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Scam job offers and boredom are a bad mix
Ultimanecat
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I'm currently an unemployed ex-law student who, as a favor, is helping manage my friend's uncle's small business since his uncle is having trouble doing it himself.
Yesterday, as I was helping a customer, he asked me what I was doing otherwise since I seemed "too smart" and "too much of a people person" to be working where I was. I told the customer that I was previously in school but dropped out for financial reasons and was helping out family friends, at which point he started going into a long spiel about how he knew how tough times were and that he was making tons of money part-time offering some sort of financial service and he wanted me "in on the ground floor". I asked him for a card and he said he had just given out his last one, but he gave me his details and asked for mine. He then said that he'd let the other people in his business know about me and that there was a invite-only presentation / open-house I should go to this week.
So, by now my bullshit detectors are going off, but hey, I'm not really gainfully employed and have nothing better to do than stir shit up for potential fraudsters, plus I'm a 200 lbs guy with a shaved head so I figure there are easier marks than me if the goal was for me to show up and them to have their way with me.
Anyway, so I'm thinking of going to this presentation / open-house, but I was hoping I could get some advice on what stuff to look out for if it is indeed a scam, and also how and to whom I may go about reporting it if it does end up that way. I've seen a thread or two here about people dealing with scammy jobs and figured I could get some help.
So far, the only thing I'm really on the lookout for is being asked to pay money to get into the job. Any other ways this can develop, or things I should pay attention to?
Edit: I should also add that there is absolutely nothing about the nature of the work he saw me doing at this place of business that would even remotely suggest I would know what the hell I was doing working in financial services...
Yesterday, as I was helping a customer, he asked me what I was doing otherwise since I seemed "too smart" and "too much of a people person" to be working where I was. I told the customer that I was previously in school but dropped out for financial reasons and was helping out family friends, at which point he started going into a long spiel about how he knew how tough times were and that he was making tons of money part-time offering some sort of financial service and he wanted me "in on the ground floor". I asked him for a card and he said he had just given out his last one, but he gave me his details and asked for mine. He then said that he'd let the other people in his business know about me and that there was a invite-only presentation / open-house I should go to this week.
So, by now my bullshit detectors are going off, but hey, I'm not really gainfully employed and have nothing better to do than stir shit up for potential fraudsters, plus I'm a 200 lbs guy with a shaved head so I figure there are easier marks than me if the goal was for me to show up and them to have their way with me.
Anyway, so I'm thinking of going to this presentation / open-house, but I was hoping I could get some advice on what stuff to look out for if it is indeed a scam, and also how and to whom I may go about reporting it if it does end up that way. I've seen a thread or two here about people dealing with scammy jobs and figured I could get some help.
So far, the only thing I'm really on the lookout for is being asked to pay money to get into the job. Any other ways this can develop, or things I should pay attention to?
Edit: I should also add that there is absolutely nothing about the nature of the work he saw me doing at this place of business that would even remotely suggest I would know what the hell I was doing working in financial services...
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Ultimanecat on
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If they ask for money up front, it's a scam.
If they say anything about you "processing payments from home" it's a scam.
If it's commission only and you're selling services, it's not necessarily a scam but it's close and you won't make any money either way.
If part of the business model is for you to give some of your earnings to a person/persons over you, and to recruit new people who will give some of their earnings to you, it's completely a scam.
Seriously though, you're probably good just to be on the lookout for "start up costs" and any bit of the spiel that includes the words "recruit your friends/family". Chances are this is a pyramid scheme (or just far enough off of one to remain legal), so keep your skepticism close at hand.
Why did you drop out of law school?
but they're listening to every word I say
Combination of things. Mostly didn't want to borrow another 40K to finish it out when job prospects were looking dire. I've had a few friends who have done decently well since graduation, but more friends who have been struggling and/or taking low-paying jobs and living at home since graduation.
I also was accused and acquitted of academic misconduct (I lived with other law students and we shared an internet connection; after doing an online component of a course we were accused of collaboration). I did get out of it but getting raked over the coals for a month or so by my own professors left a bad taste in my mouth.
He also said that another guy he invited had just backed out and that was why he could offer a limited spot on the guest list to me :rotate:
Then report back here and we can have a good laugh.
