FYI to all,

I was perusing Craigslist last night, and came across the following posting, or one very similar to, in almost every major center that I searched. It doesn't seem legit to me, and I thought I'd mention it just in case any of you were responding to the ads. Here it is...

...We are a pottery company. Our Organization is searching for a friendly person to fill the fun Admin Assistant position. The induvidual will be responsible for monitoring the company e-mail inbox. This candidate will be responsible for replying to emails about services we provide. The job mandates you have your own PC and work from your house.

Pay: $19.91/Hourly...

They re-word the ad to say they are a weight loss company, a collection agency, a video distribution company, etc., and I thought it would behoove me to post my findings here so that none of us waste our time and energy in responding.

As an aside...You know, I've had a couple of clients come my way via Craigs, but in the earlier days when I was getting established, any ads I responded to weren't legit, and turned out to be one big pain terms of the amount of spam or get rich quick schemes that showed up in my Inbox on a more than regular basis. I now rely upon qualified referrals as my way of garnering new clients. Just my 2.5 cents.

I'd love to receive any feedback!

Happy prospecting!

Cheers,

__________________
Anne Short
Virtual Executive Assistant

I have only recently decided to take the craigslist plunge and in the 3 days sine I posted ads in just three cities I've received 8 replies. All eight were spam. People wanting me to post my skills on their site or wanting to teach me how to flip a house. What I found interesting is that I specifically requested on the craigslist form NOT to be contacted by any other business opportunities. This was very frustrating to me and made me wonder about how legit craigslist even is for posting. Is it just another way for people to get my information and send me junk?

__________________
Administrative Support Group
Jenifer D

Hi Jenifer,

I've run into the same things when posting my ad on Craigs, and I also specifically state that I am not to be contacted about other business opportunities as well. That still doesn't stop those ads and spam from being sent to me. I've become very careful in terms of even sending my details to any responses that appear to be legit because of this, and what I've made as my own policy is to respond to any supposed legit inquiries and ask them for their specific business information first. I ask them to send me their link to their corporate website, if they have one, and other details of that nature. It's helped me to weed out the good from the bad, and I know that if I don't get a response to my request for further details, then they probably aren't legitimate prospective clients.

Interestingly enough, I had a response to my Craigs ad today. It was from someone claiming to have a collection agency and they needed someone to assist them with their correspondence. The red flag was raised on my end when they said they needed someone to also help "disburse appropriate funds." I wrote them back and asked them very detailed questions, and did not receive any sort of response.

I think Craigs is a good resource in some regards, but it's like a lot of other things...buyer beware. There are genuine, legitimate businesses and people out there needing our services, and it's a shame that a few rotten apples can sometimes spoil the bunch.

Having said that, and realizing that Craigslist is a free resource, I find that I often encounter inquiries from individuals who basically expect me to work for free, or thereabouts. I'm also constantly having to define the word "Virtual", as it appears that many people do not understand that it means that I am located somewhere other than the city where they are located. Do you encounter this as well?

__________________
Anne Short
Virtual Executive Assistant

I live in the Philadelphia area and am always checking out Craigslist. I've found quite a few wonderful non-virtual jobs there over the last couple years. Today CL started charging $25 for placing "help wanted" job ads and as of now, 11:18am, the amount of jobs listed is drastically reduced!

It's amazing how they write their ads to look so real. One ad had the town spelled incorrectly in two different places throughoBuut the ad. That was an indication right there!

It's amazing what these scammers get away with!

Just my 2 cents...

Lori
Aspiring VA in Bucks County, PA

It just makes me mad that so many ppl are out there trying to trick and take advantage of ppl like this. especially with the way the economy is now and so many ppl who are looking for ways to make money and stay home with their kids, it just makes me sick.

__________________
www.virtualofficeexpress.com

I also posted some ads on Craig's list, and I received a ton of spam replies. The latest one wanted the "employee" to have multiple Craig's list accounts to send 40 emails a day to lure people into an adult content website.

__________________
VirtuallyDee

I too have relied heavily on client referrals. I even gave them a reasonable discount for giving me more clients.It's better that way than get scammed.

Hello, I really enjoyed everyone's comments. I believe everyone probably has a craigslist story. I think it may be okay for posting personal items for sale, (i.e. I sold furniture) but I definitely question the legitimacy of most of the job postings. (Unless, they actually mention a company or recognizable name/location) I am a provider on a freelance site and I often see postings for "spammers". Of course, they do not openly advertise as "Now Hiring Spammers," but I am almost certain that is what they are doing. Buyers are actually looking for a person to establish multiple accounts (daily) to post on craigslist (and other sites) for their "business". I definitely think there is something fishy about that. I have been very, very skeptical ever since.

__________________
Tahneesha
www.avirtualblessing.com
The Answer to Your Administrative Prayers

I tend to disagree that craigslist is scammy. I have found serveral great leads there that I have been working with for nearly a year.

I've found a few great leads but the red flags started buzzing all over the place when the salary range for a virtual assistant was $13,000 to $95,000.