Re: Alert: The Rotating 'New Hire' Scam (this is a bad one!)

I might do that. You know the worst thing with the fake 'Demo-Event-Training Day' NON-Hiring scam is that you never worked there. Arguably, they never did claim they were paying you. You weren't even on a schedule. At no point did any actual agreement happen.

Actually one of the tip-offs I had was by the 2nd added 'training/orientation day' I noticed that not only was the person who makes the contracts still missing/holidays/sick but..
..the manager was being absolutely obnoxious. for a school that was absolutely in love and full of respect it was like a 180 turnaround AND it was the worst acting I've ever seen. (pretending I'd put the entire school and children at risk for misplacing a form I should have copied and printed etc).

One of the other victims was such a trusting nice fellow and new to China so he was taken for a full 2 weeks of 'Demo Classes', meetings, doing 2 full nights of Special events AND 'training mornings' and still didn't get the hint a contract was never going to be produced until they got so nasty they accused him of 'stealing office supplies'!

Yes, they did that. really. so in the outrage he 'Quit' and it wasn't even until later he suddenly realized he never actually worked there. He wasn't on a schedule. Nobody actually said he was to be paid for the full 1 hour long demo classes he did, the 'invitation to a party for two 4 hour evenings' or that his 4 hour 'observation days' were 'work days'.

That particular school we figured out had been rotating out 'fake hires' in Demo-Special Event-Training scams at LEAST 3 foreign teachers deep which we guesstimated translated into them getting 100% free zero-payment foreign teachers from September 1st straight through to October. Keep in mind their wall and brochures feature the happy faces of all THREE of "Their Foreign Teaching Staff".

and in fact none of them were ever actually 'Staff'.

*btw: I no longer do 'Demo Classes'. At best what I will tell a potential new school is that whenever we meet the 1st time I dont mind JOINING a class as a kind of 'Guest Teacher' for 20 minutes. Max.

After that meeting I cannot return to that school for any other reason than to sign a contract and get a schedule.

But everyone else PLEASE be warned. Remember its often so casual, so 'smooth' that people fall for this without even realizing that they purposely planned to use you for 1 week and only 1 week. (or as long as you will keep volunteering 'just until the contract-schedule is made).

Oh.. i should mention something: In one school they actually DID give me a schedule towards the end but that was a 'what your schedule WILL be starting next week/month'.
So if you see what happened there - nowhere did it actually have any of the 'demo classes, meet the students, special events' that were being done on there in any time or date listings.

Surely someone else here has been taken by this - please feel free to describe it. We all need to learn from each other!

Alert: The Rotating 'New Hire' Scam (this is a bad one!)

Its not new but I'm posting this warning because it seems to be happening everywhere to everyone lately and its actually one of the worst of all scams in terms of consequences.

In fact, guys, I like to think I'm onto the scams but I got rolled badly on this one too. There should be a name for it but I'm just going to call it the 'Rotating New Hire Scam' and basically it usualy goes something like this:

- Good news - a new school is interested in you! In fact, its going to work out well it seems and one 'red flag' is maybe watch out for them extending meetings. As in: monday the manager 'hires you' but actually wait until friday to speak to the big boss, but wait until monday, shes sick, actually now wait until next week because the girl who does scheduling...

..but next week the person who does the actual contracts and schedules will be back to do all that stuff.

Okay. Your first thing is they will have you come in for a 'Demo' class. Maybe you will come in another day to do another Demo class with some other class/section.
Great!

Now they will let you know that they have a special event coming up and would like you to be there. Its a Christmas/Halloween/Party event and so you really need to be there and the parents will want to see you.

Maybe even two events that weekend. Besides you can meet everyone.

Rainy will sort out the contract stuff with you Monday. Monday you arrive, Rainy isn't in the office until tomorrow but this is a kind of training day anyways, we can sort out your shirts, uniforms, what size do you wear?

A photographer has been taking photos for publicity flyers and social media showing the new foreign teacher! You! A sales boost for them.

You may not realize it but you just worked for free for an entire week. Including travel and actually you just did a 20 or 30 hour week or more and yet you just start to realize you haven't signed a contract and there isn't going to be one and if you quit they won't pay you except you can't really 'quit' since you don't actually work there.

What you may find out later is that this school has figured this out and you are the 20th foreign teacher in town to fall for it. In fact, 2 weeks later you will learn that another foreign teacher sucker is doing the next week for free.

Then they have another 'try out' for a week who never actually officially works there.

Hell this school has figured out how to have a free rotating foreign teacher. For Free!

Now the scam can be even worse. Remember I thought I was 'onto scams' but now being 2 weeks behind (thats 2 weeks of pay that never happened) I was relieved to find another school was contacting me.

Demo class -> Special Event that Weekend -> training/orientation day... and AGAIN! Again I realize they are doing the same scam! I 'Non-Quit' the job that I never actually had.

No problem because a school down the street got my name and resume from a recruiter and wants to know if I can come in for a Demo class and.... OHHHHHH!!!

Yep, after feeling incridibly stupid for once again underestimating the immoral souless sneaky scam depths these people will go it dawns on me the recruiter who was, it turns out the same guy, he was doing this WITH the schools. Hell maybe it was one of the people in one of the schools themselves but you get the idea.

Actually between just those three schools (possibly all owned by the same people or group for all we know) but between them and at least a dozen unwitting foreign teachers all being 'Rotated' 3 times each through the Demo-Event-TrainingDay scam they've pretty much had 100% free foreign teachers with zero paperwork and even better..

..in most cases the victim doesn't actually know this was a 'scam' but often just writes it off as a failed experiment, is upset, blames themselves (thinks they must be doing something wrong) or eventually leaves China etc.

PLEASE BE WARNED and ALERT: The Demo-Event-Training (all BEFORE any contracts signed) with full intent and actually they WANT you to leave so they can rotate a new teacher.

This I found out was happening a LOT. Special attention if they ask about Visas, time left on Visa or if they notice you are not working because remember they WANT to know the 'Mark' is getting screwed and more desperate each time. More willing to 'risk' a week without signing the contracts because each time they are more and more behind.

If anyone here has a better way to describe it, had this happen to them or has a catchier nickname please post here and be sure to warn and alert other foreigners to this:

I know one really nice young guy (and a great kindergarten teacher btw) who was absolutely ruined by this as the last 40 days of his already extended visa AND all his money (spent in absense of any pay) but the scam used that all up forcing him to need to go back home absolutely devastated and even convinced he sucked.

Please note this in case you find yourself in a similar situation matching those descriptions. Again, watch out for 'Demo Classes' and paperwork office people who are 'sick' or on 'holidays' etc.