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jerry81

Employment ad scam

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Thought I'd share this, especially since the ad is still up:

____________
Wanted: Jump pilots, Instructors and Videographers
Price:

We are setting up a drop zone here in Shenzhen China and we require full-time jump pilots,Tandem Instructors and Videographers to complete staff.Multiple ratings are always a plus but not necessary. Great pay with incentives and bonuses and free accommodation for our expatriate staff. Immediate start. Send resume, copy of DL, ratings and medical to [email protected]
____________

I sent them an inquiry, just for the hell of it. I mean, a commercial dz is bound to open in China sooner or later, and Shenzhen is a big financial hub, right next to Hong Kong...

This is the reply I got:

____________
Hi Jerry Sever,

After careful review your Resume/CV, Videos skydiving license, medical and tandem rating: we have decided to take it further.

Pls find attached here the Application for Employment Form for you to fill and return to us.
Just open it up, fill it out, and send it back to us by Email atachment.

Also Include a scanned copy of your international passport (Front page and Photo page).

Will appreciate it if you can do it within 48 hours.
The position will start in 3 weeks, so there is really no time to waste.

Our Planes: We have Cessna Caravans and DHC- 6 Twin Otters.
We also have one brandnew brand-new Quest Kodiak.

Salary: $49,000 minimum annual salary guaranteed plus any additional earned.
On-DZ housing available.

P.S: If you are not interested in the job please let me know no later than Wednesday so I can look at other candidates.

Sincerely,

Jin Ling
Admin Manager

CHANMING SKYDIVE CENTER
55 Fuhong Road,
Futian District, Shenzhen,
Guangdong, China 518000
Tel: +86-2229265518
Fax: +86-2289407895

________________

Now, as if the first paragraph weren't suspicious enough, they also want a scan of my 'international passport'. Within 48 hours, because there's 'really no time to waste'!

The payment is pretty awesome, as is the number of planes they have, especially since the dropzone is not even operational yet. Another big red flag right there - anything that sounds too good to be true probably isn't.

The application form was either drawn up in MS paint or had the original business name replaced, I can't quite decide. Let's just say this Chanming Skydive Center is in desperate need of a logo.

I exchanged some more emails with 'Mr Ling'. He never told me where exactly the skydive center is located, only that it's 'in Shenzhen China and it is yet to get off the ground and that is why we need to put the crew together asap to get it off the ground.'
He also told me I'd be doing 10 jumps a day, 5 days a week with 2 months off each year and confirmed that they have 'a lot of reservations already'.

I should also mention that the originating IPs of all his emails were on a dial-up server in Lagos, Nigeria.:D
He did offer to pay the visa proceedings for me and my fiancee ('So you should send her intl passport too'), but I imagine sooner or later I'd be asked to deposit some money for 'license validation' or something similar.

I reported the ad already and I really doubt anyone would actually fall for it, but anyway: we are apparently a target group now. I thought it was mostly basketball and golf coaches these guys were approaching.

Here's my last email to Mr Ling:
____________
Hello Mr. Ling,
I tried to call you today on your number but wasn't able to reach you.

Then I noticed that all your emails are coming from Nigeria, so I guess you must be on a business trip... Please let me know when you get back to China so we can talk.

Jerry

____________

I'm still waiting for his reply... :P

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Take this to the bank: There is NO civil aviation in China. Period.

Jeb Corliss did his wingsuit cave flythrough from a military helicopter.

So if you email him again, ask him what his affiliation is with the Chinese military and which Chinese military aircraft the DZ will be using -- and, of course, why the Chinese military would be using foreign civilians to fly them.

44
B|

SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

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Take this to the bank: There is NO civil aviation in China. Period.



Nonsense.

... or perhaps it's actually impossible to fly in and out of China on commercial airlines?
"It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

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They arent gonna ask you for money, they are just phishing for identities. A copy of a passport is a pretty convincing tool to prove to someone that "you are you".

This week there was also a batch of new classified ads listing China as their locale. They were generous enough to offer me a 20% discount on an already attractive price of 699USD of a new Cypres2. Just needed to send them a wire. Oh, and free shipping too !

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They arent gonna ask you for money, they are just phishing for identities. A copy of a passport is a pretty convincing tool to prove to someone that "you are you".

This week there was also a batch of new classified ads listing China as their locale. They were generous enough to offer me a 20% discount on an already attractive price of 699USD of a new Cypres2. Just needed to send them a wire. Oh, and free shipping too !



You sure those aren't the ones that were stolen from Pioneer Aerospace? Maybe they knew you'd been bitten before.:P

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I have a Chinese work permit and temporary residence permit. It is no trivial matter to obtain these and there is a government stamp required at every step. I do find this very suspicous and not something done in a general want ad.. Yes commercial airlines operate in China but GA doesn't- the company I work for has jets for the CEO and Executives- they fly commerial to and around China because they can operate there. My guess would be that these foks are looking for copies of passports to steal information from.

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Take this to the bank: There is NO civil aviation in China. Period.



Nonsense.

... or perhaps it's actually impossible to fly in and out of China on commercial airlines?


