The big thread of SCAMS (be wary and be warned!)(TL;DR alert)

[*L*E*G*A*C*Y*]

I decided to make this thread after seeing the 5Linx thread. If you or a friend or family member got a job or is involved with something to good to be true...it more than likely is and this is who this thread is for!

In my 11 years of working, I've had the unfortunate (and somewhat interesting) displeasure of getting hired for jobs only to find out they were scams. These jobs were jobs that I never worked more than 4 weeks at a time. When I realized it wasn't worth it and something was up...I just left.

THESE ARE MY STORIES AND REVELATIONS! I'M GIVING THIS FORUM A HEADS UP! I WILL BE NAMING COMPANIES AND EXPOSING THEY ASSES TOO IN THIS THREAD CAUSE THEY ARE RUN BY DISHONEST PEOPLE THAT NEED TO BE PUT IN THEIR PLACE! ALSO, I SEE HOW THESE SCAM JOBS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MINORITIES, OUT OF COLLEGE GRADS, AND POOR/UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE AND I'M JUST SAYING FUKK EM!

SCAM 1: DOOR TO DOOR SALES, MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING, AND OUTSOURCED SALES.

Scenario: You are looking for a job online on a site like Craigslist, Monster, or CareerBuilder. You see an add that says "management opportunity available, willing to train, looking for new managers for regional division growth, looking for motivated people for marketing company" and send them your resume. You get a call from one of their representatives and they ask you to come in for an interview. You go into the interview and ask you for a second interview. BUT, upon this...they request you to dress business casual, wear comfortable shoes, and prepare to be on your feet for a period of 8 hours...

At this point: Upon hearing the last part...you should just head for the hills. If you do accept the second interview (maybe out of desperation that the lights will get cut off or you wont make rent), expect to go out with a team and go door to door selling whatever they ask you. This is OUTSOURCED SALES. The managers will explain how they work with big name companies like American Express or Nokia, but this is only because they subcontract sales from those companies and sell their products for them. This is an industry in which 90-95% of people fail. Most people don't make it past the second week and it is all commission based.

Who is responsible for this?: This is all apart of a larger multi-level marketing cult called CYDCOR
http://wolfram.org/scam/cydcor.html
The product supplier is known as DS MAX
http://wolfram.org/scam/ds_max/index.html

A list of some Direct Sales, Cydcor, DS MAX companies:
TROY INTERNATIONAL
http://tamzarianarmin2.wordpress.co...nal-deceptive-practices-questionable-history/
http://www.troyinternationalinc.com/
New York Client Solutions
http://www.newyorkclientsolutions.com/
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/new-y...r-services-provided-new-york-new-york-1080519
5North
http://entryleveljobscamsblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-north-inc-new-york-ny.html

Stay tuned...

 

[HookersandIceCream]

This thread is sponsored by Mollywatr

Better than Coke

 

[Uncle Kingpin]

Political canvassing - one i know of is called PIRG, they hire you to go door to door and solicit donations for some hot-button cause like pollution or global warming. They claim the donations are for funding lobbying politicians, but it only benefits some who owns it. If you dont get hundreds of dollars of donations per day your fired.

 

[*L*E*G*A*C*Y*]

SCAM 2: THE LICENSE/CERTIFICATION SCAM

Scenario: You're looking for job online. You see an ad that says "____________ certification/licensing available" (these can range from everything from bartending licenses to security licenses & certifications) that offers job placement services an competitive pay. You send them your resume and they ask you come in for an interview. You go to the interview. The interviewer tells you stories of how you can get your license & certifications if you pay a certain amount of money. For this example, I'll use security services. The interviewer beforehand asks you to pay $80 for registration fees (this should be the red flag here). The interviewer will also tell you how you will need your 8hr OTJ (on the job) Certification, 16hr OTJ certification, your Fireguard (this really applies to high rise buildings) certification, and how you'll need to pay X amount of dollars for classes to get them.

Note: NO ONE ever pays the same amount. From the stories of people I worked alongside, some paid as little as $180 for the classes while some paid as much as $750 for the classes.

