2014 China Foreign Teacher TEFL & TESOL Requirements Twisted By Shady Recruiters & Scam Agents

If I was a greedy, unethical, sales rep for a TEFL or TESOL Training company or one of the 500+ China teacher recruiters and visa agents that they hire to sell on commission basis, here is a what I would never tell my newbie teacher prospect:

* According to Chinese law, You really don't even need a TEFL or TESOL certificate to teach in China unless you want to work for EF

* Only 393 schools and learning centers out of almost 20,000 that hire foreign teachers actually require that you have a TEFL or TESOL certificate (less than 1%).

* With a TEFL or TESOL certificate you will not earn any more or less money that expat foreign teachers who don't have them. (Less than 5% of Foreign teachers in China actual hold a certificate)

* You absolutely MUST have a four degree from an accredited university.

* You really MUST hold Z visa to enter and  work in China and if you get caught teaching without one you will be arrested, jailed, fined, and deported with a 5 year reentry ban.

*  The TEFL or TESOL certificate you get from my company is only recognized and accepeted in Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Croatia, Zimbabwe, Estonia, Uzbekistan, and Guatemala!

So after hiding the truth, I would then direct my sales prospect to all my fake testimonials, or real ones after I censor or edit them a little bit. Of course I would send them the links to reviews that I paid for at another "independent " web site like gooverseas.com, or teachabroadreviews.com, etc.  Once I have them all starry-eyed about working in China, I would deflect all their questions and even resort to the following lies if I can get them to sign my contract that will put $500-$2,000 in my pocket...

Lie #1:  Naw, you really don't need that two years of work experience if you have my TEFL/TESOL certificate.

Lie #2:  Schools care more about your TEFL certificate than your bachelor in History degree.

Lie #3:  You can't even get a job interview in China without a TEFL/TESOL degree!

Lie #4:  If you want to earn more than 20,000 yuan a month teaching in China, you MUST have a TEFL/TESOL certificate.

Lie #5:   If you want a housing subsidy you should know they are very limited and only teachers with TEFL & TESOL certificates get them.

Now if they get difficult and start telling me about what other teachers in China told them or even the lady at the embassy, I will stay calm and cool and try not to panic.  Then I will smile and say "Oh those folks probably haven't seen this recent announcement in The China Daily about all the changes that are coming soon."

I definitely won't tell them that the announcement is talking about "proposed changes"  that "may" be implemented only "in Beijing" and "only the kindergarten teachers" may need a TEFL or TESOL certificate. Then I will pray to God that they do not bother to ask their own embassy or visit this official Chinese government web site http:SAFEA.gov.cn or stumble across any other links that tell the truth, like these here:

http://www.abroadreviews.com/tefl-tesol-certificate-scams-no-china-requirements

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=616386

http://www.chinascampatrol.wordpress.com

http://www.esl-jobs-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=6753

http://www.chinascambusters.com

http://www.eslwatch.info/china-2/news-98/603-china-newsflash/12162-official-foreign-teacher-requirements-to-teach-esl-tefl-in-china-today-not-what-you-think.html

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=617489

http://www.chinaforeignteachersunion.com

So if YOU can memorize this sales pitch and say it with a straight face and a big smile, you too can earn $10,000 yuan a month swindling young people with limited funds who are excited about coming to China to work as an ESL or TEFL teacher. 

Don't worry, the cops don't worry about this sort of thing because the victims "are only foreigners", and those victims are too embarrassed to even admit they were tricked and swindled.  For those that were, there is a little comfort to be found here, although you will never get your money back. DIY... Breaking Out Of A Scam Contract  In parting we strongly advise that you ignore all those "wonderfuls" and "great-paying" China job ads offered at Echinacities.com, ESLcafe.com, and ESLteachercafe.com as they are all passive accomplices that accept monies for paid ads of the scammers they know full well are preying upon their users. Beside all the "great-paying" jobs they advertise are bogus fakes designed only to obtain your resume and person in China. Once here you will be "regretfully" told that your job was already filled and then be given another hard-to-fill job at about half the pay. It's called "bait and switch".

