ID Promotionz: Scam or Unsound Business Model?
71I swear this is the marmoset that almost peed on us!
Making a Profit off Charity?
I am fed up. I've been looking for a job since the election, (GO OBAMA!,) when my job at the Board of Elections ended with a bang. After not breathing anything other than politics and having not seen my daughter for what seemed like three months or so, we took Wednesday off to celebrate, I pulled her out of school and took her to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was very educational. A marmoset almost peed on us. I'd gotten a start on the job search that morning, uploading my resume to Jobs.com, Yahoo Hotjobs, searching the day's posts on Craig's List... When I got back that evening, I checked my inbox and there were three responses from different jobs I had e-mailed. "Awesome! I should have a job within the next couple weeks if this keeps up," I thought. I e-mailed my responses off and found out: A. All three of the jobs were misrepresented in the ad. B. One of the ads was an out-right scam, they wanted someone to be an "administrative assistant," while investing money to start their clothing business in Chicago. Hello? What secretary has the kind of money to invest in a business and if I'm investing in a business I want a piece of the ownership, thank-you very much! I sent e-mails back an forth to them trying to find out more information about their company. When I asked if they had a URL I received no more responses from them. C. This "new job" thing was gonna be a lot harder than it looked.
Believe it or not, there used to be a time in Internet history where looking for a job online wasn't fraught with perils and dangers. I mean, the scams were obvious. You cannot make over $1,000 a week sitting on your arse. You and I both know that, we're reasonably rational adults. Check out the pitch from this company, however; (cut and pasted from my inbox) ... It's the "Sky Shout Agency" which came off seeming pretty legitimate at first. Every time I applied to an ad, though it seemed like it was taking ages to get a response, then I got this e-mail:
---Still no word from the client regarding your application, we are working on it though. I can't even begin to tell you how difficult the employment situation is. We have never seen a job environment this difficult before. Have you ever considered working for yourself? It's really not that bad of a deal and we are seeing many qualified candidates taking this route because they can't find employment anywhere else. I want to share one of the best opportunities around that is based off the Internet giant Google. It may not be for you, but you should defiantly consider them as a viable option, it may change your life!
Google Gold Mine
Tens of thousands of people are making hundreds of dollars a day each with Google. Sell no products receive Google checks or direct deposits monthly. Google happens to be one of the few companies that is still growing in this economic depression. Get started before the current wave of job seekers learn that earning money from Google pays better than most jobs they have been applying for!
http://www.skyshout.com/google
With new jobs in scarce supply, you really should consider alternatives to sending your resume in to company after company as competition is only projected to get worse while available jobs get harder to find. Google is one of the easiest and most successful ways you can work for yourself.
Stephen Garth
Recruitment Specialist ---
Okay... this was my first clue that it's possible this company isn't *entirely* legitimate, what recruitment agency tells you that they'd rather see you start your own company than use their services? They make big bucks off placing people in the highest paying positions they can find for them. I checked on Google and found a site called the Complaint's Board linking them in as a potential defrauder. They ask a lot of personal information when you apply for a job, including what kind of cell phone carrier you use... (another red flag...)
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/career-network-inc-c109214.html
So, it looks like I'm not the only one who has had a difficult time finding a job through this agency. Fine and dandy, you say, but what does this have to do with making a profit off of charity?
Enter company three, the one that *really* pissed me off, it looks like it might be listed under as many as three different names: ID Promotionz, 5th Dimension Promotionz and JR Promotionz. I'm getting to the point where I might just avoid anything called Promotionz, (I mean, it's really not a very professional sounding name, is it?,) they sent me an e-mail under the ID Promotionz company name that went like this:
---- Hi Nicole!
I'd like to thank you for your recent application online and for your interest in a career with our company! I’d like to let you know that I recently received your resume that you submitted to our open positions and I passed it along to my management team. After carefully reviewing it, they’d like to invite you in to meet with our hiring manager for a one-one-one interview, so Congrats! We are really excited about expanding into a new location and expanding our client portfolio. So right now we’re focused on building the team of people who will gain the opportunity to help us represent these new campaigns. I know they’re looking to fill positions as soon as possible, so as soon as you receive this email, please contact me directly at (847) 285 - 5224 in order to schedule your interview. You’ll be meeting with our manager here in our Schaumburg location, so please make note of the address I have listed below. I would also really recommend you read more about our company on our website at: www.idpromotionz.com to find detailed information of our campaigns and clients we work with and also so that you may be more prepared to meet with our management team. Thank you once again and I look forward to meeting you soon!
Sincerely,
Shannon Davis
HR Department
I.D. Promotionz, Inc.
