Questions about Words & Numbers

Status
Not open for further replies.

MaybeThisTime

Perpetual noob
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 6, 2009
Messages
65
Reaction score
17
Location
Maryland
This company has advertised on craigslist for freelance textbook writers/editors. In response to my resume, I received a "we'd love to hire you" email last week. Today I received a "but first you have to send us this background check form and it will take at least a week for us to get the report."

At no time have they asked for a writing sample or even a reference.

Identity theft? Sham company? Paranoia on my part?
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
32
Reaction score
5
Location
Cape Coral, FL
I have no experience with applying to writing jobs on Craigslist, but I have enough experience keeping tabs on the job market in my area on that site to tell you in general to be extremely careful of any post on Craigslist. Since it is a free site it's a nest for scam artists. Personally, I would be very nervous about providing anyone from CL with a background form unless they had a local office and I had met them in person. I won't claim to have any meaningful experience as a published writer, but I'm at a loss as to why a writer would need to complete a background check in the first place and to me it seems real fishy that they didn't ask for a writing sample. Just my .02.
 

MamaLou

Banned
Joined
Jun 27, 2008
Messages
225
Reaction score
13
Location
SE Arizona
I concur with Chris

I would be REALLY leery about this. I would also let the "people" contacting you that you are leery about this, perhaps something more could be done to confirm they are who they say they are? Google the name of the company to see if anyone has posted anything on the Internet.
 

inkkognito

Onlyifyouwanttowillyoufin daway-Enya
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 16, 2008
Messages
2,098
Reaction score
151
Location
Duloc, the Perfect Place
Website
www.barbnefer.com
I too would be very leery. Examiner required a background check, but they don't do it until you have submitted an app, samples, talked to them on the phone, etc. I would never, ever give anyone that much information about myself out of the blue.
 

jeffo

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Messages
868
Reaction score
51
Location
Statesville, NC
Website
www.ober.org
I wouldn't provide them with anything other than my name for their background check. I'd also ensure I had a physical address and name of the company and name of the person. Then I'd run my own check on the company name, including BBB queries in the area of residence of the company.

Any time someone requests a background check for writers, I'm VERY suspicious. What, you don't want quality writing from someone who robbed a bank once? Why is that? I don't think it really matters if they want quality writing. They're not hiring you as an employee, so there's no worries about theft, embezzlement, or anything like that. I think ANY company that requires a background check on writing is questionable, to be honest.
 

colealpaugh

"Bear trumps Elephants!"
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 27, 2009
Messages
952
Reaction score
171
Location
Northeast Pennsylvania
Website
www.colealpaugh.com
There apparently are companies looking to get into this market, but what kind of business is so lame in their hiring process as to leave a person wondering if they are being scammed? To post an ad on Craigslist, hire you without seeing a sample/example of your work, then ask for lots of personal info that could easily be used for ID theft...jeez, if they are legit, their HR person is a dope.

I searched for online textbook company and this one came up near me:

http://textbase.com

But even this website could have been thrown together in 20 minutes. A textbook company that has a skeleton website?

Before handing over any info, talk to a person. Tell them how anxious you are to learn more about them. You can be uber friendly and 100% skeptical...they aren't mutually exclusive.

I say scam, but who knows? Doesn't hurt to learn more about the offer, right?


Also, if an ad offers a website address, it doesn't hurt to do a Whois lookup:

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp

For the site I mentioned, their mailing address is in NJ, but their online administrator filed a fake email address during registration and they are listed as owned by someone in Washington State. Possible red flags...something I'd ask them about, if they were asking for my background info...
 
Last edited:

BmoreEditor

Registered
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Not a scam

Hey there -

Words & Numbers is not a scam. I work there. It's a real company, but because they use a lot of freelancers, many of whom plagiarize, lie, bail, and whatnot, we have a fairly extensive verification process. That said, to do well, you should follow all the directions, and be persistent about checking in. The economy is really rough right now, as you know, so some days we're hiring, and some not.

Good luck!
 

BmoreEditor

Registered
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Oh, and...

Sorry - I am new to message boards. I will say that you're absolutely right to work on instinct here. WN is not a scam, but that procedure is totally weird. I can only think that the person you talked to wants to bring you on board b/c we only need background checks if A) you work inhouse or B) you are working on a certain project that requires a background check. If you're an IT-type editor, I know what this is about, and go with it. You'll probably be working with me!
 

colealpaugh

"Bear trumps Elephants!"
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 27, 2009
Messages
952
Reaction score
171
Location
Northeast Pennsylvania
Website
www.colealpaugh.com
Hey there -

Words & Numbers is not a scam. I work there. It's a real company, but because they use a lot of freelancers, many of whom plagiarize, lie, bail, and whatnot, we have a fairly extensive verification process. That said, to do well, you should follow all the directions, and be persistent about checking in. The economy is really rough right now, as you know, so some days we're hiring, and some not.

Good luck!

You do a background check for liars? Is there a list somewhere? Yikes, I wonder if any of my college profs added me to it...

This thread isn't really meant to be an indictment of your business, but you may want to be a little more transparent to your prospective hires...a business that lists on Craigslist, hires writers without seeing a writing sample, then asks for detailed personal info (which those dudes in African internet cafes also do), couldn't look more suspicious if they tried. And certainly no offense is meant.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.