Need your Opinion

Hello fellow members of AO I need your guys / gals input on this. I recently got a new job as a Computer Tech for this contract company. Their are some things don't really add up with it though.

1.) Their was no interview I applied online Tuesday @ 11:30 at night and on the next day Wednesday at 8:30 in the morning I get a phone call asking me if I was interrested in doing this computer job in downtown Naples for this Friday I told the lady I would love too, she went ahead and sent me an email with the attached documents I needed to print out.

The pay method is another thing thats kind of fishy they use PayPal to pay you and also by money orders . I never worked for ANY company that payed by paypal or money orders. It has always been direct checks from the companys.

Anyways here's the email I recieved from this women it can explain it better than I can:

Quote:

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Michael --


Please find attached the install script, checksheet, and invoice template. Please read over and let me know if you have any questions. You will need to print out the checksheet and take it with you. You will need to fill out one per each PC that you complete, and make sure that they are thoroughly completed, signed, and faxed before you leave the site -- make sure that you fill out the checksheet COMPLETELY accounting for your time. For example, if you arrive at 9 AM, and don’t get started until 9:15 because you’re waiting for the POC, put your first start time as 9 AM and then write in “15 minute delay.” Also, if you run into problems and one PC install takes you more than 2 hours, you MUST provide some detailed explanations on the check sheet. You can send the invoice back to me via email once it is completed.



This install is scheduled for Friday, 7/22 at 9 AM:

Branch 60 0000 Chevy Ln. changed, Some City, FL 30000



Old PC Asset Tag No: Unknown

Old Monitor Asset Tag No: Unknown

Note: DC 5100 – new PC

POC is Don changed at (000) 000-0000



The Point of Contact is not there to give you any additional guidance, especially technical.

If the POC asks you to perform any work that is not on the script (especially printers/peripherals installs), you should let him know that this is not in he scope of the work and any extra time is billable.



As discussed, we pay $17/hr and guarantee a 3 hr. minimum per job, not per PC. We prefer to pay by Paypal. If you do not have a paypal account, you may want to go ahead and register (www.paypal.com). They usually make some verifications and it takes 3 to 4 days for your account to be activated. This will only take you 5 minutes and it is a very secure media. If you prefer, we can pay you by money order.



Attire for this assignment is business casual (no jeans, no t-shirts, no tennis shoes). You will identify yourself as being from thiscompany (our partner on this project). Please ensure that you fully complete the Changed * Installation Check Sheet, adding any appropriate notes or comments. Please include the old & new asset tag numbers on the Checksheet. Please remind them to fax me the completed form on each PC before leaving the Branch, you’ll notice that this is now being faxed to us instead of thiscompany. We cannot pay you until we receive this documentation!



Please send me an email or give me a call to confirm receipt of this email.

Let me know if you have any questions.



some one

000-000-0000 x 000

[email protected]

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Has anyone else got payed by a company through paypal or money orders? Anyone else ever heard of this?
I thought paypal was mostly used for Ebay? I also read a lot on the internet about people getting ripped off and I don't want that to happen to me. All help is greatly appreciated. Thank you Computernerd22

Wow!

That was incredibly wierd, yet detailed. Sounds like whatever work you are doing may be a little "wrong". Paying via money order and paypal gives me the impression that the company doesnt want to be traced to you, businesswise. Most likely, for tax purposes (guessing) or maybe because they are an illegitimate business and they are circumventing gov't laws.

Look the company (and their affiliates) up via Better Business Bureau, bbb.org.
Let us know what you find.

Quote:

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I also read a lot on the internet about people getting ripped off and I don't want that to happen to me.

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Then don't accept this or do anything for them until you have verified several things.

#1 - reply and explain you are interested, but the conditions surrounding this assignment are *VERY* unusual, and you need some documentation that this is proper, legal, and legitimate.

#2 - ask about 10-99 or W2 status.

#2 - Get yourself a 'get out of jail free' card. :rolleyes:


This is *HIGHLY* unusual. Paypal is often used for eBay, but it is by no means limited to that. I sold some RAM to a buddy who lives in another city, and I shipped it to him. For sake of simplicity, he paid me via Paypal. It's kinda like western-union for email.


