How to Spot Job and Internships Scams Online

As a fellow broke college student, I can sympathize with those applying tirelessly for jobs and internships online. Unfortunately, I have been a victim of the job and internships online scams before. I was so optimistic; always seeing the good in people and not realizing that there are people in the world that will you prey on your hopes and dreams and screw you over without blinking an eye. I caught on before it was too late, however now my favorite bank does not allow me to open an account with them because they believe I tried to scam them, when in fact I was the one who almost got scammed. I have applied to about 100 jobs and internships online since this unfortunate event and I have collected tips and warning signs to help you recognize and stay clear of these scams.

Tip 1. Use a job search website with good credentials. 

Do your best to stay clear of websites such as Craiglists for job searches. Although some credible websites have had scam jobs postings as well.  

Tip 2. Pay close attention to the descriptions.

Scam job and internship posting usually have descriptions that do not make sense. Such as being a financial organization that deals with healthcare products.

Tip 3. Look out for the “company software” phrase.

As soon as they mention this, run and run fast! 

Tip 4. Doing interviews on yahoo (or the new one, google chat) chat.

Legitimate interviews will happen over skype or in person, it will always be face to face interaction. If the interview is limited to chatting, this is scam! Do not allow them to trick you into it. 

Tip 5. Sending you checks with large amounts of money.

If you skipped over warning 1-4 then please stop here. This is where they use trick number 3 to fool you into depositing a fake check into your account.

Tip 6. Ask you to send a money order using the check deposited into your account.

We all know the money will be available way before the check is cleared. This is how they trick you. They tell you that you need to send a money order to receive the company software. Lets pretend you do send them that money order, then the bank contacts you because the check was a fake and you owe the bank $3000 or more. This is the last phase of the scam. Please do not fall for this. 

Tip 7. Lookout for ridiculous pay-rates.

I know we all want to be paid $35 an hour but lets be honest here, this job offer is a scam!

My last and final tip is an actual email one of these scams sent me. They always use the same format and end the email with stating that you need to have a yahoo messenger or google hangout messenger setup. 

Dear Applicant,

    

   You have been carefully selected among others by the eServGlobal online HR board, after a brief review of your resume which was posted online. You have been scheduled for an online interview.

   

  Company Profile:

   eServGlobal has been a source of innovative solutions for mobile and financial service providers for more than 30years. eServGlobal invests heavily in product development, using carrier-grade, next-generation technology and aligning with the requirements of more than 65 customers in over 50 countries.Our mobile money solutions put feature-rich mobile financial services at the fingertips of users worldwide, covering the full spectrum of mobile wallet, mobile commerce, recharge and agent management features.

   

    NOTE:This company is looking for a 16 team data entry staffs to work from home as an accounting clerk/Customer service representative. Working hours are flexible. You will be getting a one-week training period with your training supervisor online.

    

   You will Earn $35 per hour and $19 per hour during your one week training. Means of payment Paycheck or Direct Deposit as preferred by you.

     

   DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITY: Tracks data and source documents.Prepares and sorts source documents, and identifies and interprets data to be entered.Compiles, sorts and verifies data for accuracy.Contacts responsible parties or clients from other organization to resolve moderately complex questions, inconsistencies, or missing data. Also perform Records keeping, keyboarding/data entry and performing a variety of other office tasks account balancing, invoicing recording,proper data analysis of sales records and recording pay slips into accounting database all these will be done through the use of the accounting Software, such as faxing or emailing confidently and positive attitude online from home.

    

   You are to create a Gmail Google Hangout ID and you are required to add Mr Ross Reginald one of the Company's HR agent on hangout via rossreginald935@gmail.com to proceed further with more on the Job briefings and interview.

OR

   

   Create a Yahoo Email ID and get the Yahoo Instant Messenger app installed on your mobile phone or PC then contact Mr Ross Reginald via rossreginald935@yahoo.com. Do that to enable you proceed further with more on the Job briefings and interview.

