Bizarre Craigslist Scam Punks Dozens of Job Seekers

Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:54PM EDT

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You know, I thought I'd seen it all when it came to scam artistry. But that's exactly why scams are so effective: Just when you think you're on to every con game in the book, they spin something new. This time, the scam involves a Craigslist job ad, which was used to recruit dozens of normally high-paid lawyers, writers, and even a mathematician into putting their lives on hold and working day and night for a hush-hush project. See if you can guess how this story ends...

Arin Greenwood's tale begins like any job-seeker's might. Hungry for work, this lawyer, just back from assignment overseas, turns to Craigslist for employment prospects. One job catches his eye: A research and report-writing gig, analyzing financial websites, promising $21,000 for about two months of work. Sounds like a lot, but that's totally in line with hiring a lawyer for research work. Greenwood got the gig without an interview, was given a corporate email address, filled out a direct deposit form, and was sent off to do his work. Like many would, he rationalized the lack of due diligence on the part of the employer as their being in a rush. Plus, he was desperate. He started work immediately.

Cut to a month later, and the paychecks haven't arrived. Soon after, the employer disappears, leaving some angry professionals wondering exactly what happened. What value could this odd report have held for a scam artist? Conspiracy theories fly, but it isn't until Greenwood gets access to the employer's private email account that he starts to piece together exactly how and why he was scammed. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that it's the most bizarre part of the tale.

Think you're immune from such things? That you're too smart to get scammed? Give Greenwood's tale a read (warning, it'll take awhile), and just remind yourself that trust on the Internet is a really tricky thing.

UPDATE: I'm not sure why numerous people continue to email and comment that this story is phony. It seems completely credible to me, and the paper which published it has not issued any kind of retraction. That said, even if it is fabricated (which I doubt), it offers an important lesson: If something seems like it's too good to be true, it probably is. Draw your own conclusions.

LINK: Wanted: Gullible Lawyers 

Comments on Bizarre Craigslist Scam Punks Dozens of Job Seekers

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  • 6 Posted by itsalllg on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    if a lawyer is on craigslist looking for a job then times have really gotten tough in this country

  • 7 Posted by adeelawan1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    well he filled out a direct deposit form means giving his account no. with his address ssc and date of birth since theres a job application what else a scammer need

  • 8 Posted by bjc_chicago on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    Filled out a direct deposit form???? Sounds pretty dumb for anyone to do without an interview or an office location, but a lawyer?????

  • 9 Posted by wsrfr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    If something seems to good to be true...come on..anyone gullible enough to bite on this type of offer should NOT be an attorney.

  • 10 Posted by roseuvhollywood on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    The only reason this made news is because the people were "professional"...Stuff like this should not happen to college grads and what not. Unfortunately there are too many people who take advantage of people in search of work. There are not enough laws in place to prevent these games. Craigslist in particular, has many people posting ads that they really have no intention to fill. I believe it is a perfect way to collect people's info and then "lose" it. There should be a law that says us potentials do not have to disclose vital info until we are really being hired for the job. This way they can run their backround checks on people they feel will fill the position. I mean many of us have to put everything down on an application that they barely even have. Including social security numbers and addresses. What is even more hilarious is when you express a desire to withhold info they look at you like "what?" We are the business you are the one out of work. As if we have nothing that they could use? Yeah right. Employers should stop being so cheap and go right to employment agencies. This way the person will be paid well. They will know what they are doing. They have a place to report the person should something go wrong. They rest is a waste of time. Employers are becoming more and unprofessional while at the same time they want us to be the better part of perfect. Time for us all to register with agencies or work for our selves.

  • 12 Posted by nalbertthomas on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's sad we are so savage. wickedness is common,not only from lawyers and judges.

  • 14 Posted by mvanessa_alvarez on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    Gees, I hope this people should know that they shouldn't be looking for a job in craigslist in the first place. I highly recommend monster.com. That website has a lot of professional job there. I admit that I do go craigslist but just to look around. Infact I do post there for babysitting and selling stuffs that I need to get rid of. But for job no way.... I mean I am not badmouthing craigslist but in a nice way I don't recommend anyone looking jobs at craigslist.

