Is this some sort of new e-mail scam?

Craigs' List now has a warning you have to click through after you click on any of the jobs links. It basically says beware of stuff like that.

What I've gotten in response when I've applied to job is a "you're the strongest of the X candidates!" And then they want me to do a "credit check" though a particular Web site. Uh, not a chance.

I've posted a lot of ads on CL lately, too, and quite a few times I get emails saying "I needed money, too, then I clicked the link below" or something like that. It's kind of bizarre since the some of them are in response to ads like "free sink - come pick up" or "Anyone want to play senior women's softball?" Nothing to do with money.

But I wouldn't click the links any more than I'd respond to spam. Sheesh, you do that and they know they have a good email. I can't think of a situation where I'd reply to unsolicited spam.

 

I don't do unsolicited spam either.

This e-mail had tricked me in the beginning because the title of the job that they said I had applied for matched the title of a job that I did send a resume to.

They didn't ask me for a credit check, which I sure as hell wouldn't do anyways. They just have my phone number and e-mail address now, so I have to keep an eye on that.

 

If you solicit it, is it spam?

 

Well, I was thinking of all those e-mails I get because I registered for a contest three years ago or whatever as opposed to the random breast and penis-enhancing stuff. I get three e-mails a week from my university's booster club, and I also get Antarctica cruise specials like clockwork. Technically, I guess those are solicted, but to me they're spam.

 

Awesome.

 

I just got one today that really caught me off guard. It was from some company called Strathmore and it got sent to my work email, which typically doesn't get any spam. They said I'd been nominated to be in their "Who's who" book for professionals making an impact in their area of employment.

It looked official but, let's face it, I'm not exactly fielding offers from the Boston Globe and USA Today at this point in my career so I figured A.) It was either a scam or B.) Someone really appreciated my girls track coverage last week.

I decided to google it and, sure enough, got tons of results about how it's a scam and when you sign up, they say you can purchase an ad in their book for X amount of dollars.

No thanks. I'm a little tied up financially right now, waiting for Prince Habib to come through with that Nigerian money I was promised.

 

God bless you, my thoughts exactly.