   Doing this will enable you proceed further with the interview and getting more information and updates about the Company and the Job position....Also you can reply back for more help and assistance on how to proceed further.

Thank you...

eServGlobal Consultant

My Obsession with HIMYM Borders Unhealthy

You know that feeling you have when you love a series so much that the thought of it ending hurts your soul? That is love! Or as close as you can love fictional characters. Oops- confession time, I am in love with -wait for it- HIMYM! Not that big of a shock, right? It is a life changing series that has a divided fan base- yellow umbrella fans versus blue french horn fans. I am a yellow umbrella fan and a huge Barney- wait for it- Stinston, BARNEY STINSON fan! I can go on and on about how Barney and Robin should of ended up together instead of Robin and Ted. Uhmmm .... Spoilers? Oh geeze, its been a few years now- most of us have watched the entire series but if you haven’t, I am sorry because you are missing out on a masterpiece. Lets forget about the spoilers and get down to business. I am a hardcore fan of HIMYM. I know something else that is hardcore..... Dammit Barney, get out of my head. Since the series ended- I have rewatched it an estimated twenty times from beginning to end. Here is my daily routine; wake up, play HIMYM on Kindle, take shower, play HIMYM on Kindle while in the shower, do homework, play HIMYM, go to work, play HIMYM, go to sleep, play HIMYM- I think you get the idea now. I am always watching How I met your mother and every time I feel as though I learn or realize something new about the show or the characters. I am able to see the changes in their personality more clearly and am able to appreciate some characters more then others such as Barney! Barney is unappreciated by his best friends. He had to force Ted the entire series to accept him as a best friend while Ted only acknowledged Marshall as his best friend. I mean, come on Barney almost died trying to get to Ted in the hospital. Don’t get me started on Robin; as soon as she and Barney got a divorce she was back on the Ted train. Seriously woman?! Seriously!!!! Ted maybe more emotionally stable and more emotionally available then Barney but Barney was always there for the big moments. Barney saved Robin from getting deported, and he got Robin’s dad to apologize to Robin and acknowledge her for who she is for the first time in her entire life but yet...... She wants Ted instead??!?! Screw that honey! SCEW IT! What was my main topic again......? Oh yes, my obsession with HIMYM. It is borderline unhealthy because even though Netflix has so many movies and shows available to watch, I always end up watching HIMYM. I can’t even go to sleep without hearing HIMYM in the background. I am writing this while listening to HIMYM! Crazy right?! I don’t need to actually watch it to know what is happening. I have rewatched this series so many times that all I need is the audio to picture exactly what is happening in the show. So is this an unhealthy obsession? Yes! Will I stop watching HIMYM? Probably not! What else am I going to do without Barney in my life with his crazy adventurers. Ah, crazy idea- dear producers of HIMYM, please please make a series called How I Met Your Father, where Barney’s baby mother stars in the journey to Barney! Now that would be legen - wait for it - dary! 

Peace out Bros!!

Natural Hair Journey Two Year Mark Results

It is officially two years since my second big chop! Woo! I was going to include the first big chop as well but that was a hot mess. 

Well, lets start from the beginning. When I entered college as a freshman I decided that I did not want to relax my hair anymore. I had the not so great idea to thin out my hair with a razor xD. Since my hair was still relaxed, it actually did not look too bad. As the months passed; my new growth started to come in and my hair became unmanageable. Frustrations was boiling over because my hair was half relaxed and half natural. Trying to comb in it the shower was an impossible task which I had to recruit a friend to help me with. I came to the conclusion that I had a decision to make; either chop off my relaxed hair or get my hair relaxed again. I decided to do the big chop. As I mentioned above, my first big chop was a huge failure. I ended up putting heat in my hair every week. My curls did not get the nourishment they needed and when my hair was wet, instead of being curly, it was straight. Which is what prompted my second big chop. This one has been extremely successful and I have the pictures to prove it.