The the best jobs in China are never advertised - you get them directly from the school FAOs.  Finding teaching gigs on your own is easy if you use the many China school blacklists published online by the CFTU, Wolf Watch, ESL Watch and others. Consider yourself warned.

Is Echinacities.com a Scam Front for Identity Thieves or Only China Job Recruiters?

I know this will be damn hard to prove but the odor is quite foul and cannot be ignored my friends.  It seems the folks at China Scam Patrol created some fake accounts at Echinacities.com with some expat friends to apply for jobs using some fake names and modified resumes.  Seven in all we were told.  All seven then reported that within the next 30-45 days of applying for jobs, they were all inundated with spam to sell them all sorts of stuff ranging from job placements, tefl courses, visa services, even barbecue grills and air filters!  Okay, so a little spam we can endure, but the seven users say that 80% of their inbox is now occupied by new spam.  Clearly contact information is being sold in violation of Chinese Privacy Laws.  So what? is the typical reply in China. Yeah, we are used to crap like this.  After all... TIC. 

But according to a former ECC Moderator who went by the name of "Traveler" dished on Echinacities owner a few months back saying that George Xu was basically a CCP party member and ass-kisser using his forum to promote propaganda.  Again, we say - So what?  This is as common as rice in China.  Here's what was revealed...  China Daily Mail Scoop

But we have to draw the line when just anyone can buy our personal information we submitted for what we thought was a real job opportunity.  When this personal data falls into the hands of identity thieves, we can no longer laugh and say "So What?"  This article and the one below, will finish telling the rest of this story...  ECC Moderator Provides Inside Dirt

Even China is growing tired of personal scams, but no one more than expat employees in a nation that considers us to be the lowest hanging fraud fruit of opportunity.  Warn your friends and China colleagues that Echinacities.com may have some useful articles at times but they are a fraud risk and their forums are filled with paid wumaos (shills).  We understand that China Scam Patrol has asked the CCP's anti-corruption team to investigate ECC.  Whether they do or get paid off remains to be seen. But in the interim you may want to read this expose and find a safer way to find employment than ECC  Identity Theft Plagues Foreign China Expats

But stop the presses!!!  Is George Xu still calling the shots at ECC or has his once-noble and honorable company been hijacked by Chinese partners - much like Kro's Nest Pizza was victimized in 2010?  This article here makes this story even more of a mystery... A Bizarre Twist May Exonerate George Xu 

Then again, perhaps a rogue employee at ECC is the real culprit? Whatever the real, unabridged story may be, it may be prudent not to seek employment with classified ads from Echinacities.com unless and until they start identifying the names of the employers or stop posting personal data online.  Just imagine what your boss would think and do if a fellow co-worker showed him your resume and photo on line that you never knew was even there! 

China Expat Foreign Teachers Being Raped By Recruiters Publishing False Average Salaries & Pay Rates In Bogus Job Ads...

 

If anyone takes 1.8 seconds to search "China Teacher Jobs" on Yahoo, Google, or Bing, you will be overwhelmed with over 60,000 hits. Unfortunately about 59,000 of these links are fake job ads posted by unlicensed scam agents and recruiters both inside and outside of China.  Their spam ads dominate the first 3 pages of every search engine and easily convince job seekers that the most they can earn in China teaching is 10,000 yuan.  This is exactly what those fraudsters want you to believe so that when you sign a contract with them to find you a teaching gig that pays you 8,000 yuan per month, you will never know that the job really pays 16,000 yuan and they are pocketing half of your salary!

 

Yet other misleading but great-looking display and classified ads offer very generous salaries of 20,000 yuan or more per month and these ads are also false - but for a different reason.  These scammers are only looking for you to be enticed enough to send them your resume, and copies of your visa and passport. These are the Great White Sharks of the China South Scam Sea known as Identity Thieves and 20% of all foreign teachers will become their lunch.  You can read the horrific and bloody details of their fishing exploits here...

