Victim Location 77573
Total money lost $199
Type of a scam Online Purchase
This scam involves more than one alleged company and website. I will be filing two complaints and cross referencing both.
It started with a phone call from a fake employment recruiter, who called himself Steve Wilson, calling from Staffing Premier. Judging from his thick accent, I doubt that was his real name. The phone number is 206-347-3193 and the caller ID showed Bainbridge Island, WA (near Seattle).
He said he was a recruiter and found my resume on a job board and had a client, eBay, with an urgent need to hire additional people. It was near the end of my workday and I was tired, and keep in mind, I have been receiving calls from recruiters on a weekly basis as part of my job search.
The recruiter, “Steve” said the employer had a deadline to hire eighteen people for this role by today, and they only had nine. He asked if I had a Six Sigma Greenbelt certification and I told him no. He said that was the only thing missing from my resume. He said the employer would consider shortlisting people for interviews if the enrolled in this training. It was okay to be “in process”.
He told me the salary range for the position was 100K-130K, which I thought was high for this position, and then he asked me to state a salary I was hoping for. I gave him a number. He said he would contact the employer and do a Skype call with them to confirm the salary requirement and share my resume, and if they were interested in interviewing me, he would call me back.
He claimed the training program was endorsed by the Project Management Institute. And that once I was onboarded by the company, they would reimburse me for the training. I figured additional training would never be a waste. And here’s the catch. I would need to enroll in the class today, to meet the deadline. He said he would send me the training links and I could sign up for the training and get a discount that way.
I didn’t do my usual homework about the companies involved.
He called back within an hour and told me the great news that the hiring manager was very impressed with my skillset and agreed to my salary request. Sight unseen. No interview. Another clue that should have made me suspicious.
And be aware, that the salary I asked for is far more than the average for this role. In fact, the entire range for this role is higher than the national average. Again, I should have been suspicious, but he caught me at a weak moment.
He sent me two links:
https://www.learningeschool.com/popular-courses/
https://www.indeedlearning.com/popular-courses/
Learning E School had slightly lower prices. I fell for the scam and paid for a course via PayPal. $199, using a discount the alleged company offered me to reduce the cost from $249 down to $199.
Later, I came to my senses and got suspicious. So many things didn’t add up. I looked up Staffing Premier (not to be confused with Premier Staffing, which appears to be legitimate) and as soon as I saw the website, I knew I’d been taken.
There is no way this is a real recruiting company. The use of English is poor to say the least. I saved many screenshots in case they disappear.
The following paragraph was copied and pasted from staffingpremier.com.
(begin quote)
Welcome to Staffing Premier
Staffing Premier is a worldwide pioneer in the HR administrations industry. By consolidating our energy for individuals with the intensity of the present wise machines, we bolster individuals and associations to understand their actual potential.
We are a worldwide pioneer in the HR administrations industry and spent significant time in arrangements in the field of adaptable work and HR administrations. By consolidating our enthusiasm for individuals with the intensity of the present wise machines, we bolster individuals and associations to understand their actual potential.
(end quote)
I checked my PayPal account first thing the next morning to cancel the payment. It was still Pending, but there was no Cancel option on the line item. I reported the problem within PayPal, which I’m sure alerts the seller. Then I called the seller and demanded a refund.
As soon as I checked my PayPal account again, the payment showed “completed”.
The number I called to contact Learning E School was 800-210-2916. Initially, it went directly to voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message. Within 10 seconds, someone called me back from that number. He said his name was Mark Herish. Another thickly accented man. The caller ID showed “unknown”.
I told him I wanted a refund. He hesitated a bit, and then said, oh, okay, no problem. At first, he asked me to confirm my name, I did. And I gave him the transaction ID. He acted like he was looking something up and said, “Yes, here it is, I see it.”
But when I asked him to tell me what it was that I purchased and the cost, he couldn’t tell me any details. He said he needed to put me on hold first. He put me on hold, and about two minutes later, he came back on the line to say that the charge was still pending on my PayPal account. This was a lie. I told him I was looking at my screen and it showed completed. Again, I demanded a refund. He said it would take 48 hours. When I pressed and told him I would be alerting the police, he said it would happen by 1:00PM Eastern Time.
Meanwhile, I have also not received anything in exchange for my payment, such as, the promised training class.
More info:
The PayPal payment statement shows:
Wadhera Management Inc
https://www.learningeschool.com
Learning E School does business as Wadheramana Management, Inc. (Note that it’s abbreviated in the PayPal receipt to Wadhera Management.)
Scam sources:
1. Learning E School, dba Waheramana Management, Inc.
Website: www.learningeschool.com
Email: [email protected]
Email on PayPal receipt: [email protected]
Address: 128 Northeast 58th Ave, Hillsboro, OR
1-800-210-2916
2. Staffing Premier
Website: www.staffingpremier.com
Phone: 201-266-5276
Address: 32 Washington Pl, New York
Fake Recruiter Email: [email protected]
Fake Recruiter phone: 206-347-3193, Bainbridge Island, WA
Somewhere in my digging around online on these sites, this link came up:
https://opencorpdata.com/us-or/136005196#register
Not sure what that is but it may be relevant.
Avoid every company name in this paragraph! It’s a complete scam. If it sounds too good to be true, it very likely is!