Western Union Scam??

Why not convince them to try escrow or Paypal?

I also should mention that the email told me I was one of 6 applicants chosen out of a field of 97, which I thought was weird, because while I believe that I am a very capable person, I do not have "official" teaching experience and also have no TEFL certification. However, they did attach an official-looking employee contract for me to sign....thoughts?

Got an address for the school? If I'm passing I could see how it looks (signs up outside whatever) if I'm close.

Also, I'd go with PayPal myself. I think they are insured up to $5,000 aint they? Might be safer and shouldn't be a problem for the school if they are legit.

P.S. Have you spoken to anyone over the phone yet? Have they even heard you speak english? Smells a bit fishy to me

Hi

I have also been offered a job with Good Seen International School. And they have asked me for ?100Euros for a deposit for accommuncation etc. I too didnt like the idea of sending money Via western Union. I send them a long email with questions that i would like anwsered and that i would like to be contacte from the school and proff that this genuin. I have received a call from someone called Victor, but the line was no clear. I have asked him to email me contact details so that i can call him instead........

I too was offered the one of 6 positions at Good Seed as well. I'm not to sure what the think of having to send them 650 Euro it seems like way too much. I asked if I could send them 300 Euro instead, as 650 Euro is alot of money to come up with in such short notice. I was told it is school standard and they are unable to change the set fee. This morning I sent them another e-mail letting them know I'm going to sign the contract but before I send it I have to have the DHL courier package at my door so that I can have some proof of the validity of everything. So either we will be working together or this is a scam. I will keep everyone posted on the replies I receive. If everyone else could keep me posted that would be fantastic!! Thanks

Well, I, too, was offered a job with Good Seed International School in Barcelona. I asked Dave at Dave's ESL Cafe about it and he immediately emailed back and said to stay away from it. Scam!

'll be very interested in reading others' responses to Victor Joblonch's insistence on receiving 650 Euro as "committment fee".

After offering compromise - I'll be in Barcelona weeks ahead of the start date, that I have plane ticket already and do not need accommodations, that I'll even help sort out the new office if you need - he emails that they need application and 650 Euros way in advance. I've emailed him back and asked outright if it were a scam.

We'll see. This helps immensely. Thanks for writing before I did and hope to hear the further adventures of the not-so-Good Shepard International School!

Address for GOOD SHEPARD INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL as it appears in emails:

Good Seed International Sch.
C/ Pere Verges, 11.,
Despacho 7.3,Barcelona, Spain

Address isnt exactly central. Outskirts in an industrial park it seems. Who knows. Seems a bit bizarre also that 3 new members post in the same thread the same thing on the day they joined. I'm confused. :P

It just seemed as though it was this amazing opportunity that I couldn't pass up, until I got the e-mail yesterday asking for money. I decided to attempt to do my research and I found this site. My guess is they have sent the contract to probably 97 people or even more with the hopes of getting 6 people to pay the 650 Euro each.
I received a reply from Victor and this is what it read:

"Your plight is quite understood, but i seriously assure you that you are in the right direction,its quite obvious that that there are some cunny guys out there.....but our institution is quite legit.

More information about the school will be sent to you shortly.

You are still free to decline the offer if you are not convinced about our legitimacy.

Warm regards,

Victor"

Got you. Still seems a bucketload of cash. Where you flying from? I'd proceed with caution if I were you - maybe even buy the flights myself then goto their offices and check it out.

I responded to "Victor" last night night, asking him about an alternative way to pay, and any proof he could send me that his institution is legit, and still no response, which is funny because they have been unusually quick about their responses to my last few emails...

