Victim Location 93612
Type of a scam Employment
In mid February of 2019 I was searching for jobs on Indeed.com, being desperate for work I was applying to everything that I came across using the quick appy option. Unfortunately due to the amount of jobs I was applying to I am unsure which job posting it was. However on 2/18/19 I received the following email from [email protected]:
"Hi, —-!
We reviewed your Application. The experience and qualification have met our requirements and standards that we have set for the Receiving Associate position. We are officially inviting you to join the successful team of Inspection Land!
You have to complete Employment Contract that is attached to this email. You need to read it carefully and make sure you understand its terms and conditions in full. Fill in the required fields, and send it back to us. We will also need to verify your identity, so please send a scan of your government issued photo ID. It is required to provide in order to complete the Employment Contract. The access to your personal data will be limited to Inspection Land, and no third parties will receive it.
You can contact us in any convenient way.
Best regards, Inspection Land"
After reading the email and the reviewing the employment contract, which seemed normal to me, I received a follow up phone call from someone claiming to be Ashley Hanson from Inspection Land. She want to ask me some interview questions, explained that I would be receiving packages at home, inspecting them for damage and sending them out with prepaid labels through UPS and Fedex, I was informed that some of the packages would not have my name on them and that this was normal as I was only inspecting the packages for damage. I was also informed that I would occasionally have to pick up packages at stores that were already paid for. I was asked how far
I was comfortable traveling and between what hours I would be available to pick up packages, and that I would have to be available from 9:30am to 6:30pm to receive packages at my home. I was told that I would be provided with supplies to complete my tasks. I asked Ashley about the employment contract, she explained that it was a probationary period to see if I was a good fit for the company and that I would receive full pay after the 31 day probationary period was up, at which point I would be offered a new contract and be paid bi-weekly from that point. She said they did this in order to make sure I did the job and that they had had trouble with people keeping the packages and that they had to get the police involved. Her saying this made me feel that the job was legitimate. After doing some research and not finding anything amiss I filled out the employment contract and sent it via along with a picture of my ID. The contract was dated 2/21/19 and expired 3/21/19 on which date I was supposed to be paid. I was told it was salary base pay of $600 a week plus bonuses for packages shipped in a timely manner. I was told it would take about 3 to 4 business days to receive my first task on the panel and that I had 3 days to complete a task but would be given bonuses for completing tasks in 24 hours. I was provided boxes for shipping which I had to pick up from Home Depot, however these were the only materials I recieved. I had to provide my own printer, paper, ink, and packaging supplies such as tape and other materials. I was provided with instructions and through the panel an inspection form to indicate the damage of the packages. I was contacted by Ashley through both email and phone frequently to ensure I had seen the tasks posted on the panel for that day. I performed the tasks as instructed, receiving, inspecting packages, and shipping packages. I began to grow weary because I was receiving more and more pick up tasks, some of which were distances further than I had indicated that I could travel. Also I was required to sign for packages at the various locations I picked them up at, I was listed as the person picking up the package but not as the purchaser of the package. i also noticed I would often be sent to the same store at various different location to pick up the same merchandise. The various labels to ship the packages would also often go to the same person. About to weeks in I began to become concerned when I kept receiving pick up tasks outside of my travel radius. I waited two days while also researching Inspection Land and looking other online reviews of other people working for them. After two days Ashley emailed inquiring about the pending task and stating:
"Hi, —-!
I still haven’t received any updates on your pending tasks. I was also unable to reach you. I don’t want to escalate this issue to our legal team, but you have to complete tasks that were assigned.
You can contact me for additional information in any convenient way.
Best regards, Ashley Hanson"
I responded to this email by expressing my concerns and reservations about continuing to work for inspection land and asked for the contact information of a superior who could confirm to me the company was real and legitimate, I also asked Ashley to confirm that if I choose to terminate my employment that i would still be paid for my hours already worked. Ashley responded:
Hi, —–!
I’m sorry for all of the inconveniences. However, you provided a 10 miles pick up radius. Also, you could’ve discussed that with me every time I tried to reach you, but you selected to just dive in silence. I’m not happy with that nor my manager does. His email address is [email protected] if you wish.
