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How to Avoid Fake Recruiting Scams

by Josh Kirschner on May 30, 2019

You receive a personalized email from a recruiter claiming to be filling a senior level executive position and you could be the perfect candidate – too good to be true? It probably is. There are a variety of fake job and recruiting scams going around that offer no opportunities except to separate interested candidates from their cash.

How the job recruiting scam works

There are multiple flavors of the scam, but the general process is the same. You get a personalized email from a “recruiter” filling a senior level spot. The email will suggest that they got your name through a referral and that you have just the credentials they’re looking for (even though they haven’t interviewed you or gotten any information from you yet). In some cases, the scam may originate on legitimate job sites like Indeed.com. Here is an example of an email I received in November, 2018 (note that it is nearly identical to emails others received with a different recruiter and company name):

Hello Josh,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am senior executive recruiter at ProRecruiting Solutions Inc.  and our client has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

P.S: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Best Regards,

David Miller
Senior Executive Recruiter
ProRecruiting Solutions Inc.
http://www.prorecruitingsolutions.com
1450 Broadway 7th floor,
New York, NY 10018, USA

If you research the company, you may find a well-constructed website listing their credentials, recruiting team, etc. But don’t be fooled. Anyone can set up a fake website. The ProRecruiting Solutions website claims the company has been in business since 2007, yet the site only went live in August, 2018, a couple of months before I received the email (both the site and phone number are no longer active, but you can see an archived version here). To help support the myth, should you choose to research the company further, they even put out a press release touting their growth (also in August).

Some recruiting scams will go so far as to create fake LinkedIn profiles of their executives, which can be spotted because they have few connections (real recruiters generally have 500+) or endorsements. In the case of ProRecruiting Solutions, I could find no professional information about the supposed principals, which is a big red flag for a recruiter.

The email also has suspicious indications, which you can find if you’re more technically inclined. While the From address is david@prorecruitingsolutions.com, the email was sent via Sendy.co, a newsletter app that “makes it possible for you to send authenticated bulk emails at an insanely low price”. Unlike many other newsletter services, Sendy is self-hosted, so a scammer would not need to provide credentials for an account with a hosted service, like ConstantContact or Mailchimp, who would also be quick to kick anyone off the service they suspected of sending spam emails.

Version 1 - the resume review scam

Once you respond back to the email with your interest, the scam will go one of two ways. In one version, the recruiter will claim there is a “problem” with your resume and ask you to upload it to a purported resume review site.  These sites charge a fee of around $10 to review your resume, at which point they will tell you why your resume needs to be redesigned to work with company applicant tracking systems and show off your skills, which they will be happy to do for an extra $150 and up. If you go for the resume service (or choose to opt out), the recruiter will then sadly inform you that the job you were supposedly in line for has fallen through.

Version 2 - the pay for interview scam

The second version of the job scam, perpetrated by one of the largest recruiting scam operators, has cost consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. In a complaint filed by the FTC, after the job candidate responded to a fake recruiting email sent by the defendants (who were operating under a variety of aliases, including Worldwide Executive Job Search Solutions LLC, WWEJSS, Seven Figure Careers, 7FigRecruiters, 7FC, Finnburg Switzer, ResumeterPro, Creating Job Opportunity, Confidential Jobs Only, CJOnly, and CJO Private Equity, PrivateEquityHeadhunters.com LLC, PE Headhunters, Private Equity Headhunters, and PEHHS.COM LLC, all owned and operated by Craig Chrest), they were included on an email string that had the name of the hiring company and the hiring partner’s name and email. Candidates who researched the company (usually a supposed VC or private equity firm called Agile Capital, Rock Hill Capital, or Sienna Ventures) found a website (also fake) confirming the information.

And then scammers set the hook. According to the FTC, “…to move forward with job placement services or to land an interview, the defendants required consumers to sign a contract and pay an advance recruiting fee of between $1,200 and $2,500. Consumers then got a purported job interview by phone with the hiring partner of the company – often identified as Agile Capital, Rock Hill Capital, or Sienna Ventures.”

As with the resume scam, once the interview was done, the job disappeared due to a “change in the company’s business plans or hiring needs.” And if you considered complaining about this treatment to anyone, the contract you signed contained non-disclosure language that threatened a penalty of 10x the recruiting fee (up to $25,000, in this case) if you discussed what occurred.

Thankfully, these guys have finally been shut down by the FTC, but others may be operating using the same tactics.

Version 3 - the advance check payment scam

This scam seems to be originating out of job boards, such as Indeed.com. After you apply for a position on the site (often one that offers a suspiciously high salary and benefits), you get an email congratulating you on being hired for all the details on your fabulous new job. They even arrange to send you a large check for your first month of work, which you happily deposit into your bank account. The only catch is that they ask you to send them money orders (or even iTunes gift cards!) so that they can purchase uniforms or other equipment that you need for your job. Or, the check includes money for the clients you'll be working with, so they ask you to wire funds to the accounts for those client. Shortly thereafter, you get a notice from your bank that the check you deposited is fraudulent – there is no money, your account gets frozen, you owe bounced check fees and whatever money you sent to the company or "clients" is gone forever.

