I saw an unusual advert on Twitter today which reminded me of the time I almost got into trouble just because I was after a decent job. I found a job advert that offered lots of money (£1500/month for a student – imagine all the calculations that had gone on in my head) for minimal skills, training, and even commitment. The role was non-specific, but the pay was brought to the forefront of the job ad. Here’s the ad I saw:
We need 10 people to handle our clients on phone and mail. Income $2000/3000/month. Send contact details for info to admin@casaferanza.com
— Casa Feranza (@CasaFeranza) October 11, 2014
At first glance, what could be possibly wrong with an organisation which is committed to create jobs across Africa?
I remembered a similar fantastic “job offer” I feel for several years ago. In fact, I haven’t forgotten the name of the advertiser. Leona Ghiloni, she was called – an Italian antique dealer who needed a sales representative for her increasing customer base in England. On receipt of my CV, I was offered a job without hesitation or an interview. Here is the letter I received below:
Just like that. You would also notice that I was assigned my first task(s) straightaway. A dummy task (the meeting), and the main task (the money transfer). Of course the meeting never happened, but what did happen was an immediate transfer of about £2000 into my account and an urgent request to move this to a “buyer”. As per mugu. I did indeed receive £2,150 from an insurance company, and I communicated this to “my new boss”, Leona. Here was her response below:
To which I responded:
By this time, I had contacted the bank, printed and sent them all these e-mails and asked for the funds to be revered. Here is the response of a busy business woman losing money:
That was the last e-mail. Thank the Lord I dodged this bullet otherwise who know what jail they would have sent yours truly to? Lesson learnt: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And beware of Anna Zimova from Russia.
