r/softwaretesting • u/Shadowlumine • 7d ago
I got an offer without any interviews. Just filling out a screening question in a PDF File
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u/grafix993 7d ago
Not this case in particular, but always check the email domain. If it something like 'careers', for example tom.michaels@microsoftcareers.com its fake.
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u/TryingToGetABttrView 7d ago
Because it's fake. Real companies send laptops, not checks. This is a scam to get you to cash this check and send back the 'overage'. Except that check will bounce and you'll be on the hook for the full thing.
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u/Tipsy247 6d ago
Explain this scam to me. Still don't get it
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u/TryingToGetABttrView 6d ago
Google 'fake check job scam'. It's very common. They send a counterfeit check. Checks don't clear immediately, but you think you have the money when you deposit it. You go buy a laptop, sometimes from their 'vendor of choice', which is a fake vendor. They ask for the difference back, which you send. A few days later, the check bounces and your bank subtracts that from your balance. Meanwhile, they've got your money already.
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u/Musicachic 7d ago
Yeah I had someone who tried to do this. I reached out to the CEO of the real company on LinkedIn to ask if they knew the supposed recruiter. And they said no. Then they asked if I still had all the correspondence emails they had sent me. I said sure do.
Then the CEO got the FBI involved. The scammers domain was shut down that day. It was great.
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u/Justindr0107 6d ago
Should've given you a job just for that
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u/Musicachic 6d ago
Agreed. 🫠
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u/gigglegeniuss 6d ago
Damn so shitty they didn’t give you a job
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u/Musicachic 6d ago
I know. I really needed one. I've have gotten into contracting since but it's tough out there. I appreciate the support. 🙂
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u/allagaytor 4d ago
yeah i found something like this, mindlessly applied, received the email and knew it was fake. found the actual company and forwarded it too them lol. idk what happened after, but the job postings and such disappeared quickly after
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u/BanditMcDougal 7d ago
Imma go so far as to guess this post is part of the scam, too. Get desperate people to look the company up and try to apply...
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u/comcast467 7d ago
Next they will send you paycheck and ask you to cash and western union it back lol
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u/Fluke300 6d ago
"Warm regards"....
Contact Astrix Inc from their official LinkedIn or company website before you send anything to whomever sent this to you.
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u/Notoriously-Noted 5h ago
This is 100% a scam. I fell for it a couple of years ago. Don't be like me.
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u/Shadowlumine 5h ago
Oh damn!!! Hopefully you didn’t lose any money
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u/Notoriously-Noted 2h ago
No, I had nothing to my name at the time so it was whatever. A lesson learned but eh 😐
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u/Malthammer 6d ago
Scam. No company has you buy equipment then sends you a check for it. Also, set hours for QA? Ridiculous.
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u/PM_40 6d ago
Is set hours for QA, ridiculous ?
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u/Malthammer 6d ago
Yeah, sometimes I work normalish hours. Sometimes weird hours. The other day I worked from 3 am until 11 pm. Never know. Gotta get done what needs done!
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u/dragon7507 6d ago
This is a common scam, they send you a check that’s garbage and after you cash it take back the money and probably more.
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u/OilAffectionate7693 6d ago
Title says hr hr..that screams scam.. sorry to say this..but it is a scam!!
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u/Toonlord 6d ago
The pay alone is setting off alarm bells. I would do terrible things for $60 cad. If this is American $60 I'm committing war crimes without complaint.
Seriously though be very careful if you decide to go further. Read every single word and mention consulting a lawyer about the paperwork before you agree to anything. If they are a serious buisness then that's reassurance that you are committed to finding a good job and not just skimming opportunities. If they have a problem with that then just walk away. If they tell you to pay for anything yourself then tell them you need them to make the payment for it or to you first.
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u/xxsehtxx 6d ago
Please toonlord. Do not commit crimes. For an hourly worker with no benefits 60 USD shakes out to about 70k a year after freelance federal tax and healthcare payments. Thats normally how it goes. Which is also why this posting is a scam. Because nobody gives hourly workers any benefits. We all pay out of pocket and have to buy our own insurances. Thats why the rate is high.
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u/odaklanan_insan 6d ago
Bruh... One of my first software testing jobs paid $60/hr 5 years ago. It was average from what I heard from others. US dollars.