How to avoid falling for a job recruiting scam

I spoke with Don Zinn, Vice President, Executive Search at boutique recruiting firm StevenDouglas, to get his take on what is legitimate for recruiters to ask of candidates and how you can recognize when you may be getting scammed. And, together, we developed these tips for recognizing when a job pitch may not be on the up-and-up.

  1. Recruiters should never be asking for money. Period. Paying a referral fee is not a legitimate practice at all – the client always pays the fee.
  2. No one is going to tell you you’re perfect for a job or put you in touch with a company without interviewing you first. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  3. Ask the recruiter “What do they know about the client? What do they know about the opportunity? What is the time frame for hiring?” If they can’t give you clear answers, something isn’t right.
  4. Recruiters should never ask you to sign a contract or non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before an interview. And if they ask you for your social security number or banking account information, run the other way.
  5. Research the recruiters. Do you have connections in common on LinkedIn? Do they have a detailed professional profile other than on their own site? If you Google them, are you finding complaints on scam warning sites?

Zinn says that even if the recruiter is legitimate, “There is no barrier to entry to be a recruiter. You should be picky and choosy about who you work with. You don’t want people who are going to take your resume and send it to 300 people – especially if you are working. Tell the recruiter before they send your resume to anyone, you want to know who they are sending it to.”

And I’ll just leave you with Zinn’s advice above, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Author's Note 8/14/19: I just received an email with identical text as in the article above, yet from a different name and recruiting company (see below). If you go to the TQ Recruitment website About page, the pictures of the supposed team are identical to the photos of the team on another recruiting site, FS Recruiting, but with completely different names.

FS Recruiting TB Recruiting team

Also, the contact phone number for TQ Recruitment 877-373-2279 (not in service) is the same as that listed for a now de-active website for a TB Recruiting. Complaints about TB Recruiting go back to at least 2017.

If you receive a similar recruiting email, please post in comments below to help people identify the company and recruiter names being used in these scams.

Hello Josh,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of TQ Recruitment Inc. and our client has retained us to fill various C-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate. 

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

P.S: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees

Best Regards,

Greg Berry
Senior Executive Recruiter

TQ Recruitment Inc.
www.tqrecruitment.com
54 W 21st St Suite- 260 - 4th Floor
New York, NY 10010

[Image credit: job interview via BigStockPhoto]


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Discussion loading

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From Kimberly on January 01, 2020 :: 3:49 pm


Hello,
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Robert Guerrero and I am a Sr. Recruiting Specialist in Top Private Equity Recruiting Firm, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.
One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.
If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.
Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.
Company Size: $2.5B
Best Regards,
Robert Guerrero
Senior Executive Recruiter
+1 (917) 633-8650
To Private Equity Recruiting
https://topperecruiting.com/
71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown
New York, NY 10036

Reply

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From Josh Kirschner on January 01, 2020 :: 4:49 pm


Haven’t seen that name before, but it’s clearly the same folks. They’re using the same profile pictures as I have in the article above, with different names. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully, the FTC will take action against these guys at some point. This scam has been going for years and it must be successful or they wouldn’t keep doing it.

Reply

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From D. Huie on January 07, 2020 :: 11:13 am


So I received the usual teaser email.  I checked out the website (http://www.topperecruiting.com).  The website shows the same pictures as seen above.  Ok, so now I know it’s a scam.  However, the “recruiter’s” second email indicates that the resume I sent cannot be ingested by their Candidate Management System and that I need to have my resume fixed at a website cmsresumes.com.  Just out of curiosity, I checked that site out and they want $37 to “fix” my resume so that it will be optimized for ingestion into automated resume ingestion systems.  What a crock.  Thanks for alerting the world to this bullshit.

David

Donna Levan
9:00 AM (1 hour ago)
to me

Good Morning David,

The role is aligned with your experience. Unfortunately your resume does not parse correctly into Candidate Management System. In order to move forward, I need your ATS compatible resume ASAP for the initial process. You may contact https://cmsresumes.com for ATS Compatible Resume.

           

For reason of confidentiality and non-disclosure, I am not able to share any detail of the position or company with you at this time, unfortunately. I will check my schedule and let you know few time slots for a brief phone call after the initial process.


Best Regards,

Donna Levan

Executives Search Director

+1 (917) 633-8650

Top Private Equity Recruiting

https://topperecruiting.com/

71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown

New York, NY 10036

Reply

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From Skip The Scam on January 14, 2020 :: 5:04 pm


Hello xxx,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Robin Recruiters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Victoria Jones
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com

Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 10001.

Reply

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From Alton on October 03, 2021 :: 9:48 am


Yup! Just got one of these that was nearly identical. Thanks for posting this!

