Personal Stress Relief from Economic, Environmental Issues

Still unemployed since the beginning of January, I have everyone I know trying to assist me in finding employment. I also check Craigslist and Careerbuilder daily as well as the work at home sites. On Friday, my daughter emailed me an ad from Craigslist. I don’t know how I missed it, but in retrospect it must have been intuition. Regardless, it seemed like a great opportunity for a work at home position that required the skills that I possessed. I answered the ad and attached my resume.
By late in the day Friday I received a response through email. The email gave a company name, Boxx Technologies, with the complete address and website address. The email was to inform me that I had an online interview scheduled for Saturday morning with Mr. Wayne Bryant who was the Personnel Manager for the company. I was to meet Mr. Bryant on Yahoo IM at his ID boxxpersonnelsdesk1. I have to admit I was anxious for the interview after I had gone to the website and did some investigating and found that it was a real company.
Promptly at 10:00 Saturday morning I met Mr. Bryant online. He first introduced me to the company by giving me a wealth of information on the history and present day workings of the company. He then went through two question and answer sessions asking me questions about my understanding of petty cash, my compatibility with co-workers and my work ethics and availability. He also asked me my understanding of Excel as this was supposedly the method that I would need to utilize to submit my hours.
At the end of the question and answer session he announced that I had passed the interview process and that I qualified to work for the company and that I was now working for the company.
At that point I was given more information about my job, my hours and my rate of pay. I was told that the company required the use of various types of software and that I would be provided with the funds for my “mini-office” set up. Needed were UPS and other accounting software like the Quickbooks Pro 2010 and the Peachtree Pro 2010. RED FLAG. I didn’t understand the need for two completely different accounting programs. At this point I was to supply my bank information so that a deposit for $300 could be made to cover my costs.
Being extremely apprehensive at that point, I told this person that I was out of town and didn’t have my banking information available. I thought this would buy me time to investigate further. I also didn’t want to jeopardize what seemed to be the ideal work at home position. I was supposed to start training Monday morning at 10:00. I told him that I would give him the information at that time. He agreed.
Immediately after I signed off, I tried to reach someone at Boxx Technologies to find out the legitimacy of the interview and this person. I reached a voicemail system, left a message and then emailed someone at the company explaining the situation and requesting confirmation. At that point there was nothing else to do but wait until Monday.
After my interview I had time to think and a few things weren’t adding up. First and foremost it was bothering me about the accounting software. Not only did I not understand the need for both, but during the interview I was questioned as to whether I knew how to use Excel. No mention was made about either Quickbooks or Peachtree. In addition I called the company and searched through the employee directory and there was no Mr. Bryant listed. Finally, offering $20 an hour working online, paid training and $100 sign on bonus seemed a bit much. I was pretty sure this was a scam.
Being that I was to meet Mr. Bryant at ten o’clock on Monday I figured I had an hour to try to make contact with someone at Boxx Technologies. At nine o’clock I started calling, but had already realized that being that it’s in Texas and an hour behind my time zone I would probably not be able to reach anyone. Getting more frustrated I called the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) trying to get some kind of insight. Unfortunately, they weren’t much help. I filed a report giving them the particulars and received a case # in return.
Having some time to think, I came up with a plan and again not wanting to blow what could be a great job opportunity, I decided to meet this person online again. After the “hello”, “good morning” bit the first thing he asked me was if I had my bank information. Final RED FLAG. I replied that my husband’s business trip was extended and that I was still not at home to retrieve the information and that I would meet him Tuesday morning at the same time with what he needed. He agreed.
I immediately called Boxx again and actually spoke to a person. She said that this situation was out of her league and she put me through to the president’s voice mail. I left a long message and waited for a reply knowing that I had till Tuesday morning. By late afternoon I hadn’t heard back. Not wanting to come up with another excuse to put Mr. Bryant off, I called Boxx again, this time reaching Mr. “K” the Senior Accountant.
I explained the entire situation to the gentlemen and inquired as to whether there was indeed a job opening and whether Mr. Bryant was employed by the company. Mr. “K” was completely surprised and in disbelief that someone would use the company and all its details as well as contact information. Boxx Technologies did not place an ad, there were no job openings and there was no Mr. Bryant employed at the company. I forwarded all the information I had to “Mr. “K” including a copy of the interview which I saved, just in case. He was going to forward all information to his IT and legal departments. I finally called the FTC to give them an update.
It’s really pretty sad that as difficult it is to find a job, with the economy in the state that it’s in, that in addition we have to be concerned as to whether a job offer is real or a scam. It’s very upsetting to know that there are people praying on those of us who obviously are in need of money or we wouldn’t be searching for a job. It’s horrible to think about all the people that are so desperate that they don’t recognize a scam and are taken for what little they have left. It’s ridiculous that with all the money thrown around in government they can’t find a means to catch these low lives and punish them sufficiently enough that others will think twice before scamming innocent people.
I did not meet “Mr. Bryant” online Tuesday morning!