Micheal Johnson ([email protected])

So, I found this one on sittercity.com as I conducted my routine job search. Not only did it set off red flags since it was posted on a site primarily specified for caretaker positions, but there were just so many other things wrong with it, including, but not limited too:

1. Name on the job post doesn't match the name, let alone gender, of the individual addressing the prospective applicant in the message body.
2. Way too much money for way too little work.
3. International travel... never good.
4. Immediate trust of the prospective employee to handle finances and merchandise without thorough screening or proper training.
5. Grammatical errors that wouldn't be expected of a "professional businessman," even when being lenient in this case.
6. Requires personal information way too quickly, especially for an "introductory message" in which the person should still be amongst several other candidates, and therefore still 100% unsure as to whether or not he/she will even get the position. Of course, one would expect a more thorough screening process, including a face-to-face interview with the prospective employer or one of his representatives before being further considered for such an "important" position, and hence should not have to provide such personal information at the get go.

Anyway, the sittercity.com post is below. I came across this exact post last month, and reported it to sittercity.com. This is the second time that I've come across it, so I decided to post it here.
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Name: Connie A.
Title: PA
Description: Reply Soon

I am writing in response to your interest . You will work from home for only 1 to 2 hour per day for a basic wages of $500 per week You need to go through my introductory message:
I am Micheal a Successful Entrepreneur, investor and a research journalist .I travel a lot, within and outside the US working on various independent projects, this is why I need an PERSONAL ASSISTANT, to keep up with all of my activities especially when i travel abroad.

Please note that you are being hired only on a personal level. All correspondences would be made and promptly reported to me personally.

The position is part time and home-based meaning you can work most times from your home as long as you have a regular internet access.You are also hired on a trial basis for now until we are able to see how well we fit in, this however does not affect your weekly wage.

Most of your activities will be carried out locally and most official packages will be delivered via posts. You will be actively involved in my personal, business and financial life. In summary, your activities as my assistant amongst other things will include;

* A personal reminder for Schedules, programs, flights and keeping me up to date with them as they come up;
* Carrying out specific projects and research;
* Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf.
* Handling and monitoring financial activities.
* Processing and taking charge of weekly payments and purchases.
* General clerical activities.

Basic wage is $500 a week. Any extra personal expenses (transport,gas, etc) incurred by you while on an errand or otherwise will also be reimbursed by me at the end of each working Month.This position is very flexible and it is difficult judging the exact number of hours you will be doing, just bear it in mind that there will be busier weeks than others with a steady pay. Working with me is basically about instructions and following them . There is also a very sensitive issue on trust, dedication and accountability which I believe will resolve itself as time goes on.This is only an introductory e-mail, as time goes on we should be able to arrange a proper meeting to get things started officially. I am currently in Japan , for business.However, I do have a number of work you can get done, prior to my arrival.

Due to the excessive number of responses to my Ad, do provide the following details about yourself for my personal record update and to filter applicants;

Your Full Name:
Street Address: ( Not PO . BOX )
Apartment Number: ( IF ANY )
City: State:
Zip Code
Country: united state
Cell/Home phone number:
Age:
Present working Status:
E-mail Address:

Reply Back by sending your full address information to this e-mail address only [email protected]

I hope you can be available for me immediately before I arrive, it certainly can act as a stable foundation to our impending working relationship.

Regards,
Micheal Johnson
Location:vBronx, New York 10458
Rate: $400 / Week - $500 / Week
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I want to thank you for reporting this advertisement as a scam but I''m hesitant. When I attempted to search for it all got was other job opportunity sites or ones like this one; warnings against scams. You claim that this job is not an actual job. I'm assuming you verified this and it just an advertisement for a job recruitment site hence the web address that it sends you to. You yourself mention that you found it on Sitter City, the site I also found it on. If we both joined said site in order to avoid situations such this, which was why I did, and yet we both find ourselves in it, shouldn't the subject name above BE Sitter City? I admit that I only joined a couple of weeks ago, but when I did it was under the assumption that only legitimate offers would be posted. If you have found that Sitter City is allowing non-legitimate offers to slide through wouldn't it be safe to say that recruitment@ctsconcepts just took advantage of the opening that was given to them? I'm beginning to wonder if I misconstrued the reasons why Sitter City came to existence, I thought it was to protect both parties. Silly me!

Welcome Amy,

The reason you found a lot of scam warnings on this is because this is a textbook example of a scam. I

it just an advertisement for a job recruitment site

It's actually nothing of the kind. cstconceptscommunication.com is not a recruiting site--in fact, if you try to go to that website, it does not even exist. The domain is a fake, email-only domain created only 4 months ago that was registered for the sole purpose of supporting their scams.

Domain Name: CSTCONCEPTSCOMMUNICATION.COM
Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
Whois Server: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com
Referral URL: http://www.PublicDomainRegistry.com
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 23-apr-2012
Creation Date: 23-apr-2012
Expiration Date: 23-apr-2013

shouldn't the subject name above BE Sitter City

No. There is no evidence that Sitter City is involved in the scam.
Sitter City states the following:

All messaging that takes place through Sittercity is monitored for spam, inappropriate content and scams

Chances are, the site uses automated keyword searching on its messaging system. It looks for terms that are likely to be associated with scams, and it probably searches for the major email providers like yahoo, gmail, etc.--which is why the scammer had to use a non-standard domain in the first place. The scammer wants to move communication offsite for two reasons: first, to avoid triggering an alarm with Sitter City; and second, to avoid losing victims when sittercity cancels the scammers' account--which will inevitably happen due to scam reports or when the credit card used to sign up is found to be stolen (and it most certainly is.) While I can't speak to the quality of Sittercity in general, I can tell you that every legitimate employment site out there, no matter how good the site is, has scams. Scammers use a variety of tactics to slip past site security--and while many attempts will be stopped, some will invariably get through. This is especially true on sites like sittercity--where the screening process is focused on the applicants, not the families. Other than taking a credit card number, reviewing profiles, and monitoring on-site messaging, there is no indication that the site does any screening of the families offering jobs.

I'm beginning to wonder if I misconstrued the reasons why Sitter City came to existence, I thought it was to protect both parties.

To a certain extent, it looks like you have misconstrued Sitter City's purpose. Looking at the site's claims, the focus is very much on screening the caregivers and presumably protecting the families hiring caregivers. It is also a way to market and sell their background check service. The site makes no claims that it performs background checks on the families or that it exists to protect the caregivers themselves.

As to the scam itself? Addie's points as to why she identified this ad as a scam are all very much valid.

In reality, the scammer tells you where the scam is going right here:

* Handling and monitoring financial activities.
* Processing and taking charge of weekly payments and purchases.

When we ignore the "fluff" put in to make the offer seem more real, it all comes down to these two lines. The scammer is searching for a mule--someone to act as an in-between moving stolen money and/or merchandise to the scammer. It is an extremely common scam, and a particularly dangerous one, since it can quickly land an "employee" in jail.

In reality, companies (and individuals) do not hire random people on the internet to handle their money. As soon as you see these "responsibilities" you can be certain you are dealing with a scammer.

The email domain is in the process of being reported for fraud.