 

http://www.zimbio.com/career+tips,+techniques,+and+strategies/articles/Dji-VVoCgu5/20+Foreign+Teachers+China+Victimized+Identity

 





But the problem is not just with the fake ads, but with all of the phony blogs,  message boards, and "teacher forums" that masquerade as entities trying to "help" people pursue teaching careers in China when really they are also hustlers who harvest emails and then try to peddle their own job placements, visa services, travel packages, expat services, travel insurance, Chinese lessons, etc.  They too will publish false teacher earnings  just like abroadchina.com does at this dubious link:  http://www.abroadchina.org/salary.asp  But mixing some truthful data in with the BS, people easily take and swallow the bait.

 

Do as you choose but we highly recommend that you do not believe any pay rate or salary information published at any of the below "Help You Teacher Forums" (as we call them here).  They are all low-ballers...

 

chinajob.com

workinchina.com

hr1china.com
chinavacancies.com

chinadailymail.com

chinateachers.org
chinaesl.com

chinateacherhr.com

abroadchina.com
eslchina.com

workabroad.org

foreignteachers.com
teachabroadchina.com
tefl.cc

chinaenglishteachers.com
tefl.cn
eslteachersboard.com
chinatefl.net
chinadailymail.com
0086.com
i-to-i.com
teach-in-china.net
china-tesol.com
abroadchina.org
onlinetefl.com
workabroadchina.com
globalcrossroads.net
chinatefl.cn
eslgrove.com

teachabroad.com
domscafe.com
domseslcafe.com
bilingual-institute.com
directcareers.com
employment.com
humanresource.com
jobsearchdirect.com
jobvacancies.com
myreplymate.com
teachabroad.com
primesolutionsservices.com
personnelrecruiters.com
personnelservices.com
recruitmentservices.com
response4free.com
staffsolutions.com
chinateachersdepot.com
chinajobsite.com
chinadaily.com
chinatefljobs.com
teachers-international.org
teachinginchina.com
teachinchinatoday.com
teacherwantedchina.com
nextstepchina.org
nextstopchina.com
crccasia.com
teachaway.com
anesl.com
findworkabroad.com
teachoverseas.com
gooverseas.com
eslnetwork.com
teachinginchina.net
chinateachers.com

 

Yes, these sites are still good for other purposes like sharing experiences, helpful articles and suggestions, but do not ever give these sites your email address or the wolves will be in your inbox within a week inviting you for interviews and coffee.  If you are so lazy that you must absolutely rely on an agent to find you a teaching job in China, then at the very least, make them complete every blank of this form letter and then verify it out or check the update and current China school and agent  blacklist at the China Foreign Teachers Union:

 

http://www.chinaforeignteachersunion.org/2012/12/china-foreign-teachers-union-posts-esl.html

  

To better understand how a blog scam works you can check out this link which examines only one of about 150 China blogs (The China Daily Mail scam) that harvest emails from foreigners for future fraud schemes.  http://chinadailymailscam.wordpress.co.uk  By the way, not all China scams are operated by Chinese. In fact, many are run out of the U.K., Australia, and Thailand since they know they could be executed by the Chinese government if caught operating inside of China!  Dummies they are not.

 



It is not difficult to become a victim of a china scam, even sitting in the comfort of your own living room in Toronto, Phoenix, or London.  You do not even have to send them money to get screwed either.  Once you send them a signed contract, or copies of your passport, CV, and visa, you are already on their hook and they will reel you once you are in China like a new-born lamb amongst a pack of hungry wolves.  Don't put yourself in this precarious situation.  Read these two links here and you will be armed well-enough to get a good paying and scam-free job in china DIRECTLY from the 19,782 legitimate employers and not from the 7,374 fake and scam recruiters/agents:  www.ChinaScamBusters.com and  http://www.chinaforeignteachersunion.com/2013/06/china-foreign-teachers-suggested-hourly.html . If you are still not convinced, take a visit to www.CleverChinaCheaters.com and read some of the older posts.

 

If you're not going to take the time to read these links, be sure to take an extra $5,000 with you when you go to China to pay the legal fees you will probably end up with in less than a year. And even if you are successful in winning a judgment (less than 3% of expats ever win anything in a Chinese court of law), the scammer will probably pay-off some official $1,000 to make sure your visa is not renewed. This way you would  not even be in the country to collect your money - as Chinese law requires.