If you’d like to terminate your employment you have to provide a two-week notice. Once your two-weeks and all pending tasks are completed HR Dept will reach you in order to request payment information.
You can contact me for additional information in any convenient way.
Best regards, Ashley Hanson"
After receiving this email I emailed both Isaiah Jones and Ashley Hanson once again expressing my concerns, not wanting to violate the terms of my employment contract I provided my two weeks notice in this email as well, I received a response from Isaiah that did not address my concerns at all, however my 2 weeks notice was acknowledged:
"from: Isaiah Jones, Inspection Land
Hi, —–!
I’ve received your notice of termination thank you. I’m sorry for all of the inconveniences and I wish you only the best luck in your further beginnings.
Your notice is immediately effective as of 3/15/2019 and your notice period is due to 3/29/2019. During the notice period you have to complete all pending tasks. Once it’s done, we will reach you in order to request payment information and release your payroll.
You can contact me for additional information in any convenient way.
Best regards,"
Although my concerns were not addressed, I still did not want to violate the terms of my employment contract, and could not find anything definite stating Inspection Land was not legitimate. A few days later Ashley began contacting me about pending tasks, business as usual. I completed all assigned tasks the day before the initial employment contract was set to expire, I contacted Ashley informing here that all the tasks were completed and inquired about how I would be paid:
“to: "Ashley Hanson, Inspection Land"
date: Mar 20, 2019, 6:57 PM
subject: Tasks Complete & Payment
Hello Ashley & Isaiah,
I have completed all tasks that have been assigned to me on the panel.
Also you should be aware the initial probationary period of thirty-one (31) days that I entered into a contract with Inspection Land ends tomorrow.
According to the panel the amount I have earned throughout the probationary period is $2590.00. The panel also indicates that payment will be issued on 03/21/19 which is tomorrow.
Can you please confirm that I will be receiving payment for my work tomorrow? Also can you confirm the manner in which I will be paid? As I have not heard from HR to set up direct deposit doe this mean a check will be mailed to me? Thank you
from: Ashley Hanson, Inspection Land
date: Mar 21, 2019, 6:51 AM
subject: Re: Tasks Complete & Payment
mailed-by: inspectionland.com
signed-by: inspectionland.com
Hi, —–!
Yes, you will receive a call from HR Department today. They will also send you an email in order to request payment information.
You can contact me for additional information in any convenient way.
Best regards, Ashley Hanson”
After receiving that email I waited throughout the day to hear from HR, when I did not hear from them by the afternoon I called Ashley to once again inquire about my payment. She told me once again that HR would be contacting me and that I should keep checking my email to see if I received anything from HR. She assured me that she had just talked to them about me and that would be contacting me by the end of the day. I heard nothing from them all day.
The following day having heard nothing from HR, I once again called emailed Ashley, I received no response and so I called Ashley, the number that she had been using now seemed to be disconnected. I tried to call and email many times and received no response. I called another number listed as HR in one of my emails. This number was the number of an entirely different company. I also tried to call the number listed at the Inspection Land website, this number was functioned however I never spoke to a real person as it kept me on hold and kept saying no one was available. (When I began writing this scam report today on 3/26/19 the website was still active however upon returning to it now later on the 3/26/19 it cannot be reached.). I was not able to reach anyone at Inspection Land and none of my emails or phone calls were returned. I emailed: Ashley Hanson , Isaiah Jones [email protected], and HR Inspection Land ,
[email protected] None of which responded to me after the 21st of March.
In short I was conned into working for a scam operation for a month, thinking that it was a legitimate business and that I would be paid at the end of the month, according to the panel I was owed $2950.00 for the month of work completed. I was taken advantage of at a time when I was desperate for real work, I worked for a month with no pay thinking I would be paid at the end of it and now I am in a worse situation than before and more desperate for good work than ever. I strongly feel I have suffered greatly at the hand of these scam artists and i hope this help prevent them from doing it to anyone else. (Please note that I have excluded my own personal information and have not included all of the email correspondence between myself and Inspection Land. I am more than willing to provide all email correspondence to the Better Business Bureau and the appropriate law enforcement agencies.)