At this point: If the registration fee didn't dissuade you already, prepare to just go through the security classes and learn real information for a job they don't have. These type of jobs promise immediate placement after receiving certifications and licenses but very few people actually get placed in security positions. And the few that do get placed with HORRIBLE hours (one guy I knew was assigned to work 7 days a week from 12-8). I lost $300 for certifications that got me nowhere. No job placement, nothing. Other I people I knew were just directed to other companies and security contractors that charged more for the same classes for different fake certifications.
A list of some well-known scammers in the security field that I know of:
ALLIANZ SECURITY NYC
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/allianz-security
http://www.scambook.com/company/view/67220/Allianz-Security-Protection

I can't stand this scam honestly because it's scamming people for real services that people need. This scam goes also into maintance skilled trades.

 

[Chill]

Need more helpful threads like these.

 

[stealthbomber]

"yeah do all this work and get paid a fraction of whatever work you bring in, don't worry about the product, its coming oh and you have to bring in 3 friends to work under you and then maybe you can keep your job. be sure to write your checks out to cash "

social darwinism at its finest.

 

[Scientific Playa]

great thread and info!

 

[Camammal]

subs

 

[*L*E*G*A*C*Y*]

SCAM 3: THE TIMESHARE (THE SCAM THAT WORKS BOTH WAYS)

Scenario: You're looking for a job on craiglist etc. The ad lists things about working in the travel and hotel industry. The companies asks for experienced sales persons with motivated attitudes to be sales representatives. (honestly, if an ad has too many business related terms and industry jargon and too little of what that company actually does, it should be a red flag). You send them your resume and you come in for an interview. They tell you how they need people to represent (for this example I'll use the company I worked as a sales rep for...Blue Green Resorts which is the most popular) a popular resort and will talk about their clients and representatives (which is BS) and how you'll be able to make good money from it.

At this point: Just think for a second. What purpose do travel agents serve in the age of expedia and the internet? This should be a red flag because NO travel company (hotel, resort, etc) is going out of their way to call people they aren't doing business with. If you do take the job, expect to be on the phone for 8 hours a day cold calling people.

We would use scripts and the script went like this that we had to follow to call people.

Hi is __________ there? Hi my name is ______________ and recently you were at the (we were given leads to use from contest forms filled out at trade shows in the country and hunting shops) _________ trade show and while you were there, you filled out a form for a Florida vacation giveaway and a cruise for two. Do you remember? We'll I'm calling on behalf of Blue Green Vacations Unlimited/Great Vacations Destinations, and I have some great news for you! Your name has been selectd for our Florida vacation and cruise. CONGRATULATIONS, grab a pen and a piece of paper I'm going to go over all the exciting details!

By now, the people I would talk to would say things like "what's the catch"...to which we would say "there's no catch, just grab a pen and paper!" . If the conversation continued after we would describe all of the details in the vacation package and continue to the coup de grace...asking for their credit card number to pay $500 for a "free" vacation!

I found this really fishy when I worked there. The location did not seem anything like what it was described. It was basically an office in a room of an industrial textiles manfacturing building that was leased out to furniture makers and industrial artists in Long Island City. It was shady. The main thing that as stressed at this job was getting a credit card number over the phone. Most people won't do this (obviously) but the gift of gab in the script was all about getting people on the phone to give them credit card information.

Expect to get paid next to nothing (comission). The catch: just a 2-5 hour presentation where Blue Green tries to sell you stuff!

Who is responsible for this?: BLUE GREEN RESORTS
http://www.bluegreenonline.com/

Blue Green Resorts touts itself as the largest travel destination in the US and has been in busines since 1968. But if you look online at reviews of Blue Green, it's NOTHING but negative!
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/blueg...-sales-by-deception-boca-raton-florida-273484
http://www.bbb.org/south-east-flori...-corporation-in-boca-raton-fl-8195/complaints
http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/bluegreen-resorts.html
http://www.pissedconsumer.com/revie...ealings-about-your-resort-20130204381760.html
http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/bluegreen-resorts/scam-20120416312478.html
http://www.justanswer.com/consumer-protection-law/47691-bought-bluegreen-resorts-huge-scam.html

This company really preys on older people and senior citizens because they're more likely to buy into something like this simply due to lack of knowledge. So if your parents, grandparents, etc tell you stories about how they won a free vacation buy want their credit card info tell them that IT'S A SCAM! It's bleeds people's money dry!

People have been forced to pay fees from this for services they never get to use. Some people have even lost their houses to this from having timeshare fees drained from their bank/credit card accounts automatically. This is a scam/devil corporation that needs to be stopped!