1125 Tower Road
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Ph: 847-285-5224 ----
First off, I got this e-mail around 8:30 or so on a Sunday night. Now, seriously, who's reviewing applications / resumes at that time? Second, note the super friendly and totally excited tone she uses in her e-mail... Not only does it seem unprofessional, it seems almost cultish in it's enthusiasm. "Come on down and be one of us!" So I did what she suggested, I checked out their company website, at first glance it looks not only legitimate, but really well done. Take a look... Try to figure out what exactly it is that they're doing. Notice how there's very little information about how the company model actually works? I did, too. In fact, I couldn't really figure out what they were doing. Then, again, I went to Magi Google for the low-down and the skinny, I found these links:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/383/RipOff0383825.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/230/RipOff0230980.htm
I think the third link is most telling, it really seems like if this company isn't a "scam" in the traditional sense of the word, at the very least it is an unsound business model, a violation of business ethics and not to mention, against labor laws, (people are talking about putting in 10 hour days with no breaks?,) I wrote the company back showing them some of my research yesterday and haven't received a response yet, but I'll update as soon as they reply, if they do. As far as I'm concerned, though, all three of these "opportunities" were as sketch as sketchy can be.
Now, if you're looking for job using the Internet, I have some tips that might be able to help.
1. Check out the company website. How much information is provided about what they actually do? Is the site professional looking? How much information are they asking you to provide? Is a S.S. number a requirement? (Usually that information should only be given once you are in the final stages of interviewing.)
2. Now see if you can find any news articles about the company online. This is just general research that should be done whenever looking to get hired on at a company. It shows you have taken the time to get to know what they're doing and what they have to offer to you as an employee.
3. Once you've gotten the preliminaries out of the way, now go to Google and type in the company name with the word scam after it. A lot of times if there's any scam information up on the web it'll only come up in regards to the company name if you add the word scam after the name, otherwise you just get a lot of ads about jobs that are being offered from that company on the first couple pages.
4. When looking through Craig's List or another job search engine are there a lot of ads for the same company? Excessive multiple listings might mean something is amiss.
5. How many offices does the company have in your neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhood's? This one's a little trickier, but I can't think of too many reasons why a marketing company would need several offices within miles of each other.
6. When receiving e-mails from a company that is looking to hire you, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
Is the e-mail relatively well-written? If it comes off looking like the kind of grammar and spelling errors you'd expect to see in a chain-letter, chances are the company isn't legit.
When you ask questions about the job position, do receive a response that is timely and states clearly what your job duties will be? If they have a hard time getting back to you and are vague after the second time you ask about the job and its duties, chances are it isn't legit.
Can you get real contact information to speak to a real live person? If the job is an Internet-based job, maybe not, but if you can it increases the odds that you are dealing with a legitimate company.
6. Now, all this in mind, let's say you do come across something that is legitimately a scam. What to do? If it isn't too late, do not give them any of your personal information. Then go to this website and lodge a formal complaint. You can also go to the FTC's website, as well.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/
If you haven't had a chance to read it, I had a brush with some unscrupulous mystery shopping companies which made me write this article:
http://hubpages.com/hub/internetsafety
Please leave comments if you've more information on Internet safety sites, or anything else you think people should know. Obviously, I'm not going to stop using the Internet to find a job, (I'm registering with more temp agencies in my area, as well,) I guess the idea is that you just have to be ever-vigilant in your quest to become employed.
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Comments
Amen to that Hot Dorkage!!! I hear you, I have been going out, too and looking for a job, it's not that I've been offered *any* job, actually, just interviews where said "scammers" try to high-pressure or switch-and-bait you ... a lot more insidious in my opinion, 'cuz if they were just offering a job we'd know it's a scam right off the bat. Right on, though, no one is *ever* going to offer a job to an e-mail addy, no matter how fantastic they look on paper!
Hi there Nicole, looks like you were in quite a loop there. I would have been furious too, but unfortunately there are many of those and more and more to come. The sad part about all that is with the economy being at its worst lately, it is going to produce more fradgulant scams. I always had an eye for those kinda things though, almost as if i could point them out,thank God I did not fall for any scams as such. One good source I have been lucky with is Monster.com. They have a large network and They usually have ways to be able to track down the companies listing info. All though in our time, we use the internet for everything, especially when it comes to job hunting, however sometimes the old fashion way seems to work more effectively. For example Look in the classifieds and show up on the spot. Just like anything else, first impressions say alot right? So I think you might even have a better chance of getting hired on the spot for what ever reason. Could be something you set off, a look they want, or a personality they are looking for! Sure a resume says alot, but there are somethings that a resume will not justify on your behalf as a walk in might do. Some other sitesI think might be good for future reference...Snagajob.com.....and if you have prior experiance, it may be good to check out government jobs ex. cityhall, or the post office. I found that they pay pretty decent. hope this info helps you, aswell as anyone else that may read this post.
Thank-you! Absolutely, thanks for the references to some *legitimate* job sites out there. I'm hitting the pavement for sure, (nice thing about mystery shopping, you go out a lot,) and I'll be checking out Monster.com shortly. I wrote both these articles to try to help people recognize what these scam e-mails look like, the language scammers use... because it has become so pervasive now that they're posting en masse to legitimate job sites. It's sad, really. Thanks for your advice.
I got a call from ID as well, i dont recall EVER sending in my resume or giving that specific company my number but they got in contact with me somehow. I was also trying to find out what exactly it is that they do and again like you mentioned not enough information given...