Sorry - I tried to warn you about the job thing when you were applying! What you are describing is certainly a multi-level marketing scheme. Selling on commission is fine if you're in a real company doing B2B sales - this is not that kind of sales job. It's not a job if it's "part time" and if it's easy to make money off of it it'd be full of people doing it. You're better off hunting for real jobs in other ways.
This. It sounds exactly like Primerica. They suckered in one of my buddies a long time ago.
As I remember, it's sales combined with "multilevel marketing".
All I can say is take a couple steps back and look at what you just said here. It sounds totally scamtastic from an outsider perspective. It may not be Primerica (a great way to ensure none of your friends and family want to talk to you ever again since whenever you talk to them you try to sell them on investment vehicles); it could be Landmark, wherein there is a heavy brainwashing component.
I'm not saying there aren't people who make money off these schemes, it's just that the con isn't what makes them money. They already have natural talent/con-ability so they'd pretty much make money in any front sales position with the proper motivation.
Be aware that sometimes they employ rentacops for their hotel/conference center presentations to remove the non-suckers after uncomfortable questions are asked.
No worries, it sounds scamtastic from an insider perspective as well. I really have no intention of working for whatever this is, but one thing I do have is time to burn and a willingness to put the screws to people who would take advantage of others when things are as shitty as they are - either through dodgy financial services or even dodgier jobs.
The only thing I really enjoyed about law school was working for the government-run watchdog for the legal profession and nailing shady lawyers to the wall. My main concerns here are what different scam jobs can look like and whether there is anybody to report them to if it does turn out that way.
Well, that may be the second best thing. Best thing is to bring a friend with a video camera to record the uncomfortable questions and responses to put up on youtube.
Buzzwords, ahoy!
-nationwide
-making waves
-about to go big
-previous dude backed out, you want in now's the time
I've had sales pitches like this thrown at me and I've come up with a technique that works pretty well.
Basically, you suspect someone is trying to get you involved in a pyramid/multimarket scheme, right? Imagine the person speaking is a 65 year old man whose most notable features are a chewing tobacco stained beard and a battered 10 gallon hat. Maybe also, like, a squint or a limp or something. Everything after that is simple replacement of the buzzwords.
"Nationwide" would translate to "gold". "Making waves" would translate to "GOLD I TELLS YA". "About to go big" is obviously "NUGGETS AS BIG AS YER FIST, I SAYS". And for the previous dude backing out line, it'd be "You wanna make money you listen to me, I gots the knack for finding the GOLD up in them hills".
TylerJ on League of Legends (it's free and fun!)
I probably would...but one does not simply walk into the SEC...
(Or really any federal government job, these days.)
For the actual thread topic, I really like the friend with a video camera idea. Non-consenting secret recording state laws blah blah post it here after!
Secondly, if actual fraud occurs (intentionally and deceptively inducing someone to act to their detriment), then that is illegal. If some guy in charge tells me "I'm not supposed to say it so bluntly, but you'll be making 5K a month without even trying", then we're entering the realm of conmen, and not just recruiting for crumby jobs.
Thirdly, I don't plan on doing anything illegal. I'm not afraid of confrontation on its own, and if they ask me to leave, I leave. I won't be secretly recording anything because there are several ways that could end up being a crime in my state. However, I do at least know people who work for the local newspaper, so I guess if there is no other oversight for this type of thing I can at least let them know what's going on.
Fourthly, maybe I'm just a cynical bastard and some guy really does have a way for me to make 3K a month in only a few hours a day!
Any time you have to pay money to get a job, it's a scam. Yes I know, you have to pay for gas to drive to an interview (yes someone argued with me about that before).
You really think people would be struggling to make ends meat if there was a way they could make $50,000 a year in an hour a day? You'll see travel club scams, time shares, selling knives, selling cleaning products, selling juice from a berry from the amazon.
Don't fall for that shit, it never works out.
It's like a game, see how many times you can get him to setup meetings and no-show without warning. I managed to get three meetings setup and had a family member die, then my apartment flood. Last one was going to be my car broke down.
Have fun and stay safe buddy!