My bad.

I meant to say:

Take this to the bank. There is NO general aviation in China. Period.

44
B|
SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

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ps it's actually impossible to fly in and out of China on commercial airlines?



My bad.

I meant to say:

Take this to the bank. There is NO general aviation in China. Period.

44
B|

Ah, well that's a different statement!

A quick google search for "general aviation china" suggests there is, in fact, some GA in China - but not very much.
"It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

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They arent gonna ask you for money, they are just phishing for identities. A copy of a passport is a pretty convincing tool to prove to someone that "you are you".


I considered this as well. No way I'd be sending someone a copy of my passport like that. But I guess I did get their hopes up for a moment when they thought they could get my fiancee's identity as well...two for the price of one!;)

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Re: Tandem Instructor (CONGRATULATIONS! You got the Job)

We were supposed to invite you here to China for an interview before giving you the job, but we considered the distance and also the fact that your work and years of experience in this field speak for themselves.....therefore we have deemed the interview as unnecessary and have decided to give you the job.

We are eager to have you as part of our team. We foresee your potential skills as a valuable contribution to our DZ and students.


Your Letter of Appointment is being put together and will be ready by tomorrow.


PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU NEED TO NOW OBTAIN A WORK PERMIT BEFORE WE CAN SEND YOU YOUR APPOINTMENT LETTER. THAT IS THE LAW HERE.


Work Permit here in China is issued by the Labor and Social Security Department. Send them an email stating that you wish to apply for a work permit.
This is their email address: [email protected]


Send us a copy as soon as you have obtained the Work Permit, so we can send you your Appointment Letter.


We look towards working with you.

Sincerely,

Jin Ling
Admin Manager

CHANMING SKYDIVE CENTER
55 Fuhong Road,
Futian District, Shenzhen,
Guangdong, China 518000
Tel: +86-2229265518
Fax: +86-2289407895


Those were "good news" from "Mr. Ling". So what do you do if you send them your passport? As I did? As well as all my ratings and licenses copies....
btw, I contacted Chinese Consul about this matter, once I realized I need to apply for working permit on some yahoo mail...

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You know it's a scam, >:( don't you? Just play with him to see how far he goes. Play innocent with him and let us know how it goes...;) Many scams of all sorts come from Africa. never send any money or provide personal private information. ( address, name, maiden name, account number, etc...)
Again, let us know

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You can apply for a work permit at that yahoo address, then see what they ask of you. My guess is they will tell you there's a fee that needs to be deposited to a certain account...

As for sending out a scan of your passport- oops! This was not a very good move. Of course there's a slim chance that I'm wrong and there really is a commercial skydive center about to open in China- why don't you try calling Mr Ling on the phone and see who answers, just to make sure?

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"Work Permit here in China is issued by the Labor and Social Security Department. Send them an email stating that you wish to apply for a work permit.
This is their email address: [email protected] "

This part is just funny!:$


"You made my panties wet!" Skymama (Fitz 09)
"Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."

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Work Permit here in China is issued by the Labor and Social Security Department



Please for the love of god don't give them your SSN.

I would call whoever your governing body is for your passport too, might be safe to get a new one. Just my .02

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Work Permit here in China is issued by the Labor and Social Security Department



Please for the love of god don't give them your SSN.

I would call whoever your governing body is for your passport too, might be safe to get a new one. Just my .02




Well...if they have his passport #, and a buddy at the airport ~they prolly already HAVE the SSN.










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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Work Permit here in China is issued by the Labor and Social Security Department



Please for the love of god don't give them your SSN.

I would call whoever your governing body is for your passport too, might be safe to get a new one. Just my .02




Well...if they have his passport #, and a buddy at the airport ~they prolly already HAVE the SSN.



Can you explain this please? I have only taken 1 international flight, a bunch of domestic, and I have never given my SSN to the airlines. Is there something I don't know about?

Thanks.

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Can you explain this please? I have only taken 1 international flight, a bunch of domestic, and I have never given my SSN to the airlines. Is there something I don't know about?

Thanks.




Customs and the homeland security act tie all your identifications into a single data base from what I've been told. . . and since I was once asked while going through customs in Newark to verify the last 4 digits of my ssn I tend to believe it.

The photos on my drivers license & my passport don't look even remotely similar, and after a 9 hour international flight I don't look much like either in person! :ph34r:

...the customs agent made a comment to that effect once, and asked me to confirm my ssn in part.

So if some neerdowell has your passport number, there is at least one data base out there that can cross-reference your ssn.










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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I do not know much about China, but I am responsible for work with foreigners (usually US and Canada citizens) here in my Russian company.

And I usually require the same information from anyone who is going to visit us and want to do it through official business visa process, not getting general tourist visa (for example if they bringing some samples or equipment). This is hard, time consuming and boring process to organize such visits and I had experience when our guest gave me wrong info from the start. So I always ask for passport scan, just to avoid wasting couple of weeks of work.

I do not know about this particular deal, just describe how bureaucracy here works - and I am pretty sure that Chinese bureaucracy is not smaller than Russian one.

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