Yeah. As far as I know the woman who contacted me still hasn't responded to my request for more information. Although, after the response I wrote her I'd be surprised if she did. If they're not willing to give more information, don't waste your time with it. Thanks, grace!
Ya I just received 2 new email's from the sky shout agency to find out more about them I searched the internet and found you - thanks for the heads up!
Yea! I'm so happy Crystal B, that's why I wrote this hub. Thanks for letting me know, I appreciate the feedback.
Just saw an ad on Craigslist for a "customer service position / administrative assitant." The ad did not give a location in the city, so I emailed asking for a whereabouts of the business (commutes are hell here). Anyway, got back an automated response from Sky Shout Agency forward my application. First, tried to find Sky Shout Agency locally on the internet - nothing. Wider search brought up a website with no access. Then a few more down see the name associated with words fraud, scam, etc. . . . bells, sirens, red flags flying. Glad I caught your post and will not waste anymore time with this one. I subscribe to the adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Good luck with your job search :-)
Thanks, Kim R.! Yea! Another person not wasting their time with that bull hockey pleases me to no end. Good luck with your job hunt, too, good job checking up on them through the internet search engine.
i worked for id promotionz for 3 months....it was horrific!!!!! i worked 12-14 hr days...litttttttle money...and i NEVER saw my friends fam or new hubby!!! Why would a seemingly educated person buy into this??? its's the promise of a future they give you. All the "juice" and atmosphere and responsibility makes you feel like you're apart of something...IT'S ALL BRAINWASHING. Some people make it...but trust me-you dont want to be part of this mismanaged, unethical, waste of time business!!!!
no promotionz: First, thank-you so much for taking the time to write to the readers of this article and read my hub. I really appreciate it. I don't know if you'll be coming back this way, but there are some questions I would like to ask you about how your typical day over there would go. First off, in those 12-14 hour days that you were working, on average, how many breaks would you get in a typical day? Secondly, other than commission, did you make an hourly rate? Thank-you.
Thank you, Nicole for this hub. I, too, got two similar emails from sky shout agency. They were identical, but from different "recruiters". Sky shout is not the only similar scam. I have responded to emails for at least two sites with very similar designs, where I was led to a page that had buttons to check regarding "educational opportunities." If this page turns up, or one about owning your own business, just get the heck out of the site. I also allowed myself to get snowed on a "work at home" scheme. If you see glowing descriptions of "this industry", DON'T pay for some disk just so you can find out what the product really is. They are selling some junk email mall site or even worse multilevel marketing nonsense.
Best regards, Lee
Lee: Thanks so much for reading and posting! I completely agree with you. I've seen similar "recruitment" agencies, too. I'm happy you mentioned it, instead of throwing up a red flag that it's probably shady I thought they were just free job posting sites where they were making money by getting advertisement clicks. But I think they're all scam agencies, now, nothing ever seems to happen with their "ads..."
Thanks for the info. I almost fell for this scam. Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a job, but it doesn't pay enough. I've been looking all over the net and I keep getting scam replies saying something along the lines of "We received your resume and would like to meet with you for an interview, but due to the nature of the position and bad prior experiences, we need to do a credit check before we can even let you apply." and then offers a link to their prefered "credit check" website. Be careful folks!
Anne: Absolutely, jobs shouldn't require a credit check until after you've had at least one face-to-face interview, in my opinion. I'm not sure what the general consensus is about that, but that is how I feel about it, it seems sketchy.
As promised, I'm adding this in, a week later after asking questions another woman at ID Promotionz got back to me about the internet links I had found. This is what she had to say...
"Dear Nicole,
Thank you for your questions about our company, ID Promotionz. Isn't it crazy the types of things people find the time to post on the Internet? It seems no matter what the company you can find awful things posted on the Internet about it. I was not familiar with the company called 5th Dimension Promotions so, like yourself I did some research. ID Promotionz and 5th Dimension Promotions are not partners nor are they together. ID Promotionz is it's own company began in 2008 and our office in Schaumburg is the only location we have. We are looking to expand because we do have more clientele than we can handle easily so that might be where the confusion comes from with different cities in Chicago, but nothing is finalized. Unfortunately, Nicole, we currently do not have any receptionist or administrative assistant positions available at this time. Our entry level marketing representatives will head out to local events around the Chicago land area as well as trade shows and festivals to promote our clients. We are a marketing firm so anything our client needs is what we do from selling a service to passing out a brochure. I'm sorry for the confusion but I thank you for perusing the truth instead of just assuming everything on the Internet is true. Unfortunately, freedom of speech is very important and therefore people can say and write their opinions freely. Good Luck and God Bless, Eunice Diaz
ID Promotionz, Inc.Head Administrative Assistant1125 Tower Rd.Schaumburg, IL 60173P. 847.285.5224F. 847.285.5226www.idpromotionz@gmail.com"
I don't know. It still seems awful shady to me. Draw your own conclusions, but I've seen the names of these companies linked together much to much for my personal comfort.
