Adventures in job hunting: I just can’t make this shit up.

This morning I got a response from a position that I applied for last night. This is odd to me. I get an iffy feeling about companies that respond to resumes in less than 24 hours. Nevertheless, I continued reading the four paragraph email in hopes that something positive would come from the words they’ve written me.

It didn’t really wasn’t worth my time in reading.

Firstly, I would like to state that this position was listed as being in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I am currently in a small town in Northern British Columbia, Canada.

It was a four paragraph email to which they explained the importance of my transferring them $4,000 dollars as a security deposit. They apparently use the security deposit in place of signing a confidentiality agreement. So, I was to send them $4,000 for a security deposit, that could be returned to me upon six months completion of work (the probationary period).

The letter stated that, if I sent them the money today, I could be working as early as this afternoon. They’d provide me a list of errands to run and I could hop in my car and go do them and the company would reimburse me for the gas costs after the fact so long as I kept a log of miles travelled.

The letter went on to state that the company operates under a policy of ‘trust, but verify’ and their means of verifying is through the transfer of this $4,000, and that it’s a perfectly normal request that everyone who works for the company does.

To sum it up: If I pay $4,000 to this company, today, I could have the job and be working as early as this afternoon, running errands in my car, in a city that’s 12 hours away. Utmost discretion is required and, I am not to discuss this position with anyone else and we could work on salary and payment arrangements after I’d started working.

I reported this posting to LinkedIn today.

There’s no need for people to deal with this shit. It’s clearly a scam and I don’t want someone who doesn’t know any better to fall for this.

YOU SHOULD NOT EVER HAVE TO PAY MONEY TO AN EMPLOYER TO GET A JOB (I feel as though capital letters are necessary to proclaim my tone in the sentence).

44 thoughts on “Adventures in job hunting: I just can’t make this shit up.”

  2. Thanks for sharing this and warning us about these scams. I haven’t encountered this scam and it doesn’t seem like an MLM (surprising to me, really). I agree. You should by no means have to pay money to be employed (“pay to play”). I’m happy that you saw the red flags of this scam. These companies like to prey on the vulnerable and the desperate.

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    1. I just feel bad fort he people who aren’t able to see past scams like this. I wish I could put them on blast, but I fear getting in trouble for it.

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    1. Yeah, pretty much. Due to the industry it’s in, there’s lots of regulations to how they can operate as well. I’ve sent a couple of emails today in hopes of alerting some people they need to be looking into this particular company!

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    1. hmmm. I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s not a bad idea, actually. Because if they’re trying this on me, they’ve probably tried it on other people in which case the police should be made aware. Maybe they already are and I can further their need to speak with these people. Thank you for the suggestion!

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  6. What in the actual world? It’s ridiculous that there are such low-lifes in the world that sit around and do this. I’m glad you were smart enough to know better. Good luck on the job search.

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    1. I know, right? It’s ridiculous. It drives me crazy because i think of how many people out there could potentially fall for this kind of stuff. Thank you for reading, and for your support ❤

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  9. Shame you’re not closer to Mid-Atlantic US. We could get a drink and commiserate. Good for you for reporting them. You’re doing the Lord’s work.

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    1. Thanks, Jonny. Sadly, I feel as though as long as there’s gullible people in this world, shit like this will continue to happen. It’s unfortunate, but at least we can report them in the meantime.

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      1. No problem, I’m just sorry that this is still happening to people. Thanks for being a positive force in a world that sometimes seems filled with crap. 🙂

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    1. That’s horrible! Not getting paid until you pass probation should be a crime. And sadly, I feel like it probably happens a lot of places! That’s so sad.

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  13. There’s a gentleman here in the states who loves to respond to these scams and keep them tied up for months with email exchanges.
    What concerns me is that you applied for a job. What information do they have about you? You may want to watch for identity theft.
    Scammers are getting really bold if they are using job lines to try to get victims.
    I would think a call to local police might be in order as well.
    Thanks for telling your story.

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    1. I sadly think of it like people being too uninformed. It sucks because the vulnerable people are the ones who will fall for it. I feel for them. So at least I can report the company in the mean time. People shouldn’t have to tolerate that. Thanks for reading ❤

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  21. This is so saddening. You’re spending time and making effort to apply for these roles and it’s basically someone being completely bogus. Well done for reporting it though. You will find the right thing soon, my friend. I know it.

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