 

Scam Alert! CRCCAsia.com & ChinaSolutions.Com - Pay To Work Internship Fraud!

Most people have gray matter located somewhere between their ears. But some people are just plain dumb and dumber!  Those who send $2,999 to CRCCAsai.com or ChinaSolutions.com are the dumbest - and even the New York Times agrees!  These two companies actually call and convince people over the telephone and by email that will get hired by Fortune 500 companies as an intern but only if they pay their fee.  They rely on really impressive websites, fake reviews that are self-created, testimonials form non-existent "satisfied clients" and smooth talking telemarketers packed into boiler rooms in Beijing and the U.K. Admittedly, they put on a good show. But we caught up with "Robert" a fellow from the U.K. who used to be an "agent" for CRCCAsia.com. This is some of what he had to say...

"There are never ever refunds allowed for any reason, even if a client gets hit by a car and is hospitalized."

"Less than 10% of the internships CRCC gets for people transform into a real job, and most are sales and marketing jobs - doing the grunt work for some Chinese companies."

"The owner of CRCC pays big bucks to get phony news articles published and they have a SEO guy that spams the shit all over the internet."

"The employees laugh and joke about how many "fish" they catch every day." (refereing to new clients)

" I have personally been in the U.K. office about 2 years ago when 3 angry students came in demanding a refund or they threatened to smash the place up. I am not sure what happened but they came back from China less than a month after they went there for internships. They got their refund."

"The telesales people are bloody well careful what they put into an email because we were all warned that email can be evidence.  So they will say just about anything on the phone but they are very careful about what they put in writing."

"I heard the owner boast that he earns $30,000 a day, and I think he is telling the truth based on the volume of business being generated by over 50 telesales people."

As for ChinaSolutions.com, anyone can call them pretending to be an interested client, and after asking a few direct questions, you can quickly realize they do not guarantee any results and will even tell a high school drop out in Wisconsin that they are "qualified" become an intern  agronomist in China!  Their lies are the boldest by far, but people are so desperate for work overseas that they are eating up the BS with spoons in both hands.  They are even taking real English teaching jobs posted on expat forums, taking half of the salaries and then offering the position as a "paid internship"!

  

Those being targeted are university students, California's unemployed and even lonely or bored soldiers who surf the internet and come across crafty ads promising careers after discharge. The scammers leave no stone unturned and one CRCC telemarketer is even known to offer online teaching internships to the elderly. Senior citizens on a fixed income can least afford to lose $2,999.

Although there are many real and legitimate internships to be had in China and elsewhere (both paid and unpaid), these two operators will only provide high hopes and disappointments. When CRCC first started they apparently were legitimate according to Robert, but he recently said...

"Once the money started rolling in, greed grew faster than a mushroom in a rainforest, and all the rules and ethics fell to the wayside".

At first we thought "Robert" just might be a disgruntled employee， but no,  he said he was actually treated and paid very well. When asked why he left in 2011, he just said "I have a conscience and wanted out before the coppers come a knockin at the door."  It appears business is still booming for both of these companies with no apparent shortage of victims. Since the actual crimes are being committed on Chinese soil, we don't expect police action any time soon. After all... "TIC" (This is China).

For now, one can only warn others. Sound the alarm within your own circle of friends and maybe share this article with your favorite blogger or group. The below links were found after doing a quick google search as well as some old complaints from 2010...

http://www.abroadreviews.com/scam-alert-crcc-china-internships-are-fraud

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtBesb.DXUyYCeSQtg4NhRkjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20130520013320AAKutvN

http://chinascampatrol.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/china-work-abroad-scams-growing-blacklist-whitelists-now-being-compiled-your-help-requested/

http://www.degreepivot.com/9533/how-to-avoid-internship-scams#comment-2037

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/fashion/for-20-somethings-ambition-at-a-cost.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Australian Kenneth Craig Hill aka Craig Hill Is Veteran Scam Artist & China ESL Recruiter Of Foreign Teachers