Hi Nicole,
I just wanted to put my input on this subject because i worked for I.D. Promotionz for a while and have the inside scoop on the business. First and foremost it is not a scam, although it seems like it. People do become successful in the business and I was one of them. They do however sugarcoat everything about the business. Yes I did work extremely long days. The business model is extremely rewarding for the clients but it is ALOT of investments on the employees end, i.e. time and money. I.D. Promotionz is it's own company but is affiliated with Hybrid Marketing formerly Global Advertising, and another company World Class Advertising is also a branch from Global Advertising.
Any company online that says they have immediate openings for event marketing and has multiple ads on these job posting are companies that are all affiliated with with the same business model. Surprisingly, there are over 100 offices across the us in all the states that are all using the same business model.
Hopes this gives you some insight.
Wow, Nina, thank-you so much for posting this! I'm going to think on this overnight, but I just wanted to let you know how happy I am that you read my hub and posted some useful information about the company, as I was wondering about this a lot, lately.
Thanks for posting this ad...I also got an email that looked something like this:
Still no word from the client regarding your application, we areworking on it though. I can't even begin to tell you how difficult theemployment situation is. We have never seen a job environment thisdifficult before. Have you ever considered working for yourself? It'sreally not that bad of a deal and we are seeing many qualifiedcandidates taking this route because they can't find employmentanywhere else. I want to share one of the best opportunities aroundthat is based off the Internet giant Google. It may not be for you,but you should defiantly consider them as a viable option, it maychange your life!The Google AlternativeTens of thousands of people are making hundreds of dollars a day eachwith google. Sell no products receive Google checks or direct depositsmonthly. Google happens to be one of the few companies that is stillgrowing in this economic depression. Get started before the currentwave of job seekers learn that earning money from Google pays betterthan most jobs they have been applying for!http://www.skyshout.com/googleWith new jobs in scarce supply, you really should consideralternatives to sending your resume in to company after company ascompetition is only projected to get worse while available jobs getharder to find. Google is one of the easiest and most successful waysyou can work for yourself. Jeffrey NeumanSenior Recruiter, Federal Division
Seems like a scam also. Glad I didn't go through with it.
Damian- Thanks for sharing! I got that same exact e-mail from them, I'm happy you posted it, here. Good luck on the job hunt front!
seek and ye shall find =D
I am in the same position as you Nichole. You have to be cautious while looking for a job because there are so many scams out there. It's so easy to get discouraged too because there aren't many people hiring (especially entry level). A friend told me about the website ripoffreport.com. You can enter any company and find comments made by previous and current employees. I found this helpful. But at the same time you have to take these comments with a grain of salt because people can become bitter if they were fired, didnt get along with management, etc. Best of luck on your search!!!!!!!!
I just reported this company to CL. If we all do this we should see some results also when people see this when researching the next fraudulent company using CL they will see how they can put a stop to that as well. If you don't want to type your own email to them just copy mine and paste it in to the message body and send it in. Here is the link for reporting scams to Craigslist http://sfbay.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/emailForm.cgi
Here is what I sent in
" The companies name is Sky Shout Agency, one of there emails is hr@skyshout.com, (i bet there are several others ending in @skyshout.com) main website is http://www.skyshout.com/ but after they bait and switch after you respond to a job posting they direct you to http://www.skyshout.com/cl or http://www.skyshout.com/google or http://www.skyshout.com/ebay and there's [probably more) and ask you to order their kit for the cost of S&H (but you have to provide personal information and CC. For example I came across them when I responded to a job post for a supposed "USPS Position". They responded telling me how bad the job market is and how the bottom has fallen out of the USPS industry. Next they started pitching me working for myself using their how to products. When I got the email I started looking into them online and found a lot of complaints. Here some are http://hubpages.com/hub/ID-Promotionz-Scam-or-Unso andhttp://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-561-615-3012 which has over 100 affected people. I think you should be able to take all their current posts having this information and block any email addresses ending in "@skyshout.com" or any other email addresses you can uncover from the posts they currently have active. Thanks "
When you go on their website hit the contact button or customer service button. If the website does not give you a physical address and a phone number with the area code, stay away. An 800 number is not enough. When you have a company name in some states you can type in the information like name of state like FL Corporations which is a state sponsored website that gives you corporate information, agent name, President name, corporate name history, and addresses for every corporation that applied for corporate status in the state and also fictious names of companies. Maybe other states have something similar. Hope this helps you!!!!
Janet, that is awesome! Thanks for reading and for commenting, I really appreciate any and every lead that helps people from being led astray and yours is a biggie!