I was also offered a job at good seed international yesterday afternoon. I was very excited, but concerned about the 650 Euro. I was given two numbers from the principle, Steffen Reykdal, to contact him while he was in the London office if I had any questions. I tried to reach him at both numbers, but I could not connect. I thought maybe he misprint the wrong numbers, so I sent him an email letting him know that I had some questions and would like him to call me. I recieved a call this morning from Steffen, but it was very hard to understand him. It did sound like he was at a school or something because there was a lot of background noise, but I am not sure. He answered a few of my questions regarding the school, but I still felt uneasy about the situation. Because of the commotion, he said that I should email him with any other questions. I really was happy about getting accepted for this position, but from hearing from all of you and putting the facts together - no website, no phone number, and having to pay this fee....I just don't know. I sent Victor an email letting him know that I am concerned and need some proof that this is legit. Please let me know of any changes. Thanks!

FYI, it does cost about 650? to sponsor a work visa, and they're claiming they do this. The fact that they're located over by an industrial zone is not surprising either as that's a great source of potential students for whom the school can charge a good rate.

So, why don't you all pool your money together to come up with the 650?, then transfer that as a risk-mitigated experiment to see if these guys are legit?

Just got off the phone with State department, oversea schools, person in charge said said she would be very cautious....she has never heard of anyone asking for 650 euro up front. She said to be very careful, and that she gets phone calls like this all the time about schools in Korea, sometimes Spain, and other places. Alot of the time, they are scams and trying to get your money and then sometimes more.....She couldn't believe that they were asking for 650 euro up front, she was shocked.

Hello, Whistler, Jeserbug, ThePiltz, NolanShaq, Private! If you include me, that's six of us who have big time doubts about their job offer from The Good Shepard International School. So, if another prospective teacher shows up on this forum, we'll KNOW for sure that part of their email is not true...

I, too, hope they ARE legit. Even if they are NOT a total ripoff, there could be an in-between scenario: They're trying to get a school started with not enough capital and we would be subsidizing them. But where's the credentials? They have my entire life's work history and I have some emails from various names, an address, a dubious contract with an adamant request to send $1000 USD to a Western Union office3000 miles away. And NOTHING ELSE.

Whether it cost $650 Euro to get a work visa isn't the only point. Where's the proof there's a subsequent job at a school that really exists? What's their background? Where's their REFERENCES? Where did they go to school?

It does not look good...

Maybe we should copy this forum and mail it to them so they know we are asking questions. Any ideas of how we can move forward or has anyone heard from Vicotor or Steffen?

Jeserbug - I called their bluff more than 24 hours ago, ending the email with "I have 6 years at university, what have you got? I'm not running a scam. Are you?" And i haven't heard a word.

It's clearly a scam. They're crawling in a hole, taking cover and planning their next ripoff. Or, possibly, there's people desperate or stupid enough to actually send money to an unknown name via Western Union.

I'm sorry. Just proves the old maxim: If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

However, let's send them the URL link to this forum thread. Maybe they'll move on to send emails that say "I have need of an agent to act on my behalf, for which you would receive 40% of..."

Take care.

I received an e-mail from Victor today with all of the so called school information. The information is wonderful but I believe not enough. He also sent me photos of the school, living quaters and staff. It looks absolutely beautiful but then again any scam is going to glamourize their situation so it looks appealing to you.

Here is the description I received.

"Good Seed International School was established in the year 2006 .The School provides sound education with a full range of extra-curricular activities to students aged 6 to 18/19 years and above from more than 15 countries.

At Good Seed International School , we provide a dynamic and balanced curriculum, based on the International School's programmes. Unlike many international schools, we do not have one dominant nationality. The diversity in GSIS makes us a truly global international school. Drawing on the rich variety of cultures represented at the school. GSIS aims to develop in each student a global outlook, which seeks to understand and appreciate the attitudes and values of others.

GSIS's purpose is to provide a first-class education for students aged between six and eighteen and above, fostering abilities both in the field of academic and general education. It is the school's intention to educate the whole person in the hope of developing responsible world citizens of good character. The school ultimately aims to prepare students for both university education and future endeavours."

This is what Victor just wrote me...Can you believe this!

"Hello

Note, the fact that a school has yet no website doesnt make the school a scam,we have read all you wrote about our school, beware,soon you will be called to defend all you wrote against us in the international court of Law, make sure you dont run away.

