Is this job offer a scam?

Question

Recently I have received a job offer (through linkedin). B2B contract, position of a senior c# developer, fully remote (company is in a different country). I'm trying to verify how real that offer is but all the information I'm finding about this company are making me confused.

I looked that company up in switzerlands central business name index (zefix) and it exists.
It says that it was founded in 2019, but on their website they are claiming that they have started in 2008.
They mention 160+ programmers, specialists and experts but on linkedin they have 11 employees.
Their HQ is in Switzerland but all the phonecalls I was receiving were from Romania.
They have multiple different brands marked as theirs but most of those brands/websites are very generic and not very informative. They all use the other brands as their "top trusted clients". One common thing for few of the brands are people - same CEO, same CTO, recruiters etc. I have found CEO on linkedin too, but the position and company on her profile is completely different.
I have received a draft of the contract, where the company was represented by even different person. Contract was sent via DocuSign.
The offer was made in EUR not in CHF.
Multiple times I've tried to get a detailed information on how the salary was calculated, what taxes, values etc. but the person I spoke to wasn't able to tell, claiming that recently they've employed someone from my country and he told them tax vales and they used the same to calculate my salary (the values are not correct).
Technical part of the recrutation was done via screening platform so I didn't have any contact with the actual client. (There was no other interview, after the technical one I received the offer).
They wanted me to send a photo/scan of my ID document via email but finally resigned after I told them that there is no way I'll do that.

So, having all that in mind. Am I overthinking this? Anyone had any experience with that company? Any advice what else can I do?

Thank for reading,

Vladimir

So they could start in 2008 as a small business then register as a company in 2019. — Solar Mike, May 30 '21 at 16:51
I like your question for demonstrating why diligent research is important. — Levente, May 30 '21 at 20:29
Even if this is not a scam, to me, "B2B contract" means that you'd be a self-employed contractor, not an employee - so be prepared to pay all your own income taxes, unemployment contributions, and/or whatever else would customarily be paid by an employer in your location, and that all these payments will come out of whatever amount you receive. — brhans, May 30 '21 at 22:44
What is the nature of the work they want you to do? Often it is menial tasks, and then, they start asking you to do money transfers, and it's not that company actually, it's scammers using the name of that company. — Harper - Reinstate Monica, May 31 '21 at 06:05
@Harper-ReinstateMonica Software development. New features, bug fixing, maintaining existing software. — Vladimir Istaszev, May 31 '21 at 06:37
Does this answer your question? How to ask a multinational company if a job offer is not a scam? — ColleenV, May 31 '21 at 12:46
@SolarMike and others, it's super-confusing to leave comments like this on "is it a scam" question. Suggest, if you know it is a well-known scam, type the words IT IS A SCAM. It is utterly, utterly, utterly irrelevant to discuss or bring-up the sort of details mentioned in these comments - it only leads to confusion for others who may be googling. — Fattie, May 31 '21 at 17:57
@Fattie so it is not possible to start small then get bigger? — Solar Mike, May 31 '21 at 18:01

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered May 30 '21 at 18:44

7

I don't have conclusive evidences, but I think this is a scam:

As you mentioned, the company is registered in Geneva. But the only representative is a lawyer from a local law firm. I find it strange given that the CEO supposedly lives in Geneva according to her linkedIn profile.
As you mentioned too, the CEO's linkedIn profile (same name, same profile picture; it's safe to say it's supposed to be the same person) doesn't seem to mention the group, or any of the companies for which she is supposedly the CEO.
The building doesn't exactly scream "HQ of an international group owning 46 companies" to me. But it's conveniently just a few hundreds meters from previoulsy mentioned law firm.

There are a few more points that seems weird to me. But I don't think I need to dig further.

answered May 30 '21 at 18:44

Reyssor

171
3

6

The last thing doesn't mean anything. There's a PO Box in Delaware that's the corporate HQ of 7000 of the biggest US companies. It's a tax thing. Which doesn't mean you're wrong overall, just that corporate addresses mean nothing. – Gabe Sechan May 30 '21 at 21:28
1

A company in Switzerland would have no need for a HQ in Delaware – Donald May 30 '21 at 23:01
11

@Donald Pretty sure that wasn't his point. – Vladimir Istaszev May 30 '21 at 23:38
@Reyssor, it's an extremely well-known, obvious, everyday scam. (Regarding the company name, address, etc, it is utterly irrelevant - the teams of minimum wage workers who run these scams in different languages for the scam bosses, just use random company names. The details of the company, photo, address, etc are of utterly no relevance, it is random letters.) It's perhaps worth NOT bothering to answer "is this a scam" questions unless you're familiar with the scam; it could confuse the OP or others reading. – Fattie May 31 '21 at 17:55
6

@Fattie If you have elements that allow you to identify the offer as being "an extremely well-known, obvious, everyday scam", please do add them in your answer. Because neither I nor OP seem to think that it is that obvious, and it would certainly be more helpful than a proof by assertion. – Reyssor May 31 '21 at 18:25

Fattie · Answer 2 · 2021-05-31T17:58:38.420

3

It's a well-know scam, forget it.

(BTW note: they often use ordinary, real company names)

This is so common there was a number of the same question just recently, example https://workplace.stackexchange.com/a/172864/22844

They often use the name of an actual small or large company. It's an every day, common, mass scam.

The particular company name you mention may be an actual company, or, just some random letters they chose (which may or may not be an actual company).

The details of the supposed company address, country, etc, are utterly, utterly irrelevant.

edited May 31 '21 at 17:58

answered May 30 '21 at 20:12

Fattie

32,594
12
67
99

1

Thank you for the link. The offer is indeed for their premium client in the oil & gas industry but the client is from Switzerland aswell. I'm wondering what they would try to achieve in that case. There's no mention about any visa or permit, I declined their request for sending ID scan. What would be the point of continuing? – Vladimir Istaszev May 30 '21 at 20:51
@VladimirIstaszev after they've spent enough time convincing you they're legit, they'll need you to send them money to process paperwork/etc. – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight May 30 '21 at 21:44
2

@Vlad - It’s a scam – Donald May 30 '21 at 23:00

Is this job offer a scam?

2 Answers2