I am so glad I came across your site. I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow at ID Promotionz in Schaumburg. I can't tell you how relieved I am to know that I am not alone. I got the same e-mail from Shannon Davis, looked at the website, wasn't quite sure but the website looked great and I thought it might be worth looking into. It bugged me, though, that I've never heard of them although they claimed to be expanding, which is why they were hiring immediately. I looked at the website again and was curious as to why there was no history about the company (i.e. - when it was established, who founded the company, etc.), didn't understand exactly how they made their money if their clients are non-profit organizations, and wasn't clear on what they did, exactly. There were several red flags so I decided to do a google search on ID Promotionz and hallelujah! thank GOD I did.....I have been saved. I'm definitely going to call tomorrow morning to cancel my appointment and tell them exactly why. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Almost Fell For It: Please take a look at Nina's comments, though. Despite all the red flags that this company is raising, she says she worked there and that it *isn't* a scam. I'm curious, but the interview is too far for me to spend money getting there to find out that it isn't something I'd mesh well with. (Not that I'm *that* picky at this point, I guess it's a lot of little things combined.) I can't really spend money to make money, right now, things are pretty desperate around here, but if you think you might be able to handle the commute / the possibility it isn't exactly what you were looking for it might be worth checking out. I still think it's an unsound business model, from what I've heard, even if it isn't a scam.
Nicole, I hope you have found a good job.I can see you deserve one.
I do not know how many scam offers you have needed to moderate, but my guess is none or very few.
Hubbers have given a lot of help here. which you have accepted with grace.
I believe that today, as it ever was and will be, knowledge is Power.
So here is an idea that may or may not be practical, as I do not know enough about Chicago.
If in Melbourne Australia I would suggest that you search deep online for a company that best suits your needs and values.
If an enjoyable well paid steady job is what you need, you need to work where you are comfortable and for the right people or person.
Google the CEO's of companies close enough for you to reach.
Have a good chicken scratch around online for positive articles about local CEO's
See if there's mention of charity contributions or other values important to you.
See how the CEO operates by reading company articles etc. See If he/she is the driving force behind the company.
If the CEO is tops, you will very likely find your future work-mates are carrying good values too. Makes work fun.
A company's department manager, or CEO can find it very difficult to find the right people just through their own personal dept, sometimes a favorite bar is a better recruitment source.
Find out which favorite little place these employees hang out together and go there.You should feel right at home.
The make some friends.
When they ask you about your job, tell them what you love about your work.
Now just listen to your new friend. If you chose the right company or business you may get a job where every day is just being yourself at work.A wonderful feeling indeed.being where you are needed and wanted.
Absolutely fabulous hub!
I wish you Good luck.
earnestshub: Wow, what fantastic advice, thank-you so much! I really do appreciate everyone's advice and help, I'm happy you noticed. Right now I'm doing charity work in order to gain more work experience and as part of the IL TANF program which helps people with cash, foodstamps, ect. I especially like the idea of making some friends in a company I feel I would mesh with, invaluble advice, thank-you very much!
Thank You Much Nicole!...
One word: Sad. It's very sad that there are so many professional scum scamsters like this lurking around -especially in the World Wide Web. You just don't know who or what to trust. Afterall, any dirtbag can put up a professional looking website and buy a few Adword spots and they're in business!
Therefore we as consumers must become more Consumer Savvy and join together to shut down all these scams and shabby operations.
Here's a hub I wrote a little while back about learning to avoid Home Business and Internet Scams! http://hubpages.com/_comment/hub/Home-Business-Sca
Hi Nicole!
Sorry about all of the employment scamming going on-I'm no stranger to it my self. I just received an email from Sky Shout, and being desperate to find a job and the email seemed personally written (however one sure way I single these kind of scams out is by noticing that they have an awful large amount of links in their emails-and a lot of them seem to be pretty long for links too) I decided to search the Internet to check the website to decide if they were legit or not. I can usually tell be a website (cheesy stock photos and questions asking if you are interested in continuing your education and links to "partners" aka promoters). I typed the name into a search engine and the suggestions while I was typing came up "Sky Shout Scam", I had my suspicions and I clicked on the first item on the list that led me to you_Thanks:) So, yeah sign up with as many agencies as possible-this is how I've kept my self employed over the past year-I am signed p withe at least 15 different agencies, no lie! numbers count! My best wishes to you...
I have started a business and I started it from scratch. I had a Ideal and a good one something that no one else has I have patented it myself and I have gave away much of my products. Eveyone see it like it but I am stuck on the first floor I need to advertise it more but I don't have the money to advertise it because it cost to much and I don't have the money for advertising . I have sent Oprah two ,I have sent Obama and Michelle two, I have sent Tom Joyner two, I have gave Bernice King in person one I have sent Keyshia Cole One that she use on her show . But still I haven't got no where with them. and maybe you are my answer I am reaching out to google for help. And I will show you my product when I can get some money to download them. I would appreciate it very much for you to resue me. I have had this Ideal for two years now. I have a invention that Invent Tech has stole from me and I will soon be going after them with a civil sue for leagal justic. I have been trying to trust people but they have been the wrong on to trust every time when it comes to my invention and creation. So I tried to do it myself but it can be a little expensive if you don't have the money or the right connection. So I am putting it out there for an investor to act upon my request if you have the time I have the Ideals which is nothing but money for the right person with the right experience. I would appreciate your time and you will not regret the effort of helping the needy not the greedy. I am reaching out for help . All I can do is ask you and show you my plan . It is a million dollar thought . So if you can help me and you are interesting please contact me at burchbrenda@gmail.com or call me at 678-296-8323 I don't have a number now but my employer will relate the message. I need some air time for getting the word out. Thank you for your time and patience. I have a business and a tax number I will reveal upon contact . Thank you for reaching out . Love you Brenda J. Burch
Thanks for the information, I really appreciate it. I already fell for one of these companies. One to look out for is World Class Advertising (WCA) in Gurnee or Waukegan, Illinois. At first I thought I was getting a good job, but after a whole day of interviewing I knew it wasn't a real job. We just walked around trying to sell toys to strangers in Chicago. Not to mention, we used my car! I'm going to be more careful and thanks for this site Nicole!