Hello XXX YYYY,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Head of Leadership Consulting at Exec Search Pros Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Victoria Jones
Head of Leadership Consulting
Exec Search Pros Inc.

Reply

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From Gerald Grasso on October 04, 2021 :: 4:34 pm


Hello Jerry Grasso,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Head of Leadership Consulting at Exec Search Pros Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Victoria Jones
Head of Leadership Consulting
Exec Search Pros Inc.

Reply

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From Holly Daniels on October 27, 2021 :: 9:31 pm


Hello Holly,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Head of Leadership Consulting at Exec Search Pros Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.


Best regards,

Victoria Jones
Head of Leadership Consulting
Exec Search Pros Inc.

Reply

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From IR on January 25, 2020 :: 4:35 am


Hello Xxx,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Robin Recruiters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Victoria Jones
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com

Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 10001.

Reply

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From STEPHEN on January 28, 2020 :: 11:37 am


From: Brad Wilson <brad@robinrecruiters.com>
Sent: Tue, Jan 28, 2020 3:07 pm
Subject: Your Resume

Hello Stephen,
I am still having the same issue. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through testmyresume.net and see if you can identify and fix the problem.
We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.
We have a call scheduled with the client on Thursday and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Friday, let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.
Best Regards,
Brad Wilson
Senior Executive Recruiter
Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com
Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 1001.

Reply

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From Josh Kirschner on January 28, 2020 :: 12:06 pm


“Robin” recruiters seems like an appropriate name! I like how the photo of the founder listed on the About page is from istockphoto. Note how the photos on these sites are always de-colorized to make it harder to reverse search them on Google.

It’s become pretty clear to me these guys are not in the US. Their constant use of terms like “Chelsea Center” in addresses show they don’t understand how US addresses/neighborhoods work. A quick Google search suggests they’re taking these terms from commercial real estate sites, with little understanding of what they mean.

Reply

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From STEPHEN on January 28, 2020 :: 12:16 pm


The address that they use is actually the address of the Betty Ford Center in New York City.
There’s something kinda beautiful in that.

Reply

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From Cleo Parker on February 12, 2020 :: 5:27 pm


Hi,

Thanks so much for posting this. “Brad” sent me the EXACT same email telling me to use that resume scanning system for $5, marked down from $10.  At that point I Googled “Is Robin Recruiters legit” and landed here.

Marking as spam now.

Cleo

Reply

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From Michael on January 29, 2020 :: 5:49 pm


“Hello Michael,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Robin Recruiters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Victoria Jones
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com

Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 10001.”


Would there be any harm in messing with these guys?

Reply

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From Josh Kirschner on January 29, 2020 :: 8:57 pm


I’ve tried to gather more information from them in the past, as well as just generally waste their time, but they won’t engage. So it’s not as much fun as the Nigerian scammers and the Microsoft support folks, who I’ve had some pretty elaborate conversations with.

Reply

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From Michael on January 30, 2020 :: 4:50 pm


Well, that’s unfortunate.  I have a limited about of bandwidth I’m comfortable expending to screw with scammers like these.  However, if they’re not going to engage and waste their time, there’s really no point.

Reply

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From Steven k on February 05, 2020 :: 8:36 am


I got one today from Robin Recruiters in NY.
They list their address as Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,New York, NY 10001. A quick search shows this to be Penn Station, which has only a few office spaces. Further searching shows no listing for Robin Recruiters at the location.  The web page also shows to be either new in 2020, or having history that only goes back 2 years.  The website indicates 30 years experience. 
I will follow up with them just to see what they ask for.

“Hello Steven,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Robin Recruiters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Victoria Jones
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com

Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 10001.”

Reply

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From Emilie on February 05, 2020 :: 10:57 am


Hi there. Very happy that I came across this thread… It very much enlightened me, so thanks for sharing guys. Same here, got emails from the fake “Robin Recruiters”. I would have never paid for my CV to be “fixed” when it’s actually a PDF file, but some people might fall for it. Never know. Here’s a copy of the emails I got, if this can help someone else. I’m located in Bali Indonesia so they went quite far to find me! lol. Do you know if this could bring privacy issues to my accounts? I mean, any chance they can access my Gmail emails, do something with the CV I actually sent them in first instance, or send viruses to my laptop? Curious to see if they are just trying to get money off people or if they could do more harm. Thank you. Em


Hello Emilie,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Robin Recruiters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Victoria Jones
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com

Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 10001.

Hello Emilie,

I am still having the same issue. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through testmyresume.net and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Thursday and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Friday, let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.

Best Regards,

Brad Wilson
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com
Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 1001

Reply

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From Chad on February 07, 2020 :: 2:30 pm


E-mail headers
from:  Victoria Jones <victoria@robinrecruiters.com>
reply-to:  Victoria Jones <victoria@robinrecruiters.com>
to:  Chad <xxxx@gmail.com>
date:  Feb 7, 2020, 9:37 AM
subject:  New Executive Level Opportunities
mailed-by:  amazonses.com
signed-by:  robinrecruiters.com
security:    Standard encryption (TLS) Learn more
:  Important according to Google magic.