Also: if you want a timeshare or a cheap vacation destination...go to ebay...where people are selling them for as low as $0.01 because they have NO resale value!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=timeshare&_sop=15

 

[SwagmundFreud]

A couple of weeks ago some Guy that spoke broken english told me ive been selected to get a free government grant of 7,000 bucks. All I had to do was put 150 dollars on a greenpak card. shyt sounded to fishy so I told him to go fukk himself

 

[BrothaZay]

 

[concise]

ripoff report. I love the reviews on there.

 

[*L*E*G*A*C*Y*]

SCAM 4: PAY TO PLAY (AFTON MANAGEMENT/ENTERTAINMENT)

Scenario: You are a singer, in a band, a rapper, or a dj. You've been promoting your music, working on your music, and working to get gigs. Then, all of a sudden, you get an e-mail from someone who is looking to book shows in your area and think you would be a good fit their ext show! I guess this is a ticket to the big time...right? Exciting...isn't it? You go through with them and they book you for a show. Then, they tell you the details about it.

At this point: After they tell you the details, this is what they want you to do.

• Create a log in with their site to create your "unique profile"
• There, you will activate your "e-tickets" and physical tickets for the show
• These tickets are meant to be sold to 15-20 people. if you sell 25 tickets you get a first choice of set time..

But here's the kicker, the money that you make from selling those tickets goes to AFTON MANAGEMENT/ENTERTAINMENT! So you are basically paying out of your own pocket to play your own show and from that money you will only make a very small amount of it back, the majority of it goes to afton. AFTON does not work with door or bar fees so the only money you make is from ticket sales!

I did a show with afton and it was weird. It was a hip-hop show in a hipster dive bar in Williamsburg that usually has punk and metal bands. No one stays for the whole show. People are only there to see their artists and then they leave when they are done. The "headlining" artist that closed the show literally only had 6 people in the audience (besides me). Since I sold no tickets, I played first AND RECEIVED NO MONEY FOR AN HOUR LONG PERFORMANCE! I was shocked because I've never not been paid for a show I've done.

I was pissed. I'll admit. I e-mailed them about it.. and this was their response...

First of all what the f*ck is this?

I've played many shows in 10 years and they ALL paid cash at the END OF THE SHOW (and that was usually a take of the door and the bar). I've never done any show where they gave me a check weeks after the show...ever!

How did I screw over a venue that was already paid out by AFTON anyways beforehand? The ticket sales went straight to them and not the venue at all! The first thing that their representatives wanted was the ticket money. They don't give a sh!t about live music.

I then presented them with this lovely link I discovered about their lovely company and that was the end of our "business" relationship...

http://neverpaytoplay.com/Afton/&NP2Pafton.htm
This was their response.

At this point, this was the end of any future discussion I would ever have with them.

Afton basically spam e-mails anybody with a soundcloud, twitter, bandcamp, etc from the comfort of their homes in Oregon and have their cronies representatives collect money for shows. THAT'S IT.

NEVER PAY TO PLAY!

 

[Wild self]

Hmmm....

 

[*L*E*G*A*C*Y*]

SCAM 5: CUTCO/VECTOR MARKETING

Scenario: You see an ad online describing a "business opportunity" to make "extra income" and to be "a part of growing company". You call them or talk to them via e-mail. They ask you to come in for an interview. And they hire you (really they hire everyone...they act like it's a selective process just cause).

You go to the second interview and seminar. Basically they present you with a presentation about...KNIVES!
I did this for a week back in 2010, then bounced when I realized what a joke it was.

At this point: You can either do one of two things...bounce or stay. If you stay with Cutco, just be prepared to not really make any money if you don't have connections. This job is really for people somewhat fresh out of high school and still in college that have friends, classmates, and family of those people to use at contacts/leads. After running out of those contacts, there really is no point in continuing as the job definitely has a ceiling that can't be smashed through after a certain point.. Cutco/Vector Marketing basically is a company where less than 13% of people actually move ahead.

Note: As of recently, I've found out that people involved with Cutco no longer have to pay for their knife sets (for presentations). So, technically, it can't be considered a scam, but it is misleading based on the perception of the company. Any job where the company wants you to pay for materials they should provide is a scam IMO because that's a sizeable source of money for that company.

http://mcanetworkacademy.com/jasmin...cam-is-a-cutco-scam-and-you-should-stay-away/
http://www.knifeup.com/cutco-knives-and-vector-marketing-is-a-scam/