This was taken the day after my second big chop. About 3/4 of my hair was gone and I was doing my best to feel confident. If you look closely, you can see that most of my hair is still sort of straight. My goal is to keep cutting all of that heat damaged hair as it grows. That includes more medium chops to finally get rid of the hair.

I spent months without heat or selfies. This pictures was taken about two months later. I had more new growth and my hair was long enough for me to feel confident to take a selfie. 

If I remember correctly this picture was in December. I decided to straighten my hair to check the length. It was already below my ear, that made me extremely excited. 

I have many pictures to share of my hair journey. I will include a curly and straight hair picture that were taken around the same time so it is easier to compare and see the differences in hair texture and growth as time passes. 

At this point, my hair was passed my shoulders and halfway down my back! :)

However; I had to cut half of that length because I had to get rid of the damaged hair I left on my head two years ago. Here is the result! 

First, I cut it myself because I am very impatient. I ended up with this crazy mess!

 Today 08-17-2015 I went to the hair salon to get my cutting mistake fixed.

Even though it is way shorter then the previous straighten picture; my hair feels softer and healthier. I reached my goal of getting rid of my heat damaged hair entirely. Now it can grow evenly and healthy. I am very excited to track my hair growth for the years to come!

When my Godmother visits and something unexpectedly happens

My story begins two weeks ago when my mother informs me that her childhood friend will be coming to stay with us for a few weeks. I was not thrilled hearing this news because I am an introvert and enjoy spending most of my time alone. We had just gotten rid of my two little brothers and I was looking forward to not having to deal with anyone else for the rest of the summer. The only reason I went along with this was because I figured they would be spending time together and leaving me alone to binge on Netflix

.

The day of her arrival finally arrived, no pun intended. As you can imagine, I was not thrilled what so ever. My mom screamed for me to come downstairs as they laughed and reminisced about their teenage years but what I did not expect was for there to be one more person arriving this day. I walked downstairs to living room with my permanent bitch face on to realize that my mom’s childhood friend was my godmother and that she brought along her youngest daughter with her on this trip.

My godmother’s daughter is a few years younger then me but still in the same generation. I felt as though my mother was trying to force me to socialize with complete strangers and that made me more pissed off. I am not very good at making new friends specially ones that are being forced on me. I said hi and quickly conjured up an excuse to go back to my room and hide there for the remaining of the day. I could hear them talking about their plans and all the shopping they wanted to do. I loathe shopping with a passion. A great excuse to not have to stick around for these plans.

My godmother would wake up early everyday to clean and cook, by the time I woke up everything was done around the house. That instantly took off some of my stress. As time passed my wall started to crumble down. We became closer and started cooking together and making plans. I had the urge to become closer with her daughter. I have four older sisters and unfortunately I don’t live with any of them. I am not close with any of them either. Thus, the idea of having a younger sister I can watch movies with, play around with makeup with and go out to restaurants with made me very happy.

By the end of the first week we had inside jokes together, we had made brownies and ate ice cream together. We screamed at the TV while we watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre together! We had a blast! Having a younger sister was everything I thought it could be. I had not had any company for the longest time and it was such a relief to be surrounded by females who love me and want to spend time with me. I had always been the black sheep of the family when it comes to becoming friends with the rest of the women. For the first time, I did not feel unwanted or feel like I did not fit in. They made me feel loved and they made me feel like I was apart of something, apart of a family. 

The time for them to leave is approaching and I couldn’t be sadder. They have become an essential part of my life. I even made us a Sims 3 house to live in and have kids together. They have made my life so much brighter and such more enjoyable. They came in during a time period where everything seemed impossible, a time period where I had given up on friendships. They have resurrected my heart and made me hopeful that I can have meaningful friendships again. I have learned to not be afraid of meeting new people because all I have to do is be myself and those who will love me will be by my side. 

How Gaming Worsened My Anxiety and Depression

Two years ago, I joined an online mmorpg because I wanted to escape real life and meet new people in a place where the impossible was possible. That place for me was Forsaken World. When I joined I fell in love with the graphics, the attention to detail on the land, the people and the skills. It was new and fresh to me, something I have never experienced. I dreamed about finding a world similar to that in Sword Art Online and with Forsaken World, I had found that world. However, it has been two years since I my arrival on this new world and I have come to regret every minute of it. 