E-mail body:
Hello Chad,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Robin Recruiters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Victoria Jones
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com

Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 10001.

Domain name whois information:
Domain Name: ROBINRECRUITERS.COM
Registry Domain ID: 2477478792_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Updated Date: 2020-01-08T12:06:34Z
Creation Date: 2020-01-08T12:06:34Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2021-01-08T12:06:34Z
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registrar IANA ID: 146
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: 480-624-2505
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientRenewProhibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
Name Server: NS37.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Name Server: NS38.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned

The website says they’ve been in business since 1990, it does take a while to build a site but 30 years is a bit much.

Reply

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From Kristina on February 10, 2020 :: 3:52 am


Robin Recruiters Inc.
Robin Recruiting

Wrote the above so that hopefully this article gets more hits when people search for the company‘s name. Coz when I searched just for the name, without the word “scam”, I didn’t get the article. And on the other hand, with “scam” - that’s how I found it. Otherwise I don’t know how to spread the word more, really hope people will be cautious. Thank you for starting this!


Hello Kristina,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Robin Recruiters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Victoria Jones
Senior Executive Recruiter

Robin Recruiters Inc.
http://www.robinrecruiters.com

Chelsea Center 322 8th Avenue,
New York, NY 10001.

Reply

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From Jeff on February 13, 2020 :: 1:28 pm


But, they are a reputable Global company.  Thanks for this site - maybe I’ll swing by to meet Donna in person.

Reply

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From Mark F on February 15, 2020 :: 3:03 pm


https://execprorecruit.com/about.php

Same people now Jeremy Hollister
Mark Michel, Amy Allen, Robert Guerreo

I sent resume and then when I couldn’t find any LinkedIn history I researched more and found this article. Feb 15,2020 still going.


Hello,
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Amy Allen and I am a Executives Search Director in Executives Pro Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.
One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.
If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.
Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.
Company Size: $2.5B
Best Regards,
Amy Allen
Executives Search Director
+1 (917) 633-8650
Executive Pro Recruiting
https://execprorecruit.com
71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown New York, NY 10036

Reply

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From Cleo Parker on February 15, 2020 :: 6:34 pm


After I found this site, I replied to Brad who was trying to fix my resume with a link to this conversation.  He replied with the email some one else shared about the client backing out, but a new one was investing any day now. Like he didn’t notice I noticed he was trying to scam me.

Cleo

Reply

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From Mike on February 27, 2020 :: 2:49 pm


Below are the letters received from Exact Hiring. In my due dilligence I found:
* In addition to ExactHiring.com two other companies have the exact same web content (CCGRecruiting.com, Ferici.com)
* The headhunters listed have no LinkedIn profiles and nothing comes up on a Google search of them.
* The Founders (Bob Bender and Stephen Taylor) have no LinkedIn profiles and nothing comes up on a Google search of them. 
* The companies weren’t in the NY State corporate database
* Two addresses listed were residential buildings. The other was an art school. 
* All three sites are registered under GoDaddy.com and ExactHiring’s Domain was purchased in January 2020
* Domain ownership information is hidden through Domains By Proxy which shields owners from listing their names, addresses, phone numbers publicly.


First Letter:
Hello Mike,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Exact Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Jasmine Lee
Executive Recruiter
Exact Hiring Inc.
http://www.exacthiring.com
200 Park Ave S #1116 Everett Building,
New York, NY 10003


Second Letter
Hello Mike,

This email is in response to the resume you’ve sent to us. I am the team leader on this project and have received your information from Jasmine Lee.

I will check my schedule and let you know a few time slots for a brief phone call. 
I am having trouble uploading your resume to our candidate management system. Have you ever had issues with your resume before? There may be an issue with the file, can you please send me another copy so I can try again. You have a professionally written resume so I am not sure what the issue is.

Best Regards,

Jesse Barron
Senior Executive Recruiter
Exact Hiring Inc.
http://www.exacthiring.com
200 Park Ave S #1116 Everett Building,
New York, NY 10003


Third Letter
Hello Mike,

I am still having the same issue. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through testmyresume.net and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Tuesday next week and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Wednesday next week, let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.

Best Regards,

Jesse Barron
Senior Executive Recruiter

Exact Hiring Inc.
http://www.exacthiring.com
200 Park Ave S #1116 Everett Building,
New York, NY 10003

Reply

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From Emily on March 03, 2020 :: 2:56 pm


Mike, Today I just received the same email from “Jasmine Lee” at Exact Hiring.  It made it through my spam filter.  I googled them and a website came up immediately but clearly it’s a scam. 

