Smart Home Systems is the company name. I got an email offering an interesting position. Let me give you some specifics.
Position Information:
- Location: for United States residents only; no relocation required
- Salary/Wage: we have a salary range of USD 32,000 to USD 55,000/plus per year
- Job Status: Full Time/Part Time/Temporary/Contract
- Job Category: Customer Service
What We Offer:
- Supportive working environment in a dynamic, successful company
- Freedom to be creative, and the satisfaction of personal responsibility
- Strategic employee career development
- Individual continuing education and training opportunities
- Performance-based salary structures
Home Base:
Based upon the above information, I responded that I might be interested. They sent back an application form, with the following information header:
Dufourstrasse 29
8001 Zurich
Switzerland
Phone: +41 (44) 58 62 353
Fax: +41 (44) 73 26 957
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Let’s first go to the website http://smarthome-syst.net/ and see what it says. It says, “It’s under construction.” Next I did a Who Is inquiry at http://is.gd/2ys1s, and I find these results:
- The domain contact and address is private.
- The company identified as the Current Registrar is COMMUNIGAL COMMUNICATIONS LTD of CHINA-SHANGHAI.
Now I’m totally confused. If the company has a headquarters in Switzerland, how come the US website is registered to a Chinese company, with a different name? How come all the address information is confidential?
But the mystery doesn’t end there. I did have a US number and I contacted a female, who spoke with a foreign accent. She said the company had a US office in New York. However – the company name for China, Switzerland and the US, are totally different.
I performed a search on the Better Business Bureau, for the US site. This is what I discovered at http://is.gd/2wNWR. The company has no ratings and had 4 complaints against them, which have been closed. The company is not rated by the BBB.
Finally, I decided to contact the Swiss consulate regarding the offer. You see, they don’t ask for anything on the employment form, except for 3 references. Excuse me? Isn’t employment a more comprehensive process on both sides? I did get the English-speaking business section, of the Swiss consulate in Chicago. Then I forwarded the email and application to them. I need to follow up and see if they discovered anything.
What do you make of this mystery, dear readers?
Should I consult Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Adrian Monk, or Detective Columbo? Is this a ploy for a foreign government to kidnap me? Is this some prelude to an alien invasion? If you have any Intel on this company, please share it with me.
Randy
Blog: http://b2b-techcopy.net
Business: http://b2b-techcopy.com
P.S. Here is the 1 hour video presentation on “Twitter for Small Business at http://is.gd/2G2mi. This is similar to the audio presentation from the last blog. Please note they only pitch stuff the last 10 minutes.
Filed under: Practical Advice | Tagged: Better Business Bureau, Twitter Tools, Work at home programs
I’d go with Poirot. No, no, wait, I’d go with Holmes.
Sounds like a scam to me. Just be careful.
Easton:
Here’s the reply I received from the Swiss consulate:
“Thank you for your inquiry. As you probably found out by checking out Smart Home Sys. on Google, the company is highly suspicious. I also checked the Swiss Commercial Registry, where the company cannot be found. I strongly suspect this is a scam and would encourage you not to give out any personal information due to the possibility of identity theft.”
Randy