From DangerZoneJobs.com
Avoiding Overseas Job Scams
By William K. Beaver, editor, dangerzonejobs.com
Wednesday, January 3, 2007, 06:34
Maybe you want to find work overseas (especially in danger zones) because you've heard there's a ton of money to be made. Or maybe you're just in a hurry to get to work again after getting out of the military. These and similar reasons give scam artists all the fuel they need to bilk people out of their money.
Often it's not easy to spot a scam, especially about something unknown like jobs supposedly available overseas. You will see advertisements in prestigious newspapers and magazine, which make legitimate sounding claims of excitement and excellent salaries. The ads sound like others you might find in your local employment classifieds.
The problem is even worse on the internet. To see how these scam artists operate, consider the following three cases taken from the files of the Federal Trade Commission. I have not used their actual names since they are all out of business.
CASE NUMBER ONE:
The Federal Trade Commission charged a Las Vegas partnership with conducting a deceptive overseas job placement scam. According to the FTC, this company and three individuals allegedly offered overseas employment matching services. They claimed to match consumers' qualifications and skills with companies that were hiring Americans in Australia and other countries. They typically sold their services for $290.
The FTC's complaint charged that company falsely claimed that:
-- clients were very likely to obtain overseas employment in Australia or other countries;
-- they had existing relationships with numerous firms that have jobs overseas;
-- they derived most of their income from fees paid by hiring companies; and
-- they had located specific employers interested in hiring, or prepared to hire, particular clients.
This company also represented that it would refund the fee to any client who was not satisfied with its services. However, the company frequently refused to refund fees, or made refunds only after clients filed complaints with governmental or consumer protection agencies.
In addition, the company sometimes had employees or associates contact potential clients and falsely represent that they were prospective employers interested in hiring the client.
CASE NUMBER TWO:
The Federal Trade Commission charged Company B with conducting a fraudulent telemarketing scheme that promised to place consumers in overseas jobs, but which had bilked approximately 70,000 consumers out of an estimated $25 million.
Company B and its two owners and officers, XYZ and his wife, allegedly offered overseas employment matching services. They claimed to "match" job applicants with a computerised data base of actual current job openings and to send customers' resumes to companies which had job openings matching the customers' skills.
Company B sold its services for $395 to $550, and advertised in national and local magazines and newspapers, by telephone and by mailed promotional materials.
The FTC's complaint charged that owners falsely claimed that:
-- customers were very likely to get overseas jobs through their placement services. In fact, the complaint alleged, many or most of the customers did not obtain jobs through Company B.
-- they had information on 10,000 to 15,000 or more currently available overseas job openings. According to the complaint, they actually had information on substantially fewer than 10,000 openings.
-- they maintained "close working relationships" with hundreds of companies which had overseas jobs available, and that they discussed individual customers' applications with those companies. The complaint charged that they had no such "close working relationships," and that on few, if any, occasions had they discussed individual applications.
-- they matched customers with at least three prospective employers within the time specified in the contract, and made refunds to customers who were not provided matches. In fact, the complaint alleged, they did not match all customers with three prospective employers within the time limit and did not provide refunds.
Consumers had suffered "substantial injury" as a result of these actions, the complaint charged.
CASE THREE
A federal district court has prohibited Company C of Coral Springs, Florida, from falsely promising that it had found jobs for individuals, was hiring workers on behalf of other firms, or that it would fully refund deposits applicants had paid to hold purported jobs.
The court order followed earlier Federal Trade Commission charges that the company had engaged in a deceptive scheme offering jobs in the Caribbean.
The FTC alleged that Company C placed help-wanted ads in newspapers throughout the United States inviting job seekers to call an 800 telephone number for information about construction employment featuring high pay -- $70,000 to $85,000 a year -- and good benefits.
The defendants charged job seekers $289 each as a "refundable good faith" deposit for placement in a "guaranteed" position. In fact, the FTC charged, applicants received neither the promised jobs nor refunds of their deposits. Company C was not hiring for construction jobs with any firm in the Caribbean area, nor had the defendants reserved any construction jobs for the applications.
What about Iraq job scams?
The methods in all three cases above could easily be used against people looking for jobs in Iraq. In fact, many have complained that some companies and websites have in fact used similar techniques.
Two companies in particular seem to keep being referred to as scams: oilcareer.com, otherwise know as Oil Career Professional Placement Service (and a few others listed below).
