Should i take my coworker up on his job offer?
Should i take my coworker up on his job offer?
My coworker recently told me he moonlights doing an online job while working our normal job. I asked him what he does and he said that it's hard to explain but there's a powerpoint that explains when i get hired. He said it's all legal and we get paid $10 an hour and pay goes out every week. He showed me he's made an extra $250 this week on an excel spreadsheet. I think it sounds like a great opportunity/s
Anyway what flavor of scam do you think this guy is part of? I'm thinking mlm because he's trying to bring others into the fold, but I heard him tell someone else theres a fee to join, and that screams pyramid scheme.
He'll only tell you what the job duties are AFTER you're hired and YOU have to pay to be hired? For $10/hr? Even if that wasn't a straight up scam I wouldn't invest time, money, and effort into signing up and doing onboarding if I didn't know what the hell I was doing.
Hard to say exactly what's going on there with that little info, though.
191Exactly we need much more to go on
15
You lost me after "it's hard to explain but there's a powerpoint presentation". I would pass.
127Permanently Deleted
83"it's all legal" is usually followed by "trust me bro" and then you get to learn about RICO
30
If he has to explain that it's legal, and refuses to tell you what it is until you get hired, it's a scam. Probably an MLM he got sucked into.
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7
He said it’s all legal
I mean, if I were trying to recruit people into an illegal pyramid scheme, that is what I would say too.
49you already know this, but if you need to hear it, this is a scam.
anything you describe by "its all legal", is illegal, guaranteed. And don't get me started on the fee to join, it's not even a good ponzi, how is $10 an hour supposed to interest anyone?! my guess is that secret powerpoint will tell you to recruit people for a reward.
your "friend" sounds like this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEsm7vDl3zU but aimed for less rich people.
40Depends on locatio; in other parts of the developing world, $10 USD/hr wouldn't be too shabby.
3That dragons den clip was hilarious. It wasn't even his pyramid scheme!!
2
I once had a customer tell "I know it sounds like a pyramid scheme, but it's not" which all but confirms something is a pyramid scheme. I'm gonna assume "it's definitely legal" is actually code for it's completely illegal.
38It's a reverse funnel system.
7
I agree, it sounds like an MLM, pyramid scheme, or some type of reverse funnel system.
37I like to call it the one sided diamond
3A semi-octahedron
3
but it's totally legal
🚩🚩🚩
36it's all legal
Ultra gigantic red flag.
34For sure. I think it violates Grice's maxim of quantity - I've never seen a legitimate job posting where they felt the need to tell me how legal the job is. That call-out being in there is decidedly worrisome haha.
An entertaining video on the maxims from Tom Scott: https://youtu.be/IJEaMtNN_dM?si=GxmkO8Is3B9EaibZ
6Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/IJEaMtNN_dM?si=GxmkO8Is3B9EaibZ
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
3
I like how you can tell who didn’t read your whole post by them giving you real advice about not taking this job
28Or they missed the /s after the bit about it being a great opportunity.
7Even if you miss the /s, the second paragraph makes it pretty clear that was sarcasm. Unless you know people who think getting scammed is a great opportunity.
4
it's hard to explain but there's a powerpoint that explains when i get hired
If they can’t give you a job description until after you’re hired, how do you know if you’re qualified? If they hire just anyone, then it’s a low skill job and might be too boring for you
there’s a fee to join
Another red flag. My guess is some kind of MLM or crypto.
$10 an hour
Is that acceptable where you are? Minimum wage is $20 here. Does the wage depend on how much you sell or how many people you bring in? How much does the wage vary each week? At $10 an hour, how long will it take to recover the entry fee?
Not enough information on what the job is, evasive about what the job is, and the entry fee, all combine to sound dodgy to me; even if he says it’s legal, is it fair and moral?
Personally I’d give it a miss. Only you can decide how urgently you need the money and how far you are willing to go to earn it.
Good luck, and please come back and let us know how it goes!
22After many hours of deliberation and a long tearful phonecall with my mother, I've decided to pass on the opportunity.
20
Join fee + weird recruiting = Fonzie scheme.
21Fonzie scheme.
Ayyy!
23
If there's a fee to join, it's a scam. You don't pay for your job.
20A FUCKING FEE for a $10 an hour job? WTF? Nope!
18Lol wild right. I think the big selling point was that i could work 2 jobs at once.
3
Definitely a scam.
17The fee to join makes this absolutely a scam, but everything else reminds me of trying to explain my work for Appen. They do extremely strict NDAs and pay similarly, it's legit but it also kinda sucks, or at least all the projects I was on sucked.
14How much is the “sign up fee”? Because, ngl, I’m really curries about that PowerPoint now.
12Step 1: recruit people Step2: ??? Step 3: Profit
1
Even after what everyone else here has said, I won't get out of bed for 10$ an hour.
12I make $20 at my regular job. His big pitch was that he does both at once
5Lucky you
2
I'd be more inclined to join if they started with "it's a bit illegal"
11Sounds like a scam, but hey hear him out it may be legit. Don't draft that resignation letter just yet. I can tell you, with almost complete certainty, that it's an MLM scheme and you should just walk away.
11Absolutely an MLM or similar bullshit
10100% a scam and your coworker is either naive and needs someone to tell him that too or is an asshole who's trying to get out of the hole he's put himself in by recruiting other people
7It's a scam.
5The fact that people exist that have to ask if this isn't a scam is fucking hilarious
4Good thing thats not what OP posted
2
Def a scam. If it's offering hourly income (rather than strictly commissions) I'm guessing it's crypto, but I think Primemerica (sp?) started offering an hourly pay option so I may be wrong
3It's definitely sex work. Don't do it.
3Yeah, hard to say the exact nature of the scam. It could be some kind of ponzi, paying out the teeny "wage" from the fees coming in from new recruits.
2Permanently Deleted
1Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/wbfu39l0kxg?si=xRvyTCVDjvjJhD0o
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
1
Depends on whether or not you're okay with an MLM gig
0I had a similar experience and it turned out a be a MLM scheme, If you're not going to be given any details on the job before you take the job then I definitely wouldn't take it.
0You’re joking right? You’re smarter than this.
…Right?
-2Yes.
2
Whyy don't you try and explain what it is?
Some negative people in here but I've hired several of my former colleagues to work nights and weekends for me. I pay much better than their current roles .
-4Because OP's coworker refuses to explain what it actually is until he's on it. If a job can't be explained to you properly and will only be once you sign up, that's a huge red flag.
5