Like many, I have been "underemployed" for the last 8 months. While I run my own business, it is tied to the Real Estate market and has followed it into the crapper. Things may be loosening up a bit though, just booked three new jobs yesterday and another today. I hope its not just an anomaly and that the work keeps coming.
In a effort to fill in the gaps in my cash flow, I have been poking around the Net and have tossed up a few Resumes on the online job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder. This has graced my inbox with some very interesting propositions. Some are outright scams. Some are legitimate.
It really sucks when the low life jerks attempt to take advantage of people that have fallen on hard times. If you are an old salt like me, you very quickly spot the telltale signs. Some are not so lucky. Unfortunately, it's a "growth" industry. More and more are getting in on the gravy train and fleecing lost souls trying to keep their lives together and taking their very last dime just before they go under.
Even the legitimate job sites are not immune to the occasional scammer slipping through the cracks and using the sites good name to lend apparent legitimacy to the "offer" of a great way to make a ton of money in a short time and solve all your financial problems. (I've gotten a few of those. I have the various web site's scam reporting emails on "speed dial" and route the offer to them as soon as I find them.)
The only financial problems that get solved by these scams are those of the scammer! On close examination, it's not hard to see the flaws in the schemes they put forth. Someone once said "A fool and their money are soon parted." It is true, but there is another component. A heart with a bit of larceny in it! The less than ethical characters are the most likely to fall for the scam. Their impaired judgment makes is seem that it is totally fine to rip people off if they are doing it to "save their own family" or some such crap. They end up getting taken to the cleaners and it serves them right.
I'm dumbfounded but I get at least 10 variations on the Nigerian 419 scam every day along with many other very creative approaches to separate me from my money. The infamous 419 letter scam must really work because its really got legs. Its been around since way before the Internet and used to be run via the Postal system. Wow! These guys must have been very patient! The "419" part of the name is based on the law section in Nigeria that makes this practice illegal.
As for the appeal to the less than ethical, the basic premise of the 419 is an illegal money transfer to avoid some country's tax laws etc. This is clearly stated right out of the chute. Now why would any honest, law abiding person even begin to get involved given that opening premise? Larceny and greed are the main reason. Maybe some are just too stupid to live.
When they get skinned, they cry like a baby about how they were taken advantage of. Please, you were as crooked as the guy that contacted you or you would never have answered! After that, it's just sheer stupidity at work and the scammer is laughing all the way to the bank every time you send them some more money for those "transit documents" and "bribes" that are needed to get your $13, 000,000 in gold that nobody is claiming shipped directly to you. Good Luck with that!
One of the biggest red flags to look out for in any dealings you get involved with is the requirement for some sort of up front money from you. It can be for advance payments of "fees and permits" as above or for access to the "secret method" they are going to share with you so you too can make millions. You might be surprised to find out the secret method is to do the same thing to someone else. Go out and find your own group of suckers to send you money for the secret method book or web site. Gotchya! So now you need to recoup your losses so you perpetuate the scam.
Ben Franklin once said "Believe none of what you read and half of what you see." Given the technology available today, I would cut that last part down to maybe 10%
Later
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