“I felt inadequate and useless; ashamed to do anything in fear of being ridiculed”

There is something you need to understand about this game; it is designed to make everything a competition. There are ranks even for who levels the fastest. People throw thousands of dollars to make sure they are in the top of those ranks. Either you are one of the best in a specific department or you are worthless. The ones at the top are called OP standing for Overpowered and those at the bottom are called noobs. As you can imagine I was a big noob but not only that a noob who was also a virgin to mmorpg. Everything is brand freak-en new to me including the language the players used to explain the game. Things like PVE or PVP held no meaning to me what so ever. During these times I was still so innocent and just wanted to have fun. But as time passes that innocence started disappearing. The game became way more serious and way more important then I intended it to. I became obsessed with becoming stronger. There was one particularly incident where I felt so confused because I still didn’t understand the basic concepts of the game, I asked a girl a question trying to clear up my frustration and instead of answering me and teaching me, she responded by laughing at my frustrations. This girl wasn’t a stranger, she was supposed to be a friend. A friend who made me feel inadequate and useless. I never spoke to her again.

“All of my fears and insecurities got heightened”

When you join this game; the initial instinct is to join a guild because the game has features that are meant for groups. Guilds are family; either fit in or you don’t. If you don’t you will have a difficult time in this kind of game. During my first year I joined a guild where I met my nest friend named Winters. This is the most important friendship because no matter how many times I screwed up or how many times I let my fears get the best of me, she always held her arms wide open upon my return to sanity. One of my biggest fears is abandonment. There is this constant voice in my head screaming that nobody loves me, or wants me or wants to be my friend. That voice screams how one by one they will leave me. I try to avoid pain as much as I can, thus my initial instinct is to leave them first. And boy did I leave. I left Winters about five times because I felt I was no longer wanted in the guild. She forgave me and welcomed me back each time. Even though she always stayed by my side, I lost other friends because of my fears. Not everyone is willing to deal with an emotionally unbalanced person. 

“I got attached to people who just did not care”

Many people do not believe you can get attached to people in a virtual world. Those people have never been in a Virtual World. I am the type of person who loves deeply and passionately for people that I become close to. I will do anything for them and make sure that they know how much they mean to me. Around the ending of the first year of my gaming life, I joined a new guild for a fresh start and the family I always wanted. You will need a bit more back-story to fully understand what happened next. I was raised in a family that acted like I did not exist. I was never invited to the family pictures, I was never complimented or made feel special. I was just the girl in the corner staring at the floor. I longed for the family love and support that I never had. I wanted to find that so bad and when I joined this guild I thought I had. Then all the disappointments came knocking down one by one. Remember that voice from earlier? The one always telling me that I am not wanted; well that voice became louder and clearer but this time I saw the signs. It all started one night after the new patch arrived, everyone was excited to try out the new dungeon. We gathered our tanks and our healers for an 18 person raid. A few hours passed and it seemed our quest was coming to an end. People were getting tired and frustrated that the dragon would not die. Everyone decided to leave leaving myself and two others in the dungeon. I wanted to have fun and poke the dragon some more and that's what we did. We laughed as our bodies were getting burned over and over again. Accidentally, we discovered a plan that would help us to kill the dragon. We called in another healer and a few more damage dealers. Once we had the strategy down, we decided to call in a few more. It was eight people against a dragon and we fought our hardest. Our third healer died leaving myself and the second healer to heal the rest of the people. We all shouted in excitement when that dragon’s HP reached 0%! Then I heard it, the comment that changed everything for me. “I knew that all we needed was C’s heals to be it! Its all thanks to her!”. Well..... Damn. I guess all those hours I spent trying to figure out the strategy and all that heal spamming I did to make sure no one died was all for nothing cause as they said only on healer mattered in there and it sure wasn’t me. After that incident, all I wanted to do was tell my “big brother” how I was feeling. At the same time I felt bad for even feeling this way. I spoke to him in code trying to give a sign to what was going on in my head but those signs just never reached him. That’s when that voice became louder, I saw everyone in a new light. I noticed actions that I had never noticed before. I noticed people ignoring me when I tried to talk to them, I notice them giving each other compliments when I am sitting here waiting for confirmation that I belong here. From that point on, everything I did was a problem. If I ran around while people were away from keyboard I got screamed at. If I expressed the way I felt people got offended. I felt as though I was being pushed out of the circle. I grew attached to everyone in that guild. And because of that attachment I had three anxiety attacks. 

