Is Sky Tech Inc.'s Data Entry Position on Craigslist a Job Scam?

With the unemployment rate in June at 14.6 million, job seekers are becoming more open-minded about their job search. Some are taking jobs from home without benefits. Some are ignoring their degree field and taking whatever job he or she can find. Some are taking lower pay. Some are getting scammed in the process desperately searching for a job. One of those jobs that may try to scam Chicago job seekers is the Chicago Craigslist posting from Sky Tech Inc. Beware that this company may be advertising this position in other cities, too.

There is a posting for a Data Entry and Personal Assistant position currently on the website that promises $16.99 to $18.99 for someone who is "proficient in Excel and Microsoft Word, have the ability to work independently and with others, and possess strong writing, verbal and organizational skills." The company asks you to send an e-mail to ad300@sky-tech-inc.com.

After applying, job seekers will usually get an automatic response with a description of the company. It states, "Bristow Group Inc. (Bristow Group) is a provider of helicopter services to the worldwide offshore energy industry and one of two helicopter service providers to the offshore energy industry with global operations." That sounds legitimate, especially when you can see a company called Sky Tech Inc. The only problem is that job seekers don't see the name Bristow Group Inc. anywhere on the website.

But a job seeker who is really desperate for a job may look over this small issue and apply. The company says it needs an "IT Oriented Online network of staffs working with its account department to offer assistance with the Data Entry Unit." Bristow Group explains what they're looking for.

"We have several unprocessed & unsaved client data and records that have been stretching over 5 years that are not properly processed as well as current account and record keeping for online staffs to handle with provision of world class software, programs & equipments from our company."

In order to apply, an applicant must fill out a 48-question application. The company promises to review your responses within a week, maybe sooner. The job seeker got a response before the day was out. The company stated that there are over 120 applicants and only 30 vacancies, so how did this company manage to review your questionnaire in less than 24 hours? To the job seeker, it doesn't even matter. Maybe the job seeker's answers were so phenomenal that the company had to take him or her on.

Great news! The job seeker was accepted into the program. The company says it's affiliated with the Great Britain Business Association. The only problem is the job seeker can't find this association anywhere on the web. Yahoo Answers says the company is a scam, but the job seeker continues to look for additional companies. The closest the job seeker can get is The Business Centre Association, which is not in Great Britain. The British Business Angels Association seems like a closer name, but why would a company not put the correct association? It may not matter to the job seeker desperately looking for work.

The company says its first task is to send the job seeker a "Del Y530 Laptop Pentium D Duo Processor, All in one Printer, Scanner and Fax Machine with a wide range of software already installed on the system against hacking." The company emphasizes that you must use their equipment. Sounds like a great idea, right? Free equipment and you don't even have to pay for it.

But the contact number at the bottom of the e-mail has a U.S. area code. It's 321-332-7908. When you call this number, it goes straight to voicemail with an English woman's accent as the greeting. You look this number up on the Better Business Bureau's site and come up with Maxtor Hardwares, Inc., 2880 E. Valley Pkwy, Escondido, CA. But on both Sky Tech Inc.'s website and Bristow Group Inc.'s site, there is nothing about a California address. And why would a company be located in California but registered with Great Britain? The Bristow Eastern Hemisphere Regional Headquarters is the only location that's not in the U.S., and if a job seeker is already looking for work, is he or she going to have time to call all of these numbers to make sure they're legitimate?

They have an answer for that, too. "The company's website for the Bristow Group's Technologies Inc is under a URL change and it involves a very high re-organizational process that involves bringing all our online staffs to log-on on the same Network Online with their staff ID. As soon as the website is launched within the next 15 business days then each online staffs can have a log on ID/Password to get access to their duties online while still communicating with their supervisors."

But if the company already has Bristow Group Inc., why not just add the log-in information there? In the meantime they want to make sure you get your equipment. How many companies do you know that are this good to be true? Chances are it probably isn't. Beware of applying to organizations that want to give you upfront money or upfront equipment and you can't find a legitimate location for where they are located or proper BBB affiliation.

This entry was originally published on Shamontiel's Chicago News & Events Examiner page. Feel free to check out other Chicago-related news by clicking here.