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Exact Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Jasmine Lee
Executive Recruiter

Exact Hiring Inc.
http://www.exacthiring.com

200 Park Ave S #1116 Everett Building,
New York, NY 10003

Reply

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From Russ on October 08, 2020 :: 11:58 am


Just got letter #3 today pointing me to a resume optimization site.  Things just felt too suspicious so I googled “exact recruiters” and found this thread.

My first email was from Kerry Morgan while the 2nd/3rd were from Graham Williams.

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From Rob on February 27, 2020 :: 4:36 pm


Domain Name: EXEHIRING.COM
Registry Domain ID: 2480831154_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Updated Date: 2020-01-16T07:49:57Z
Creation Date: 2020-01-16T07:49:56Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2021-01-16T07:49:56Z
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registrar IANA ID: 146
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: 480-624-2505
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientRenewProhibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
Name Server: NS41.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Name Server: NS42.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
>>> Last update of whois database: 2020-02-27T20:30:15Z <<<

For more information on Whois status codes, please visit https://icann.org/epp


______________________________________________


Diana Davies <diana@exehiring.com>
To:
Rob

Thu, Feb 27 at 12:44 PM

Hello Rob,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Executives Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Diana Davies
Senior Executive Recruiter

Executives Hiring Inc.
http://www.exehiring.com

79 Madison Ave Suite 700,
New York, NY 10016.

Reply

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From Nic on February 27, 2020 :: 10:04 pm


Hello XYZ,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Elite Executives Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

John Graham
Senior Executive Recruiter

Elite Executives Hiring Inc.
http://www.eliteexecutiveshiring.com

1616 Madison Square West, Suite 1105,
New York, NY 10010.

Reply

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From Buddy Jones on March 02, 2020 :: 10:04 pm


I got the message below I did send my resume. I quickly realized it was a scam. It took me a while to find this thread to learn other people have been contacted by similar emails. Is there anything criminal going on with this? Do they just try to get you to buy some services? Can anything worse happen?
Thanks. Keith
Hello Keith,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Executives Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Diana Davies
Senior Executive Recruiter

Executives Hiring Inc.
http://www.exehiring.com

79 Madison Ave Suite 700,
New York, NY 10016.

Reply

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From Josh Kirschner on March 03, 2020 :: 9:37 am


As far as I’m aware, there has been no reported fraud using the information you sent them (which is largely public, anyhow) except for the three scam methods I describe in the article.

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From Buddy Jones on March 03, 2020 :: 9:44 am


T

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From scott hall on March 06, 2020 :: 1:22 pm


New Executives Level Opportunities

Jasmine Lee <jasmine@exacthiring.com>
9:26 AM (53 minutes ago)

Hello xxxx,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Exact Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Jasmine Lee
Executive Recruiter

Exact Hiring Inc.
http://www.exacthiring.com

200 Park Ave S #1116 Everett Building,
New York, NY 10003

Reply

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From Rhonda on March 10, 2020 :: 11:11 am


On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 Wilson Lee <wilson@exehiring.com> wrote:
 
Hello Rhonda,

We just got off the phone meeting with the client. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart due to some conflict of interest. This is a surprise for us as we were under the impression that the deal was already completed and were expecting to get our retainer agreement signed today. There is another investor who is interested and we have already sent them an intro email, if they complete the acquisition we will try our best to get back on the project.
 
I really appreciate your time and interest and I am sorry about how this turned out and I hope you understand, this has nothing to do with your candidacy. This is just how these things work sometimes.

I will keep your contact information saved and will contact you if something similar comes up in the future. 

Best Regards,Wilson Lee
Senior Executive Recruiter
Executives Hiring Inc.
http://www.exehiring.com
79 Madison Ave Suite 700
New York, NY 10016

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From Josh Kirschner on March 10, 2020 :: 4:51 pm


If you paid for the resume review/formatting, you may want to file a complaint with the FTC. You might not get your money back, and it may not have cost you that much, but I would love to see these scams stopped once and for all.

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From S Bhasker on March 16, 2020 :: 3:54 pm


This is similar to Gregs

Donna Levan <donna.levan@topperecruiting.com>
Mar 13, 2020, 10:37 AM
to me

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Donna Levan and I am a Executives Search Director in Top Private Equity Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,

Donna Levan

Executives Search Director

+1 (917) 633-8650

Top Private Equity Recruiting

https://topperecruiting.com/

71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown

New York, NY 10036


Followed by:

Donna Levan
Mar 16, 2020, 3:30 PM
to me

Hello,

The role is aligned with your experience. Unfortunately your resume does not parse correctly into Candidate Management System. In order to move forward, I need your ATS compatible resume ASAP for the initial process. You may contact https://cmsresumes.com for ATS Compatible Resume.

           

For reasons of confidentiality and non-disclosure, I am not able to share any details of the position or company with you at this time, unfortunately. I will check my schedule and let you know few time slots for a brief phone call after the initial process.

Best Regards,

Donna Levan

Executives Search Director

+1 (917) 633-8650

Top Private Equity Recruiting

https://topperecruiting.com/

71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown

New York, NY 10036

This is their new site.

https://topperecruiting.com/index.php

Same characters—new name and domain.