Fortunately, diligent and experienced people like Captain Ron of Offshoreguides.com have kept an eye on these guys. Oilcareer.com is the star scam attraction, and to make things confusing, there is a different site (a legitimate one) called oilcareers.com
For more information, you can also read these articles:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/employment/oilcareer.html
http://offshoreguides.com/BOOK/23_scams_and_frauds.htm
http://www.drillers.com/dayrates.warnings.cfm This also has good information about Nigerian job scams.
Here's what the Edmonton Better Business Bureau in Canada says about oilcareer.com:
A BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ALBERTA REPORT
NEW VENTURES UNLIMITED
539-9768 170 ST
EDMONTON, AB T5T 5L4
General Information
Original Business Start Date: Apr-1999
Principal: MATTHEW HOVILA, PRESIDENT
Telephone #: (780) 450-6682
Email Address: resumes@oilcareer.com
Business Classification(s): EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES RESUME SERVICES
Customer Experience
The Bureau has not received a response to its request for basic information from this company. Without this information, the Bureau cannot provide complete and current information concerning such things as the company's management or its nature of business.
This company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to a pattern of complaints concerning advertising and refund issues. Complainants report that the company has not supplied them with the service promised. The company has refused complinants' request for refunds.
Some of the companies that have received e-mailed resumes are asking that these unauthorized and non-solicited e-mails stop. All complaints received have been brought to the company's attention and the company has failed to respond to either the consumer or the BBB.
Additional Business Names
This firm also does business as:
OIL CAREER PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENT SERVICE
OILCAREER.COM
STRATEGIC ECOMM INC
This is not necessarily a complete list.
Note: I have also found other sites registered to Hovila, including:
oilcareer.org (which is advertising on google for jobs in Iraq, see below) oiljob.com
oil-rig-jobs.com
Jobs Rebuilding Iraq (scams)
Date: May 17, 2003
This article was posted by the BBB of Southern Arizona.
The want ads are starting to include advertisements for overseas employment in Iraq. While the post-war reconstruction effort will employ some U.S. workers, a lot more are set to be victimized by misleading advertising that funnels job seekers into outright rip-offs.
Most of the ads offering employment in Iraq are in three fields: heavy construction; police and public safety; and health care. All the scams have several things in common. They have a "hurry up or you'll miss out" aura about them, they all want a fee upfront for "placement" or "application kits", and they dangle salaries of $3,000 to $5,000 a week or more.
There are some other red flags that should put people on their guard, especially if they are looking for high-paying jobs rebuilding Iraq.
Skimpy contact information. E-mail addresses, toll-free telephone numbers or post office boxes are a perfectly acceptable way to begin contact. If you never get more information than that, be suspicious. At a very minimum, you should have the name and complete physical location including the street address, city, state and zip code of any company that claims to be offering employment in Iraq.
In the BBB's opinion, pre-recorded messages demanding money before you get any more information are a flat-out swindle.
Filling out an automated but bogus employment application is a perfect way for identity thieves to get to you. They learn everything about you. You know nothing about them.
Know who you are dealing with. Are you dealing with a middleman or with the actual employer? In Arizona, third-party employment recruiters must be licensed by the State Industrial Commission. Get name, address, phone number, city, state, zip, then verify licensing. Do not take the job recruiter's word for it.
Exactly what will they do for you? Pick any popular internet search engine and search on the keywords "employment in Iraq" or "jobs in Iraq." You'll get hundreds of hits. Some of them have full contact and location information, but just what do they do for you? Many are nothing more than industry-specific resume forwarding services. They blindly forward your resume in a bundle with hundeds of others (for a fee, of course) and hope that somebody with a job to fill will look at them.
How to protect yourself from scams
According to the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, you can protect yourself against employment scams by using common sense, and following a few basic rules.
1. You should ask for references.
2. Check them out in the state they list as an address.
3. Get everything in writing.
4. Forget about companies with no legitimate street address.
5. Be very skeptical of overseas employment opportunities that sound "too good to be true."
6. Never send cash in the mail, and be extremely cautious with firms that require a money order. This could indicate that the firm is attempting to avoid a traceable record of its transactions.
7. Do not be fooled by official-sounding names. Many scam artists operate under names that sound like those of long-standing, reputable firms.
8. Avoid working with firms that require payment in advance.
9. Do not give your credit card or bank account number to telephone solicitors.
10. Read the contract very carefully. Have an attorney look over any documents you are asked to sign.
11. Beware of an agency that is unwilling to give you a written contract.
12. Do not hesitate to ask questions. You have a right to know what services to expect and the costs involved.
13. Do not make a hasty decision. Instead, take time to weigh all the pros and cons of the situation. Be wary of demands that "you must act now."
14. Keep a copy of all agreements you sign, as well as copies of checks you forward to the company.
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