David: Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my hub. I appreciate you adding your own personal story about WCA, as well.
multimastery: Thanks for taking the time to read my hub and comment. I appreciate you posting a link to your hub here, good stuff! We all need to be very careful about what kind of information we post out there.
NotBuyingIt!: You got it down, my friend. I can't believe how insidious these guys are becoming. And when it comes to scam "employment" agencies... well, that's just the bottom of the barrel, c'mon! Thanks for taking the time to read / comment on my hub, I appreciate it!
burchbrenda1: Sweetie, sounds like you've something going on... I don't know how I can help you, though. I'm just a single mom trying to get a job, I don't really have any business contacts, or anything like that.... send me an e-mail at: nawinter77@gmail.com with more information about what you're trying to market & maybe I could give you some ideas, for what they're worth.
Thanks Nicole for the VALUABLE scuttlebutt on "SKY SHOUT AGENCY". I too responded to a job posting on CL. Now that I have done some research however, I have blocked any future emails from this so called "agency" Not that they could get anything from me ... I have been living from unemployment check to unemployment check for the last 8 months!
Finding a job in todays world is TOUGH!! Even tougher when you are in the over 50 age group. It's really sad that there are those out there who are preying on people who simply want to work to support themselves and their families.
My two cents for what its worth!
Karen: Ah, jeez. I'm sorry to hear that you've been going through this, too, I'm currently sort of writing a Page about trying to get a welfare check right now, thank goodness for your unemployment check, but I know it's nothing to write home about. (I still haven't gotten any money from welfare...) It is really tough out there right now, but I'm sure things will start to pick up soon. Best of luck to you, keep trying!
WHEN THINGS SEEM AS THOUGH THEY CAN'T ANY WORSE REMEBER THAT A BETTER DAY IS ON THE WAY . tHE BIBLE HAVE MANY QUOTATION AND I REMEMBER YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT. GOD IS ON THE THRONE AND HE IS STANDING BY. i DIDN'T MEAN TO TYPE ALL CAPS BUT I DIN'T WANT TO GO BACK SO I KEPT ON FORWARD SO PLEASE FORGIVE ME. BUT THE BIBLE SAY REAPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT BUT JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING . I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE BIGGEST TEST A HUMAN CAN GO THROUGH AND I KNOW THAT GOD LOVE ME BUT IT SEEM AS THOUGH HE HAD LEFT ME . BUT I KNOW IT WAS ONLY A TEST AND HE DO ALLOW THE DEVIL TO TEST YOUR FAITH . BUT KEEP THE LORD ON YOUR MIND BECAUSE HE ALREADY KNOWS YOUR HEART AND WHAT YOU ARE FEELING SO WHEN THINGS GET AS THOUGH YOU HAVE NO WAY OUT REMEMBER THAT HE IS STANDING BY . I KNOW HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU EVEN UNTIL THE END OF TIME. GOD IS ALMIGHTY AND HE IS ALL KNOWING . SO WHEN YOU HAVE HAD ALL YOU CAN TAKE HE IS ONLY A PRAYER AWAY. WHEN GOD GET READY TO BLESS YOU THE DEVIL WILL TRY AND STEAL YOUR BLESSING . BUT HE CAN ONLY DO IT IF Y OU ALLOW HIM HE HAVE NO POWER OVER YOU. ONLY YOU GIVE HIM POWER WITH DOUBT. HE TRIED TOO TEMPLE CHRIST REMEMBER IN THE MOUNTAIN TOP . BUT CHRIST ALWAYS HAD A SCRIPTURE FOR HIM . SO READ AND STUDY YOUR BIBLE TO SHOW YOURSELF APPROVAL. HE LOVE YOU AND HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE . BLESS IT BE THE NAME OF THE LORD.
Thanks, burchbrend, I appreciate the love.
Thanks, burchbrend, I appreciate the love.
It just amazes me that people will put so many of their resources into a scam when they could make good money putting that much effort into a legit job or business.
