there was some stipulation with the public school system that forbade the issuance of pay to anyone but the teacher. in other words, if what they said was true, they couldn't pay the recruiter (who in turn would pay me) but me and only me. kind of made sense to me in a crazy korean bureaucratic sort of way.

i went for some other interviews for those part-time after school programs in the public school system and it was the same story every time.

by the by, a poster on either this forum or efl.law, i can't remember, kind of pulled a "counter scam" on his boss who was scamming him by going to the bank where said dodgy account was, getting a bank card, and emptied the account and all its millions. the boss tried to slap him with theft charges but of course they didnt' stick cos you can't steal from yourself.