The first anxiety attack I had the night I messaged my Senior about how I had developed a crush on him but I knew that he didn’t feel the same, I just wanted him to know. I wanted to talk and I wanted... I’m not sure exactly but I know what I did not want and that was to be ignored. I waited all night for a response. Nothing came, and I melted into a puddle of tears. I couldn’t breathe and felt like the air was being choked out of my body. I care so deeply for my friends. I feel more for friendships then I do relationships. When a guy rejects me, I just move on; the world is full of dicks in the sea. However, when a friend rejects me my whole world falls apart. I did eventually did get a response, 12 hours later and by that time it was too late. I was drowning right in front of you for 12 hours and now its too late to save me. I am already gone. The problem was that I wanted to be saved so bad but I was too far gone. This led to a series of unfortunate events and two more anxiety attacks. 

The second anxiety attack happened after I quite the guild for the first time. There was a misunderstanding with a guild-mate on Facebook. I felt that I had done nothing wrong and all I wanted was for my friends to comfort me and support me. I quite the guild in rage of the confrontation and well.... I didn’t hear a word from them. Where was that comfort that I longed for. I still had the guilds vent information saved so I logged in to see if anyone was online and what did I find. Everyone was online talking to each other about what happened. Comforting the other guild-mate who was in the dispute with me but no one had reached for my hand. That made me angry, just remembering this makes my blood boil all over again. I started lashing out at them one by one. The common response was “I don’t care” and “we aren’t friends anymore”. That night was my second anxiety attack. Was no one able to see how much I was hurting? I wanted to be apart of that family so bad. To be loved and accepted but I also didn’t want to force myself into people’s hearts. I loved them all and I went back but once again the same treatment continued and I lashed out again.  I felt like I was dying in a crowded movie theater filled with people I loved and no one cared to ask “are you okay?”. 

The third anxiety attack happened recently and is by far the worse one. It is the reason I am even writing this at 5am. This happened two days ago. I had spent the last coupled months accepting that the people I love don’t love me. That they voted to band me from ever returning to the guild, that they ignore me when I call their name, that they see me right next to them and pretend they don’t. I finally felt like I was in a place where it didn’t hurt anymore. Fate decided that I needed a reminder. I was online having a good time with an old friend when a person that I have never spoken to decides to attack me in front of everyone, telling people that I have no friends cause no one likes me anymore. I was so shocked that what happened next did not residnate with me until a few hours later. The first person to defend was someone who I was not friends with anymore. The people that followed were people who had only spoken to me on occasion. I looked at my friends list and all of my friends were online. A few hours later new drama started and I tried my best to dim it down by being funny. I saw a few of my friends trying to do the same so I called out to them to try and continue their joke but I was ignored. I saw my friends respond to everyone else but me. Then I saw them sending support messages to each other, when not two hours ago I needed them and they decided not help. Not even a message afterwards asking “are you okay?”. 

I have been depressed before back in high school. I was bullied by classmates and even some family members. I attempted to kill myself twice because I was so lonely and unwanted. This particular incident stabbed deeply into me. It drove me back to those dark times. I laid in my bed with my anxiety attack and watched myself drop back into a depression. I felt it happen when my light stopped burning. The two days that followed I did not speak. I spent my time facing the floor and locking myself in my room. I woke up today determined to break myself out of the depression. It was hard, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to save myself again. 