Victor"

HAHA!! I too received the email about the school and their goals/etc., along with pictures that were probably pulled off of google. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if I could turn them up in a quick google search. Also, if he went to all those lengths to write out a mission statement, I would also think he would address my primary question that I emailed him a while ago: IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY THE PAYMENT CAN BE MADE? The emails all have had terrible grammar, the email responses have been unprofessional, even if this place were legit, I don't think I would accept the job...

Haha I got a contract from Good Seed this morning. That makes me number 7 ... out of 6. I wrote back, "I am not willing to pay any money for an offer of employment. I am willing to pay for my own flight and to pay a housing deposit once I have seen my housing and the school. Please let me know if you are still interested in hiring me. Thanks." We shall see ....

Can anyone post some of the pictures?

Jcat: Here's the reply they sent me to the same offer, that I already have my own ticket, I have my own accommodations, I'll even help sort out the new offices:

"Kindly note that if you are really coming to work with us,we must commence the processing of your working permit before your arrival,it is not so easy to obtain a work permit at a short period of time,it is better you sign the contract immediately and send it together with the fee,so as to commence the processing on time."

I added the bold emphasis

There's no other way with these guys. They want your money upfront.

I forgot to include that the original ESL job website where I saw the ad has emailed that they have pulled the ad and are suspicious of it, too, pending further investigation.

I'll neither identify the job site nor directly quote the reply at this time. I have asked their permission to do so, but they have yet to email back about this. They seem quite honorable in their attempt to identify a problem post, so I'll respect the privacy of their correspondence with me until they give permission.

I'm glad of having found this forum, because I'm "one of the 6 out of 97 ppl" ??

It's a HUGE SCAM, and I know it because I've been doing some research in the Ministry of Education and it doesn't exist. There is no code of registration, no school with this name and the funny thing is that my schol is the same but instead of being Good Shepperd International School is "Good Seed International School"... it seems a sect...

Same address as the other one. I live in Spain, that's why it has been easier for me to check it up, and I've been to Barcelona yesterday with the big surprise that the street exists, but the school doesn't. Ha! Busted!!!

Don't believe neither Steffen nor Victor, they're full of bullshit...

Steffen's phone numbers don't exist neither... Ha! Busted (again)... I called to BT and Mercury Customer Service (UK phone companies) and they assured that these phone numbers aren't assigned to any user. HAAAA! Busted!!!! ??

The GSIS in Google stands for German Swiss International School in Hong Kong. Not related.

The contract is a fraud from top to bottom; I showed it to a HR Adviser/Employment Law Adviser and he's told me that neither contract should be signed without the official registration code in the Ministry of Education.

Also, in Spain is forbidden to work as a teacher without the CAP (Certificate of Pedagogical Aptitude), or its equivalent (Teaching Training Course for UK, Washington Teaching Certificate for US), and they didn't ask me for it... So, fraud!

So, don't let them cheat on youuuu!

:-)

There is a similar scam going on in other parts of Europe where you are asked to pay a deposit via WU for an apartment.

dont give out you DOB ADDRESS ID NUMBERS NIE NUMBER BANK ACCOUNTS CARD NUMBERS AND STAY SAFE

google email address topics , you fine lot out about it , we see in news that few this scam have be involing lotts in spain
as mate say give me a 20 euros and you just been scamed , will its you mate

i get up 20 spam mail aday to my email address and just bin them ,

jurdy

It seem like a reoccurance; I was offered a job this morning from Value International Lauguage School in Madrid. The format is exactly the same you are one of the six appointed out of 97>>>> we will sent you the DHL package, just deposit 750 euros!!!!
No address found on google?? They are claiming that they established the school in 2006, why would you wait 2 years to come up with a website it's 2008 now!!!!!!!! They even sent me lovely pictures, of the school, the computer room and even my every own room. I am sure it's from some very upper class hotel room.