  • 15 Posted by bonbonvonbonster on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    This article was no surprise to me. I was lucky enough to have caught on before I invested my time in two different attempted scams. They were both for a job I either posted on craigslist or an add I posted seeking work. One man had me fooled almost to the very end. He was going to hire me as a caregiver after they moved here from London. He was going to send payment over early. He was sending his fathers retirement check to me, I was to take my weeks pay out, andwire the rest. I knew something was up. It was confirmed when I took the check to the bank to have it checked out and immediately they knew it was a fake. I called the police and there is not much they can do. None the less it has been reported. The other scam was a response about an Admin position. This person used the name of a real company. I knew right away it was a scam. In the job description it said I was to collect customer payments, take the to MY bank, deposit the payment, and as you may have guessed SEND THE REST TO THEM. In this situation I contacted the company (which was no simple task) and alerted them to the situation. I am amazed and the lengths people will go to get money. If they put half that effort in to a real job they would be a lot more successful in their money making ventures. Even if for some reason that srory is fals, just be aware that the scams are not.

  • 16 Posted by kenedda on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hogwash! The lawyer is lying! No suprise there. It was a story nothing more and nothing less. Self gratifying fiction concocted to market a book.

  • 17 Posted by vsue_53 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    Who the heck can read thru this whole thing? Oh, wait -- a lawyer.

  • 18 Posted by chfox44116 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    Poorly written fiction. Could have been a decent story if it hadn't been poured out like the regurgitant of a barfing Rottweiler. The only scam here is that I got suckered into reading this with the notion that I'd come away with some valuable information. You've screwed me again, Yahoo!

  • 19 Posted by justinpacemaker on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    very little pitty,(if true) for a person who on a daily basis help scumbags go free, put innocent people behind bars, and make our society such a scandolous, sue-happy, lawsuit loving nation we have become. This one should be filed under the CARMA section.

  • 20 Posted by poker_manblue on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    It sounds the author imagined it, and put it in writing. It's fiction. This is 2008, no one in his right mind will fall for it. In the story, sheena might be the con-artist. Overall, it's entertaining.

  • 21 Posted by poker_manblue on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    An ice breaking story to tell over a cup of coffee. And laugh about it.

  • 22 Posted by balinesegigolo on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    Folks, just wanted to clear the air here. First, Christopher Null didn't do enough simple research to know that Arin is female, not male, Second, Arin Greenwood is a true person, a writer who just happened to go to law school, and her writing, predominantly of things that have happened to her during her travels and jobs around the world, has been published internationally in many respected newspapers and magazines. Do a Google search on her name and you'll see...first hit will be her blogsite, followed by hits to her articles and travels. Third, her story about the Craigslist scam did occur. I know her personally from her time in the Northern Mariana Islands where she worked for the Chief Justice of its supreme court and on the side wrote non-fiction articles about things as locals eating fruit bat, or a dude ranch in Japan. I remember having e-mail conversations with her when she started to suspect that the Craigslist job was a scam. She was embarrassed about falling for it. A large part of non-fiction journalism involves fact-checking, and if you perform any fact checks on her previous articles, many of which have been published by newspapers and magazines that DO check the facts, you'll find that her stories are legitimate.

  • 23 Posted by joannmpeterson on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:37PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is so sad,that people aren't safe anywhere! I've thought of using craiglist to sale items. There was a young girl looking for nannys job. Went there to meet the person looking for nanny and was murdered in Savage,Mn. Wake up people. Start using your common sense!

  • 24 Posted by njennings520 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    i found my job on craigslist. They're currently withholding half of my paycheck. They never pay me right. DONT look for jobs on craigslist.

  • 25 Posted by dericcribbs on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    I still trust the Internet more than the mainstream media, this will not change that.

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