Specificity: You said it, my friend. It amazes me, too. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
Wow its so crazy how you all were able to pull so much information about the company without even being employed with the company for one day. Lucky You!!! I was employed with Id Promotionz for one month, up in till today and have first hand info on how terrible the company is. To begin with there is "No hourly compensation" what so ever. You only make a comission of 40% of your total sales daily. So that means "No Sales, No Pay" What a great compromise of pride and hardwork. Whether it rains, hails, fire, or snow if u want to get paid show up for work. One day I was suppose to work a Wal-Mart event outside where I had to make sales doing a gift exchange. It was at least 20 degrees outside. I worked 8 hours with one lunch break all day. I didnt have feeling in my toes the whole day, and it was even snowing all over my display table. Only being sane i couldnt blame anyone for not stopping and checking out what was going on at my table when the 20 degrees winds are cutting any part of skin showing or not covered up with 5 layers of clothing. Sadly to say I only made 5 dollars of sales that day. I ended up making two dollars that day and could have almost have had my body perserved after being frozen still for about 7 hours. We disguise our attempt of making money by throwing in the words Charity, For the Kids, and D.A.R.E. Out of our total sales on 5% goes to D.A.R.E anyway. The other 50% back to company for our products and profit for our deserving superiors. I had to work Monday through Saturday from 8:00am to 6:30pm. There goes my social life! Another thing I found disturbing while employed wit ID Promotionz "no gas compensation" eithier. They send you anywhere through out the Chicago area to work event. Mind you Chicago is the third largest city in the United Sates. One day I told my boss I didnt have enough gas for the trip and she gave me 40 cash and then told me it would be taken out of my next check. So im obligated to make the trip but I need the money from my chk cuz I have bills to pay. The only thing that kept me with the company is the promise of making upper management and taking all expense paid trips to different places around the country. But how much can u take of working outside through a Chicago winter. One brought my promising future to an end is that I was sent out to a real urban neighborhood to work another outside event. I couldnt get people to purchase anything from me. I was just having a bad day. Once i got back to the office the boss scolded me with failure and had the nerve to tell me she has "never had such a shitty day". She told me she work through a terrible winter and still had better results. Before I walked out I said "maybe u did work through a hard winter and never had a shitty day, but we werent in a fuckin recession". To touch a different topic even if u never expierience a Chicago winter to know what I went through, no matter where you are you about our recession. People barely have the income to by food for there families so where is there extra money to by things that arent necessaties. Who needs to donate extra cash when they just got laid off?? Just monday was a record setting day and made national news that there has been 71,000 jobs lost in One day. Another 11,000 on Tuesday. I rather collect unemployment for a once good time job than work like a slave in a sweat shop. Im not lazy, unmotivated, or not dedicated to whatever is needed to get a job done. But somethings are just out of the questions.
Wow, Anonymous, you said a mouthful. I don't know if profanity is allowed on Hub Pages, so if your comment gets deleted my apologies, but I'm happy you stopped in and commented, thank-you for sharing your experiences with us, I really appreciate it.
Sounds like you were in sales anonymous. I have not been in sales myself but I have friends who work in sales and they work on commission as you said you did. It's a hit or miss profession. Either someone buys or they don't. Sometimes they make nothing for two days but then have a big sale and make $600 in one day. I'm sorry you had awful days and your boss came down on you for having those days but live and let go. If I'm reading correctly you're a pretty angry person. If one door doesn't work out there's always a window open somewhere. I wish you luck and good things in the future.
Hi, Jasmine, thanks for coming by and taking the time to read my hub & comment. Yes, it sounds like Anonymous was in sales, that's basically what ID Promotionz and the like is doing, for the most part. Good luck to you, too. I think your comment about anger issues was actually directed towards another reader, but just in case, nah... I'm not angry, just wary.
Thank you for the article Nicole. I really appreciate the information. I hear so many complaints about scams,(I myself complain as well), I just hope everyone who encounters them is flagging and reporting them. Craigslist has quite a few and it seems as though no one is putting up a caution flag. So, please, I encourage everyone to flag them and maybe a little effort on all our parts can help eliminate them. :)
Melissa: Exactly! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, I appreciate it. You bring up an excellent point, we should all flag / report fradulent companies whenever we can.
ID Promotionz Scam or Unsound Business Model
very good, I support you, come on , welcome to my hub!
ontheway: Thanks, welcome to Hub Pages! I look forward to reading your hubs and appreciate you taking the time out from hopefully writing them to read and comment on mine. Good luck!
Okay-dokey, then pkoson. Thanks for stopping by to read and comment.
okay so i am currently an employee of I.D Promotionz... not a scam its a legit job.. yes hard work, but the rewards are well worth it... money isn't free so im willing to work and do what i need to do in order to provide for my daughter.. and it is not only commission.. its commission vs. hourly... which ever comes out more... and yes it is entry level and there are great advancment opportunities but you have to be willing to put in the work in order to become managment.. and i dont know any job where it doesn't require that... so if you're reading all these posts and are discouraged if i'd promotionz has been a prospect for a new job please reconsider they're are tons of great people that work for the company
who??? --- Thanks for posting! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment without personally blasting me. This is the *first* time that I've heard from anyone who works for ID Promotionz say that they make an hourly rate as well as comission. I was set for an interview as a receptionist for ID Promotionz ... when I spoke to them on the phone, though, I was told it was actually going to be commissioned field work position. I've mentioned repeatedly that I wasn't sure if the company was legitimate, from what you Nina and others who have personally contacted me; it sounds like a legitimate job oppurtunity could be had there. However, there are a lot more people who have contacted me with some pretty awful sounding stories about this company and others like it. Personally I really dislike the way they handled me, the bait and switch method that was used seemed very dishonest. Thank-you, again for commenting. I appreciate your feedback.
