I also recently applied to an Office Clerk Position posted on craigslist.com under listing number 1419171672. They were offering $16 an hour for a position that required experience with the Microsoft Office Suite. Below is the actual reply e-mail from an artificial person Susan Chambers. I also included my replies and the subsequent responses. The job requires a MCAS certification which I have never been required to provide for over 500 positions I have applied for over the years. Most state workforce centers actually have in depth tests you can take to prove you know these programs as well as some job placement agencies. Being that I was in need of a day job I was willing to do what was necessary to qualify for the position plus the fact that I have used the whole suite of programs daily for over 10 years I thought how hard could it be? Then when I looked at their website they are offering an internet service I know how to do and have done with my own websites which made the position they offered sound better.
I replied stating that I could transfer test results from the local workforce center and prove that I know all these programs and more within 10 minutes of sitting down at one of their computers. I also alluded to all the other graphical/programming/market research and internet experience I had. The reply was generic forwarding me to a video professor kit I needed to order that I would only have to pay shipping and handling for because I still needed this MCAS certification. Here is the link that was provided. http://adaptivetechco.com/video-professor-ms-office/?mn=6891
Notice that the adaptivetechco company name is in the link? Well when clicked on it doesn't go to an actual adaptivetechco link but directly to the Video Professor website which has since been disabled after I raised the issue with Video Professor.
Now the Adaptivetechco.com website is actually a blog page and when you check the feeds you will notice they are still trying to sell Video Professor products. Scroll down http://adaptivetechco.com/feed/
So someone of Adaptive Tech Co is on the payroll or receiving commissions from Video Professor in other words Video Professor is allowing this to happen. After I canceled the Integration kit I ordered 5 minutes later with video professor I brought this all to their attention in an e-mail. They replied simply stating that my order had been canceled. I then e-mailed them again asking that the acknowlege my concerns which they did not.
What this supposed company tried to do via a job posting on craigslist.com is illegal. I have since stopped applying for positions through craigslist because over half of them are scams. I once worked over a year for a scam company and stopped after I did some soul searching. Since then I have done my best to stop them from hurting others. It is my greatest pet peeve and I have been successful at stopping others. I even thought about creating my own website similar to the ripoffreport to deal with deception but since the ripoffreport.com does such a good job I never did.
Many companies and individuals think that they can still hide behind a computer which they can't do if someone knows how to look. First off in e-mails if you select to view the header (lower right corner) you can find out their I.P. address (takes a little more work) and the server from where the e-mail originated. Second by using the www.whois.com site you can find out who owns or is renting a particular website. Is is required for all domain name registries. A real person has to provide their name and credit card information