is this a scam job or is it legitimate?

Question

Local Recruiter, Part Time $900/Week
(Entry Level, Training Included, post classified ads and get paid)


What position entails: You need to post various employment classified ads in US newspapers and magazines for our company based in Canada. This work does not require any funds out-of-pocket from you. We will provide the funds to post in newspapers. Once you have received the funds and the ad content necessary for the postings from us, all you have to do is place the ads from home by calling newspapers’ toll free numbers or by using their online services.

Prices for US newspaper ads are almost double for foreign citizens/companies, this is the main reason we need your services in the US for the specified position, PT Local Recruiter. You will spend max. 3-6 hours weekly, in your spare time. You do NOT need special skills or degrees. The position is very easy and can be done by anyone without the necessity to leave current job! It’s as easy as placing an ad in a newspaper.

There will be 6-8 ads placed weekly, for each ad you post you are paid with $100, you will deduct your share from money we send you to post the ads. For example, if we need to place an ad that costs $500 we will send you $600, you pay $500 to newspaper or website that places the ad and you remain same day with $100 commission. This is possible because for a foreign company the same ad costs around $900-$1100.

We will select papers from the US where the classified ads will be placed and send you the funds to post. You need to place the ads in max. 48 hours after you receive the money from us! This is the only condition we ask. How you are paid for your services: As specified above, there will be 6-9 ads placed weekly. For each ad you post, you are paid $100. You will deduct your share from money we send you to post the ads. You will be registered as our employee and we'll pay taxes every time you will place an ad. You will then receive a 1099 form at the end of each year from our company.

This is what they ask for as far as your info: First name, Last name:
Street Address:
City, State, Postal Zip Code:
Two E-mail addresses:
Phone#:

Although the requirements for this position are very simple and all terms are clear, please do not apply for this job if you are not responsible. Your agreement will be considered a US binding contract, so we expect you to follow through on your commitment to our requirements.
Sounds too good to be true. Any input would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Brian

Answer 1

Scam.



1. US newspapers do not charge Canadians more for advertising. They don't care, nor would they have the resources to police who is putting ads in.



2. Under NAFTA that would be illegal.



3. There is no type of Canadian business which would need to advertise in a US newspaper which wouldn't have an office in the United States.



4. A typical ad in a national US paper runs around $25-$100k for half-page ads for a few days. Any $500 ad would either be a local newspaper or a classified ad. Again... what in the world would a Canadian company want to put in classified ads in a local US newspaper or the classified section? No one in Springfield MI is going to want products from Canada and no one in New York is going to look at the classifieds and buy something non-local.



5. You can email or phone in classifieds ads and they happily take credit cards. (And Canadian credit cards work fine in the US). You can email or phone normal ads in most newspapers also.



6. There are advertising companies in the US which do this sort of thing. You give them your ads, target, etc. and for a small fee (15% or so), they contact various papers, magazines, etc. and they ensure that ads are taken out regularly.



7. Print advertising is nearly dead for non-local. Any Canadian company spending $5,000 a week on cheap print ads in the US would be nuts. Putting ads on Yahoo, Google, mailings, etc. would be far more effective.



8. Success rates on most ads (let alone print) is pretty low. Any company spending $250k/year on print ads would need to be earning many millions per year in revenues. Such companies don't hide their names, hire random smucks off the street, etc.



9. If newspapers were charging foreign companies more (which they aren't and can't) then any company spending $250,000 a year on US print advertising would merely spend $100 to incorporate a company in the US and other $100 a year for a PO box with mail forwarding to Canada.



10. If for some reason a Canadian company needed to do this... why is it advertising in the for someone to do this? It only needs *one* person to be doing this. So why advertise to random people? If you are spending $250k in ads and willing to spend $25k in commissions... why not go through a US headhunter, ad agency, professional services, partner with a US company, etc.



11. If US newspapers did charge Canadians companies more (don't buy it)... then I can't image anyone seriously thinking you could put 250-300 ads per year into a newspapers and someone wouldn't notice that they are from Canadian companies? This company doesn't have offices in the US, so these ads aren't for US addresses/locations. If you do $250k of business with someone over a year... you bet the sales person is going to know what your company does, want to meet personally, have ideas about expanding your ads, etc.



12. If it was going to cost me an extra $250k per year (if they were going to charge me double), why wouldn't the Canadian company spend $100 (and maybe $10,000 on a lawyer) to file some NAFTA complaints.



Sorry... don't buy any of it.

Answer 2

SCAM

First of all, ad rates are one price no matter who places them so they are full of crap that it costs more for them to place than you

Second, NOBODY is going to pay anyone $100 to place a single ad

Third, NO company you have never met EVER needs your home address for any reason



This is a scam by criminals to get YOU to post fake job ads - money laundering, fake recruiters wanting money for processing fees, fake secret shopper companies, etc. And when someone gets scammed and reports to the police or FBI who investigate they find that YOU placed the ad and you will be arrested. You know all the people coming on Y!A asking "Is this a job scam" -- who do you think placed that ad in the first place. It wasn't the criminals, it was some sucker they found. The ad you found probably was placed there by some other person who doesn't realize he is engaged in fraud every time he runs those ads



Oh, and you won't get paid for anything - these criminals are not going to pay you. They are relying on you to place ads so suckers fall for the fake job postings and send them money through Western Union



if you really think there is a company who is going to pay a stranger they have never met over $40,000/year to place 6-8 ads a week, then you need to stop looking for jobs online or you are going to actually fall for one of these scams

Answer 3

I think it's very fishy how he wants to be contacted personally. Usually job apps and interviews are done through a company's HR sector, which would probably use a company email. But, This looks like a small company(?) so, you never know. Ask yourself: - Did I send these guys my resume? - How would they have acquired my resume/email address? - Did the guy use a lower case "i" instead of a capitol? (I see one of those) - Spelling mistakes/grammatical errors? - Did I Google "recent job application email scams"? - Is any of this information on my resume? - Is this the kind of stuff that can be used to forge my identity? - Is this too good to be true? - Should I call Equimix Saddlery LTD and inquire? (if this Benson guy exists and if they would have sent me this email) - Is the phone number even legit? Once again, I have no idea if this is real or not, but you should try to verify it asap. Your identity is worth a lot and your life can be ruined if it's stolen.

Answer 4

It would help us if we could have the company name or a little more detail about who these people are. Email address, company address, website, etc.



That way they can be researched with the BBB and so forth.