Did not bite as it felt fishy…

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From Sue on March 31, 2020 :: 10:36 am


There have been a few I can’t remember details - here is latest one from Executives Pro Recruiting Amy Allen

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Amy Allen and I am a Executives Search Director in Executives Pro Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,

Amy Allen

Executives Search Director

+1 (917) 633-8650

Executive Pro Recruiting

https://execprorecruit.com

71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown New York, NY 10036

Reply

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From Manuel on April 01, 2020 :: 8:16 am


I received 3 emails.

First email:
Hello Manuel,

Hope you are well and staying save amidst the COVID-19 outbreak!

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Rapid Headhunters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Tim Whelan
Senior Executive Recruiter

Rapid Headhunters Inc.
http://www.rapidheadhunters.com

242 W 27th St 6th Floor,
7B Suite New York,
NY 10001

Safety is not a priority = priorities change

If a job risks safety you should not do the task

If a job risks quality you should not do the task

If a job is not cost effective you should not do the task

Please protect and sustain the environment. The environment is our natural source of income. Please Stay Safe. Please Work Safe. Please Be Safe


Second email:
Hello Manuel,

This email is in response to the resume you’ve sent to us. I am the team leader on this project and have received your information from Tim Whelan.

I am interested in speaking with you; however, it’s been absolutely crazy with the COVID-19 here in New York. I will check my schedule and let you know a few time slots for a brief phone call. 

I am having trouble uploading your resume to our candidate management system. Have you ever had issues with your resume before? There may be an issue with the file, can you please send me another copy so I can try again. You have a professionally written resume so I am not sure what the issue is.

Best Regards,

Victoria Pridemore
Senior Executive Recruiter

Rapid Headhunters Inc.
http://www.rapidheadhunters.com
242 W 27th St 6th Floor - 7B Suite
New York, NY 10001


Third email:
Hello Manuel,

I hope you’re doing well with all the Covid-19 craziness and practising social distancing. I am working Corona free – Guinness only. 

We are still having the same issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through testmyresume.net and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Thursday and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Friday. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.

Best Regards,

Victoria Pridemore
Senior Executive Recruiter

Rapid Headhunters Inc.
http://www.rapidheadhunters.com
242 W 27th St 6th Floor - 7B Suite
New York, NY 10001

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From Josh Kirschner on April 01, 2020 :: 2:13 pm


Wait, Victoria Pridemore’s photo is the same as Jasmine Lee’s from Exact Hiring (https://www.exacthiring.com/jasmine.html). How can that be? Lol.

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From Manuel on April 10, 2020 :: 2:18 am


Fourth email:
Hello Manuel,

We just got off the phone meeting with the client. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart due to some conflict of interest. This is a surprise for us as we were under the impression that the deal was already completed and were expecting to get our retainer agreement signed today. There is another investor who is interested and we have already sent them an intro email, if they complete the acquisition we will try our best to get back on the project.
I really appreciate your time and interest and I am sorry about how this turned out and I hope you understand, this has nothing to do with your candidacy. This is just how these things work sometimes.


I will keep your contact information saved and will contact you if something similar comes up in the future.

Best Regards,

Victoria Pridemore
Senior Executive Recruiter

Rapid Headhunters Inc.
http://www.rapidheadhunters.com
242 W 27th St 6th Floor - 7B Suite
New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From Rene on April 02, 2020 :: 6:54 pm


These scammers are now operating as https://www.topperecruiting.com/. Got the email from Robert Guerrero:

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Robert Guerrero and I am a Sr. Recruiting Specialist in Top Private Equity Recruiting Firm, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,
Robert Guerrero
Senior Executive Recruiter
+1 (917) 633-8650
To Private Equity Recruiting
https://topperecruiting.com/
71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown
New York, NY 10036

Reply

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From Nick on April 03, 2020 :: 5:27 pm


Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Donna Levan and I am a Executives Search Director in Top Private Equity Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,
Donna Levan
Executives Search Director
+1 (917) 633-8650
Top Private Equity Recruiting
https://topperecruiting.com/
71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown
New York, NY 10036

Reply

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From Manuel on April 03, 2020 :: 8:49 pm


I got contacted out of the blue and my gut tells me that it is likely a scam but the website and the emails are so well crafted that I cannot be 100% sure. See for yourselves below.