just to clarify so no one is mislead.. its not hourly +commission.... its either/or. you will either make commission for the day or hourly (if its a not so good day in sales cause we all know that everyone has a bad day here or there) it depends on which comes out higher. and to comment about the people who have had awful stories... this job isn't for everyone some people just aren't meant to be in sales. its not like standing at a cash register and ringing someone up... so i feel that the people that had bad experiences it just wasn't for them. Just as i would never attempt to be an accountant cause i hate math and numbers lol.. i know its not for me.
WHO???: Oh, wow, thank-you for the clarification, I was wondering if that might be the case and I appreciate your honesty. *nod* Not everyone is meant to be in sales. I know that while I'm fantastic in customer service as well as a host of office skills, sales isn't my strong suit. Thanks again for reading and commenting.
Wow, I actually just applied to ID Promotionz and got an email from them today about coming in for an interview. I was about to call when I decided to do a little research, and boy am I glad that I did. I had a feeling it was weird that they were so eager to hire so many people right away. Thanks for all the information!!
anonymous: Hopefully you've read the comments of some people who work there and give more information about the company and it's hiring practices / compensation program. Good luck with your job hunt, I hope it goes well!
What makes me sad is that this group operates under SO many different names it's hard to keep track of them. I almost bought into all this under the name Fast Track; because they change their name so often, it's hard to figure out where they are at any given time!
Awesome write up on this, though. Glad to have found it.
Nicole- Thanks a lot! I did read the comments and got a lot of insight to the company... doesn't look good to me at all.
Adrienne- Wait, Fast Track is a scam too??? I actually was supposed to set up an interview with them as well, but they seemed more legit than ID Promotionz. They seemed to stem from a good company, Magnum based in New Jersey. Do you have any info on them?? I don't want to continue with the interview if it is the same BS. Thanks!
Adrienne- Thanks so much! Yes, I've gotten to the point that I basically ignore any company with a "z" in it's name... silly, but true. I can't believe how many different names these companies have. Must be something amiss if they find the need to operate under so many different names and in so many areas that are pretty close to one another.
anonymous: *nod* I agree with you, doesn't look good at all!
Thank you so much for all of your advice! I almost drove close to three hours tomorrow for an interview.
Aw, Leen! I was in a similar boat when I had my interview, two trains and two buses. Happy to have saved you the time, money and gas! Thanks for coming by and commenting.
Thank you so much for writing this! I Had an interview all set up for Friday that I will not be going to!
Molly: Thank-you for taking the time to read and comment, I wish you all the luck in finding a new job.
I know this is too late for the person that posted a few weeks ago, but don't waste your time with Fast Track, they are indeed a scam.
I applied for a position with them a couple of months ago. I'm a night owl, so I sent out my resume at about 2 AM after finishing up with some other work. I didn't expect a response for at least a few days, but much to my suprise their was a response the very next morning. However, my initial excitement wore off in seconds when I saw the response was sent out at 4:00 AM from 'fasttrack.hrdepartment@gmail.com
This sent my red flags flying, so I did more research on them and found out they are a shady company that does unsolicited door to door sales and requires you to work ungodly hours (10-12 a day including saturdays) They also operate under the names SMI, SMI and Associates, and Sports Marketing International. They have a few others as well, but I cannot recall them. The main thing to look for is their address in their response message to you -
FAST TRACK
2801 S. Fairfield Ave, Suite A
Lombard, Illinois 60148
If a company you think might be a sham has this address in their e-mail to you, don't waste any more of your precious job hunting time on them.
Matt: Thank-you for letting us know what you found out. I appreciate you taking the time to read & comment. I wish you all the luck in your job hunt!
Thanks for posting this article, I was actually dumb enough to apply for an entry-level job with these bozos (Id Promotionz under the name ICON Industries, Inc). Thankfully I researched the company before I called to set an interview and found your article.
Patrick Stivers: Good luck with your job hunt, thank-you for coming by and taking the time to read and comment. I wish you luck!
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wordly: I don't understand what that has to do with the topic at hand... but good for you!
hot dorkage says:
13 months ago
Nicole, please don't fal for *ANY* of this crap. NO ONE, I repeat NO ONE, is just going to walk up to a complete stranger and offer them any job that is even decent, never mind good sounding like the ones I get: "We want to offer you a job as a financial controller paying $89,000 a year and up... bla bla bla" Ummmmm..... I'm not qualified as a financial controller. What are they thinking? They just want your personal information so they can target you for selling you more shit you don't need. Get offline, go to your local community consortium and attend a local job fair. Meet real people in your local area that have real jobs to offer. NO ONE legitimate EVER offers a real job to an email address, I don't care how good your online resume is. Real people always want to meet you first.