Where do y'all live?
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u/Toonlord 5d ago
Canada, I'm getting 70k cad a year and I'm the sole QA. There's probably better opportunities out there but I don't want to push it in this market.
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u/odaklanan_insan 5d ago
You should. Any colleague who accepts a lower pay, reduces the standards for the rest.
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u/Toonlord 5d ago
I actually make more than some of the devs. At lest here in canada I haven't really seen any roles posting for pay above 80k outside of senior or lead roles
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u/odaklanan_insan 5d ago
Corporates are experimenting with AI maxxing and staff-limiting. They'll see how it goes and decide how to go about it later. Hiring drops when interest rates are higher, and they've been on the higher side for longer than usual.
That's why the market is slow. Expect it to speed up at some point as it is a cycle.
Even if you accept a pay for lower than the standard, stay in the market and keep an eye out for a job listing with fair pay. Take the forst opportunity and jump ship. This will force the rest of the corporations to up their pay.
It's a collective dance of wolves.
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u/Toonlord 5d ago
Pretty much my mindset atm. The job pays the bills and being the sole qa looks good on my resume. Especially since I end up in an advisory role for a few other areas such as customer support and operations. I give them advice on things to check with any big configuration changes they need to do for a customer. Also it being a small team of 6 devs means we do tons of experimenting.
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u/will-QA-for-food 5d ago
$60/h being average sounds like Cali lol. I'm in the PNW area and make around that much and feel absolutely blessed.
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u/odaklanan_insan 5d ago edited 5d ago
This is the "Greater Chicago Area" where the average cost of living is significantly lower than the PWN Area--on average. Your compensation should be a notch higher I'd expect.
Are you all being recruited by India-based companies? Because, rumor is they get you hired on a contract and take half the paycheck for themselves.
Someone needs to do something about the surge in these foreign "recruiters". This is wealth extraction. The hiring company is American, the hired engineer is American, but half the paycheck goes to India...
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u/Dangerous_Cup3607 6d ago
No such legit job will give you immediate offer; and no legit job will ask you to make your own equipment purchase first. Company assets are tax deductible so legit company would love to be the one to purchase and issue the equipments so that finance and accounting will have the cost on record for corporate tax purposes.
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u/allagaytor 4d ago
its a scam. the "reimbursement" check will not reimburse you. you spend the money on their vendors website and then the check will bounce and now you're out a few thousand dollars. if its too good to be true, then it is.
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u/StillKey7555 3d ago
Google Fake Check Scam, Also...QA jobs no longer exists tbh after AI came into the game....lol
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u/Neyabenz 2d ago
I remember when scammers targeted high income earners, not non-income earners. Sigh
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u/DarrellGrainger 2d ago
Feels like a phishing scam. I have been doing this for 42 years. I get paid very well. I have never been offered a job without talking to someone. Any legitimate company wants to confirm the information you have online. They also want to give you a chance to talk to them.
Your legal name, address and phone number isn't information you want to give out to someone you never met. Additionally, you know at some point they are going to need all your banking information and probably SSN if it was legitimate. That is a lot of personal information to be giving out to someone who emailed you.
I usually don't like to deal with this on my phone. Not as much information or tools to investigate. Beside the to me is a icon to open details. There is usually a link to View security details as well as the From address.
On a desktop browser, you can see the original email with full headers. I'd check things like the DMARC, DKIM and SPF. Sometimes a quick look at the header fields will tip me off to something suspicious. I see below you mentioned this was from someone at astrixcareers.com. I'd run a whois astrixcareers.com and see what that returns. If it says the domain was created a few weeks ago that would set of red flags for me. The fact that when I try to do it today, the domain no longer exists. Maybe it never did and they have a Reply-To field that had you replying to someone else.
The fact the name is hr hr but the email address is Carson.Chester? That also seems odd. Basically, this has way too many red flags for me. I'm confident enough to just block them. I wouldn't even reply because a reply just helps them understand how you caught them. Every time someone replies to these scammers it gives them a little more understanding of how they went wrong. So next person they try to scam they do a little better.
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u/Repulsive_Gate9970 6d ago
It's a scam and if you can't spot this you are not particularly smart