First email:
Hi Manuel,

You have an impressive background in information technology and I am reaching out to see if you are interested in exploring new opportunities, including:

  * Full-time leadership roles.
  * Consulting and advisory positions.
  * Board opportunities.
  * Speaking engagements and more.

iRecruit has been helping people connect with exciting opportunities since 1996 through our large network of recruiters and hiring managers. We offer a platform for senior level professionals to connect directly with the decision makers for exclusive and confidential opportunities like CxO and board roles.
We get paid by the employer on a contingency basis and unlike traditional platforms, you do not have to waste time searching and applying for these roles. Our algorithm shortlists qualified candidates for the employers and you are invited directly by the hiring managers or recruiters retained by the company to fill the position.
Since this is an exclusive, invite-only platform; there is no information about it on our website. Let me know if you give me the green light for sending you the details.
Kind Regards,
Colleen Fisher
VP of Talent
logo
https://www.i-recruit.com
1000 124th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005
Phone: (425) 620-2032

Second email:
Hi Manuel,

Thank you for getting back to me and confirming your interest.

Please refer to the link below for a brief overview of how this works. You can find answers to common questions in the FAQ section at the bottom of this page.

https://www.i-recruit.com/marketplace

When ready, click “Join Now” button to register but please make sure you go through the FAQ’s and other information on that page before signing up. Once you complete your registration and upload your resume, we’ll assign you an account manager who will setup your profile based on information provided in the resume. After your profile is completed, our system will start matching you with opportunities and you will start to receive invitations directly from the hiring managers and recruiters.

Your account manager will reach out to you for your feedback and go over the initial results to learn more about your experience few days after your profile is live. Communication is important during this process to ensure your account is properly optimized and you are not missing out on any opportunities. Your account manager will work closely with you to ensure we’re connecting you with opportunities that fit with your needs and interests. If needed your account manager may schedule a call to better understand your needs and requirements.

Please feel free to reach out to me directly if your account manager is unable to address any of your concerns. We look forward to working with you. Thank you.

Colleen Fisher

https://www.i-recruit.com
1000 124th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005
Phone: (425) 620-2032

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From Josh Kirschner on April 06, 2020 :: 10:46 am


From the info out there, i-recruit.com appears to be an established, legitimate company. However, that is not a statement one way or the other about the quality of services they provide. Its address is the same as a co-working space and it lists no company executives on its about page, so that does make me somewhat suspicious. Though, It could just be because i-recruit doesn’t offer much more than a directory of recruiters or a recruiter referral service that basically trolls for candidates.

Since they have a phone number, you could call them and see what you get.

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From Jack Taglarini on April 10, 2020 :: 11:38 am


I got the same email from i-recruit.  Colleen Fisher’s phone number as “VP of Talent” is the same number listed at their website.  I doubt a recruiter would funnel you to the main number of the company in their signature, they’d include their direct number. There’s no presence of either her or the company LinkedIn, a huge red flag for a recruiting firm.  They have no pictures of any employees on their website, another red flag.  Website was registered in 2014 despite claiming they’ve been around since 1996 - and maybe they changed their firm name along the way, but the iPod wasn’t invented until 2001.

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From Colleen on April 15, 2020 :: 1:02 pm


I was just made aware of this comment and feel a public response is more appropriate than a private email.

I am not sure why our emails are being shared here. This article has nothing to do with our company and we are in no way affiliated with any of the businesses or persons listed in the article. I do not appreciate our private communication being shared here and I feel it is disrespectful to question our integrity with absolutely no proof. I have no idea how you are finding this information about our website only being active since 2014. We have been in business since 1996, long before “iPod” was invented and there have been no name changes. This can be easily verified through independent sources like Internet Archive https://web.archive.org/web/*/i-recruit.com

Regarding us not being listed on Linkedin. Listing on Linkedin does not prove anything. Anyone can create an account there. They are our competitors and in their early days we had several legal issues which I cannot disclose in public. Our company decided to stay away from Linkedin.

Now the question about phone number. We are not a 1000 employee company and none of us have direct lines. You can simply call our main number and ask for us by name. Even though not all of us are able to answer calls these days due to work from home, we will always respond in a timely manner. Again I am not sure why using the main company number is even a concern that needs to be addressed.

Ask any recruiter who has been in business for a while and they will know about us. Every college and university recommends us to their alumni and students. These speculative comments questioning our legitimacy with absolutely no proof despite so much counter evidence is very concerning. We are sourcing candidates who used our own resources in the past few years and I am honestly shocked at how unprofessional this behavior is. If you are not interested in working with us, simply let us know. We are not forcing anyone against their will.

This is very unprofessional and I will not be engaging in these harmful public discussions any further. I have already removed these posters from our list and notified all recruiters in our network to not contact them or engage with them in any manner because clearly they are not interested in working with us. If anyone has any questions or concerns, they can reach out to one of us directly.

Colleen Fisher fromiRecruit

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From Josh Kirschner on April 15, 2020 :: 4:10 pm


Hi Colleen,

Thank you for responding and clarifying the questions. I will also confirm that the website has been registered since 1998. Though your company name did change very recently (January 2018?) from Oya’s Directory of Recruiters to iRecruit, according to the Internet Archive.

However, instead of getting angry at the posters, perhaps you should consider why they are posting these questions about your business in the first place. In a world of various recruiting scams, both the email you’re sending and your website structure send up a number of red flags. The overall impersonal nature of the language and offers of direct contacts with CXOs reads very much like many of the scam emails going around. And mentions of secret programs with no information available on the site is another big one: a trick scammers use when they’re trying to impersonate someone from a real company.

