I have recently registered to this site wherein freelancers or online English teachers can post their profiles or resumes to attract students to take online classes with them. Since it's a free site and everyone can view your profile, there are certainly some dangers or risks involved. Some online maniacs are on the loose looking for victims who will fall prey into their dirty hands.
Few days ago, I received a message from a stranger. He sent me a message through Skype informing me that he saw my profile at this certain site for online teachers, and so I replied back. Luckily (or unluckily, which I believe is the more appropriate word), he was online at that time. He introduced himself and told me that he's from Ireland and he's currently here in Palawan, Philippines for a vacation. He said that he's looking for a personal secretary who can travel with him wherever he goes and he needs a secretary to arrange his flight and hotel bookings, and do some paper works for his business. He provided me with the compensation package. But, knowing that it's impossible for me take this kind of job, I immediately informed him that as much as this job holds a wonderful opportunity, I need to turn down the offer. Then, he offered me another job which I can do at home as his virtual secretary--sounds amazing, right? And here's more, he said that he was going to pay me a sum of 10 USD per hour. With this amount of money he was offering as a compensation, I thought that perhaps the tasks might really be a tedious one considering the amount he was willing to pay. However, at that moment, I was already having doubts. I wondered whether this man was really a legitimate employer or just another scammer or even worst, a predator. Though having these doubts, I still allowed him to interview me.
I was suddenly dumbfounded when he told me about his conditions if I were to work as his virtual secretary. He requested that if I'd be working for him, I need to pretend that I'm single--was he kidding me, seriously? And this even sounded very unprofessional, he asked me if I have a Facebook account. He even made some remarks that I look like a Mexican actress--well, I was flattered for a second with that remark. But what really surprised me the most was him telling me that I can be a model and wear bikinis--now, this was way too weird. I mean, what was the connection between hiring me as a virtual secretary and bikinis?--none, right? Besides, wearing bikinis are still far from my list of wishes. Then, he asked me if could stand up because he wanted to see my whole body. It made me furious because it was all clear to me that this guy was nothing but an online sexual predator. I needed to get away from this "scam-a-lama-ding-dong" and so I ended the conversation and removed him from my contact list.
It is just quite disappointing that there are some maniacs who pretend to be employers, and taking advantage of people's profiles posted on different job sites. They sound very professional when they interact with you. First, they try to win your trust by saying a lot good stuff about you, but this is just one of the many strategies they use until they finally achieve in convincing you to do what they want. Think twice before doing anything and try to verify the employer's background if possible.
