Description

I applied for a remote job with Rough Guide through a Job search. Although I'm not sure what one as I was contacted in December. I was contacted through Whatsapp by the company recruiter who setup me up with a mentor to conduct a zoom call as an interview. The person I spoke with spoke English as her first language; she told me about her work experience with the company and how she felt I was a good fit. I was told I would be an agent in training to be on Online Travel Agent. Once I accepted the Job, we began working on training through WhatsApp. She set me up on their secured platform. Gave me the company website to reference, everything looked legitimate. I was able to start work right away and within the week my new boss would reach out to me to complete my orientation and tax forms for the CRA. The Job was commission based but required I put up front some of my own capital. The first two days went well, I made $600 in commissions. My Trainer helped me every step of the way, each day within their business hours. Everything was good until I was misled. I was told for traceability they required all conversations to be recorded, and the method the company chose to use was Whatsapp. The Capital I had to contribute became too high and I was told a withdrawal of my money and commissions wasn't going to be possible until I completed the work. In order to complete the work I would have to find the money they required to complete the travel package. At that point I had already contributed $5000CAD and they were asking for an additional $4700CAD. All the transactions were done through e-Transfer through a Crypto App on my phone. Now that I've told them I do not have this kind of money, they are telling me I will have to come up with it before I will get any of my money back. They are asking me to ask family and friends to help front the capital. When I say "They" They even included me in a work group with 40 other people. Welcoming each new person into the group. Within only 3 days that group has decreased in size to 20 people. The most information of mine that they have would be my phone number, first / last name, and the password I used on the platform. I reached out to my boss for help and he ignored my messages. It wasn't until I called him out on the group that he responded with the same script everyone else was using. I'm fearful this scam is affecting thousands of people. It seemed so real and legitimate. But now It seems I cannot get my money back.