Similarly, for an established recruiting company, having no listing of the in-house recruiters for each industry or any mention of company leadership is highly unusual. I also don’t buy the argument about LinkedIn. Every recruiter I’ve worked with - as both a candidate an employer - has a LinkedIn profile. It’s such a basic part of a professional profile it’s hard to imagine anyone in business, much less a recruiter, not having one, regardless of whatever mysterious legal past you may have with them.

So rather than castigate the posters for addressing their concerns here and throw out threats of blackballing them (perhaps the most unprofessional thing in this thread), you should appreciate the wisdom they’ve shown in questioning the outreach in an attempt to avoid fraud (something a lot of companies would benefit from, given the numerous examples of phishing fraud they continue to fall victim to). And, hopefully, rather than seeing this as an attack on your business, you can use the feedback to make your business better - because if a few people are posting their concerns here, think how many people there are out there with the same concerns that you never learn about.

Best,
Josh

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From Richard Shane Currier on October 15, 2020 :: 2:18 pm


This response here by Colleen Fisher is very poorly worded.  I too have recently been engaged by one of their supposed staff.  They said they were impressed with my qualifications and that my resume caught their attention.  One problem.  I don’t have a resume.  No resume exists.  I don’t even know how they got my contact information except that they possibly scraped it from a job ad I am running somewhere around the country.

So, the pitch goes just like the first and second emails above, I go to their website and it is about as vague as they get,  I read the FAQ on the website and they want 100 dollars from me to register to be considered by employers.

The parent company of this dba is Fence Post Technologies.  It is estimated to be worth about 5 million.  There are two addresses associated with it.  One in Bellevue which is a cowork space that rents out mailboxes and the other is someones house off of Leahy road in the Portland area.  They might not be a scam in the same vein as a Nigerian email scammer or anything but the whole thing stinks…

Forget that you can’t find any of the people that email you listed anywhere on any social media, background search service, professional association listing, etc.

Anyone can say every College and University recommends us… yet I have never heard anyone from any college or university recommend them and there is zero evidence of said recommendations anywhere on the world wide web.

Everything I have seen listed on their website can be scraped from the web for free.  Paying 100 bucks to be listed on their database to have access to their supposed group of employers seems like a very bad deal given all of the free avenues out there there days.

Colleen is shocked and surprised about unprofessional behavior on the internet, if that is what this is…  Welcome to the 21st century. 

You are welcome to remove me from your marketing database like the others you’ve mentioned above and, in fact, I insist upon it.

Seriously, don’t email me again with your scammy, shady, unsolicited offer to connect me to decision makers with a 100 dollar registration fee buried in the FAQ on your website or this won’t be the last post I make about your business.

Richard

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From JC on April 06, 2020 :: 11:03 am


They are at it again with Donna Levan <donna.levan@topperecruiting.com>

It looks like Donna has had several names!She was Laren in a previous image post.

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Donna Levan and I am a Executives Search Director in Top Private Equity Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,
Donna Levan
Executives Search Director
+1 (917) 633-8650
Top Private Equity Recruiting
https://topperecruiting.com/
71 West 47th Street, Suite 1403, Midtown
New York, NY 10036

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From Sandra on April 06, 2020 :: 11:31 am


First this

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Donna Levan and I am a Executives Search Director in Top Private Equity Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,
Donna Levan

after I replied I got this

We are still having the same issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through testmyresume.net and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Thursday and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Friday. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.

____________________

Looks like everyone else got the same thing?

Josh Is this same company just changing names? You wrote earlier that they were shut down by the government.

Thank you for your help

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From Josh Kirschner on April 06, 2020 :: 11:39 am


There was one big group that got shut down here in the US. However, there is another group out there (maybe many groups) that keeps perpetrating these “resume fix” scams. They change names constantly to avoid detection and to try and get past people searching for them on Google (which is why I suggest people paste their latest contacts here). I suspect this other group(s) is not US-based since they don’t seem to understand US street address conventions.

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From Sandra on April 06, 2020 :: 11:35 am


Owner: Registration Private (27.7 million domains)
Company: Domains By Proxy, LLC (28 million domains)
Geolocation: Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Nameservers: ns25.domaincontrol.com, ns26.domaincontrol.com
Status: clientDeleteProhibited, clientRenewProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited

This company is based in Airzona I think

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From Josh Kirschner on April 06, 2020 :: 11:43 am


When you register a website, you can keep your information private by using a privacy protection service. Scammers do this to prevent anyone (including law enforcement) from discovering who they are. And legitimate companies do this too, as Techlicious does, to protect against info scrapers that generate spam. Domains by Proxy is one of the main privacy protection services and they are based in Arizona. The people behind these recruiting scams could be based anywhere.

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