I wanted this game to be full of fun memories and beautiful adventures. It just added to my heart breaks. I loved you all so much, and nothing hurts more then loving friendships that only exist in your mind. I love gaming and I won’t let these two years mark me forever. However, I am going to say goodbye to everything caused me pain. I am going to say goodbye to everyone who didn’t understand me and everyone who didn’t want to take the time to. As much as I love you all, I doubt I would survive another anxiety attack. My goal now is to live without fears and without pain. Goodbye is only a beginning for better things. 

Temple of Disaster Guide

TODNM

Phase 1:
􀁺 Three tanks; 1st tank- Off tank Charlotte to the
left side.

􀁺 2nd and 3rd tanks will switch aggro on Khuum at 2
stacks of debuff using trinket.

Phase 2:
􀁺 Bats: Kidnap members, use trinket to rescue
them.

Phase 3:
􀁺 Lazers: Single-target. Spread out and move away
from the person being targeted.
􀁺 AOE- After 3 lazers Khuum drags everyone to
him then does a massive aoe. Need to run as fast as
possible once you are pulled.

Phase 4:
􀁺 Trees: Trees will pop up and capture teammates.
Aoers need to kill the trees fast.
􀁺 Green exploding gas: Stay away from them
􀁺 Highest HP debuff: Teammate with highest HP
will get heals=damage debuff.

The Basics of Sugar Babies

Ever wonder what being sugar baby would be like? A few months ago I was searching for a sugar daddy on one of the many free websites available for sugar babies. I met an older gentleman looking for a sugar baby on the website. Since this was my first time being involved in this type of transaction I had many questions to ask. I have the inside scoop from a sugar daddy on what it is to be a sugar baby and all the interactions that are required.

A sugar baby/ sugar daddy relationship is one based on the exchange of needs between the two partners involved. Theres different kinds of phases and relationship types depending on the sugar daddy’s needs and wants. Whether you can fulfill those needs determines the payment you receive. During my interrogation I discovered that I would not be getting any cash from my sugar daddy unless we have intercourse. Not only that, but that if I want more than the minimum which is $100, we would have to be “hanging out” for more than  three hours. My sugar daddy explained to me that “no guy will pay without intercourse” but that we can take it slow getting to know each other. It seemed to me that he wanted the girlfriend experience with the secrecy of the CIA.

During the time we were getting to know each other, I asked him to buy lunch online because I was broke. It turns out that is out of the question because it would appear of the bank statement which raises suspicion for his wife. This was when I found out my sugar daddy was married. I struggled with this for long time before making my decision. One of the most complex ethical questions I have ever asked myself. Am I willing to sleep with a married man for money? If he wasn’t married I would not have been asking myself this question or doubting my decision to be a sugar baby. Netherless he is married and I had a decision to make. I asked myself the following question; how would you feel if your husband cheated on you with his sugar baby? This question had a straight forward answer, I would be mortified and probably set fire to the house while him and his mistress have sex. With that I knew the answer to my first question; I am not willing to have sex with a married man for money. I canceled our sugar baby/daddy relationship, but the temptation was there and it was hard to make the decision because of where I was financially at the time.

I did not want to give up on finding a sugar daddy and I kept searching online for one that was single. My luck is extremely sucky because all of the potential sugar daddies I found were married. This was such a disappoint at the time because I was single and needed the financial help.  It would of been the best of both worlds if I found the right candidate. Eventually I gave up my search and decided to find other ways to resolve my financial crisis. Sugar daddy relationships was not something easily found or at least the kind I wanted.

Sugar daddy relationships are not for everyone because of all the ethical situations that you will be faced but if you can handle it, more power to you. Here are my recommendations for future sugar babies; find a single sugar daddy, establish any limits on your relationship, and establish payments before involving yourself in any sexual activity. Make sure you are always in control in the situation and most importantly be safe.

XOXOX,

Astro~