Description

The initial email claimed to be a follow up on an application for a remote data entry clerk position at a biotech company called PrimeCell, located in California. They asked for my resume, and although it was already fishy I sent it in. The following email provided a job description and asked if I would like to explore further. I said yes, and was sent links to a brief online assessment, and an employee form. After I completed those I was sent an offer letter. Red flags: The initial email claimed to be a follow up to job listing I do not remember applying for. It asked for my resume, which they would have already had if I had applied. The company website had quite a few typos, and seemed quite vague. The only photograph of humans was a stock photo. The companies LinkedIn profile had no people associated with it. The companies listed address was a UPS Store on google maps. The offer letter said: "Before you can commence your training, you will need to obtain a personal license for the software used in transmitting data, specifically for remote work purposes. The software requires every user to upgrade their account using their personal wallet, which must match the name on their account. This is in compliance with the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws. Therefore, the company will issue an expense check to you specifically for the purpose of getting started. You are expected to use the funds from the check only for the purpose of acquiring the license." It also said: "The Employee may at any time terminate this agreement and the employee’s employment at any time, for a sufficient cause and by giving two weeks of written notice to the Employer." When I did a google search for the COO listed in the offer letter, Michelle S. Bowman, the only relevant thing I found was a BBB scam tracker report about another fake job offer using the same COO and offer letter template for a different company.