Anyway, I have a few ideas about what this might be.
- It could be a contract labor or service provider, trying to get some quick and dirty work done ON THE CHEAP (and in a probably illegal fashion, insofar as labor laws are concerned.)
- This could be a bizarre, unique, and amazingly clever social engineering issue, where by the 'script' you are installing (unless you are refering to a script of actions you have to take with each PC...this wasn't made clear) is a trojan, keylogger, etc.
- It could be someone trying to social engineer/con you.


Regardless, Caveat Emptor. And please, reply with update(s) as this proceeds. I am *EXTREMELY* interested in learning what this is all about.

I would say go ahead and do a job and see if they deliver. If they **** you around then just consider it a lesson learned (and in the grand scheme of things, a pretty cheap one. :) )But, they may be totally legit. Guess it depends on how much you need the money and whether you can afford to waste a day.

-Maestr0

Trace the email and if possible their website (dns/whois records).. See if it's actually the company they're claiming to be.. Google the company, see what comes up.. Try to do the same for the company you're supposed to go to.

To me, that is an unheard of way to pay an employee. Maybe they do it because it is free to transfer money?

Also,

do some research as to what the install script actually installs.....

Do you have your own business? If so, that's a pretty common way to do things. Computerrepair.com for example works this way: they get the customers (through their website), send an email to all service providers in the neighborhood, and the first one that replies gets the job. The customer pays computerrepair.com, not the service provider - and computerrepair.com pays the service provider (through Paypal).
The thing here is that all service providers have their own business, and that's what makes it perfectly legal (it's just another job, Paypal or not). If you don't have your own business, I'd definitely follow zencoder's advice.

Thank you for the fast replies. No I don't own a business.

I am currently out of work I got laid off not fired but laid off from my last computer job so I need to make this money!

Quote:

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This could be a bizarre, unique, and amazingly clever social engineering issue, where by the 'script' you are installing (unless you are refering to a script of actions you have to take with each PC...this wasn't made clear) is a trojan, keylogger, etc.

- It could be someone trying to social engineer/con you.

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The scripts are .documents I have to bring with me to the job site I will add them here.

Thats exactly what I thought with someone doing social engineering on me because their was no interview at all she just called me and asked me a few questions told her I was interested and poof I got the job. My GF is the one who brung it to my attention then I asked my cousin whos a computer tech and he says dude the **** doesnt sound right and I agree so I wanted your guys / gals opinion as well but the truth is I need the money.

This is what I did I got the ladies email [email protected] I cut and paste the somesite.com part and paste it in the address bar and press enter and now I at the website somesite.com and right on the front in Big white letters ******* Government Systems ***** Professional Search

So right now I'm basically scratching my head and thinking wtf is this. The person I talked to is the President for this I went to the website and checked it out on the index.html page.

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Originally posted here by Negative
Do you have your own business? If so, that's a pretty common way to do things. Computerrepair.com for example works this way: they get the customers (through their website), send an email to all service providers in the neighborhood, and the first one that replies gets the job. The customer pays computerrepair.com, not the service provider - and computerrepair.com pays the service provider (through Paypal).
The thing here is that all service providers have their own business, and that's what makes it perfectly legal (it's just another job, Paypal or not). If you don't have your own business, I'd definitely follow zencoder's advice.

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I was thinking the same thing, except he indicates he applied at 11:30 at night and was contacted at 8:30 the next morning. That doesn't sound like something computerrepair would do (at least in the sense that one would think they were applying for a position of employment, not a contract job). I thought it was pretty obvious with service providers like compuerrepair.com that you are offering your company services up as a sub-contractor to them.

Regardless, I would absolutely get confirmation on this company before doing anything. Yeah, Googling, the BBB, dns/record traces are all great, but the medium of communication is EMAIL. Unless you're using a PKI or trusted PGP sort of method to validate the origin and content of the message, it could be anyone, anywhere, with who-knows-WHAT intentions.

Besides, all this googling and bbb work is a waste of effort. If they are not legitimate, they should happily reply if you ask for confirmation and indicate your concerns. If they are legitimate, you probably won't hear back, or you will get more dodgy messages without the reassurances you are asking for.