The above is a photo of scam artist Craig Hill (The self-appointed "editor" of the China Daily Mail Blog). His full legal name is "Kenneth Craig Hill" and on August 17, 2007 the Queensland Court of Australia ruled that he was mentally disturbed.  Prior to this point Craig worked as a prison guard in Australia until he was asked to resign. You can read about that episode at this link:

http://craighillchinadailymail.blogspot.dk/2013/04/hello-all-i-am-writing-this-unusual.html

According to China Scam Patrol and 2 former China ESL employees, Craig has been working undercover as a recruiter of foreign teachers for China ESL - the largest and longest-running scam agency in China.  He recruits through collecting emails at his China Daily Mail blog and places over 50 free ads on Craigslist, and many ESL/TEFL forums including those listed below:

chinaesl.com
eslchina.com
teachabroadchina.com
tefl.cc
tefl.cn
eslteachersboard.com
chinatefl.net
chinadailymail.com
0086.com
teach-in-china.net
china-tesol.com
abroadchina.org
onlinetefl.com
workabroadchina.com
globalcrossroads.net
chinatefl.cn
eslgrove.com
domscafe.com
domseslcafe.com
bilingual-institute.com
directcareers.com
employment.com
humanresource.com
jobsearchdirect.com
jobvacancies.com
myreplymate.com
primesolutionsservices.com
personnelrecruiters.com
personnelservices.com
recruitmentservices.com
response4free.com

onlinetefl.com

i-to-i.com
staffsolutions.com
chinatefljobs.com
teachers-international.org
teachinginchina.com
teachinchinatoday.com
teacherwantedchina.com
nextstepchina.org
nextstopchina.com
teachinginchina.net
chinateachers.com

 

Craig has been blacklisted by both the China Teachers Alliance and The China Foreign Teachers Union.  He was caught in many lies at EchinaCities.com following a vengeful attack upon the CFTU after they exposed his boss, Rebecca Tang (owner of China ESL).  He posted his assault as user name "Traveler" at EchinaCities.com falsely claiming the CFTU was run by the Chinese government and that they charged membership fees (The CFTU never charged any fees to members)

According to former China ESL employees, Craig lured over 300 teachers to be swindled by Rebecca over the last 2 years and he was paid between $500 and $1,000 for each teacher he was able to recruit.

In 2009 Craig ran an email scam on thousands of people and that scam is explained at this link:

http://sparkywestwood.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/craig-hill-family-email-scam/

Craig was also featured at www.ChinaScamBusters.com and www.CleverChinaCheaters.com. Here is the article China Scam Patrol posted about him:

http://chinascampatrol.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/is-the-china-daily-post-and-editor-craig-hill-a-shill-scam/

For more photos of Craig and the Australian Court Documents that confirm he is mentally disabled visit this link:

http://craighillchinadailymail.blogspot.co.uk

Scam! Scam! Scam! American Kids Language School in Hangzhou + Principal Kathy Hong - Beware Foreign Teachers!

 

Principal "Kathy Hong" - Not Her Real Name

Okay, we are not the first to warn about this unlicensed school so we will give credit where credit is due - American Teacher Martin Doherty and the China Foreign Teachers Union blew the whistle on these fraudsters 3 months ago. But the word needs to spread since they are still open for business and still ripping off parents and teachers.  Their sins include the following:

* Recruiting teachers abroad to work illegallyon an F visa and risk deportation

* Offering large salaries that disappear after you arrive in China

* Confiscating your passport to prevent a midnight run

* Selling you a release letter that the law says they MUST provide you for free

* Never returning deposits made by expat teachers

* Telling parents all their teachers are/were full time educators abroad

* Threaten teachers with "blacklisting"

* Never ever paying the last pay check

* No SAIC or Ministry of Education License To Operate a school

* Collecting taxes from teachers that are not paid to government

You can read the whole story about them and teacher's Doherty's full complaint at www.ChinaForeignTeachersUnion.org

Administrator "Susan" - No Last Name Ever Given To Anyone

Fraud Alert! - Rebecca Tang of China ESL - China's Most Despised Scam Recruiter By Foreign Expat Teachers - Here's Why...

Yes, she is elegant and charming to be sure. But the 42 year old Beijing woman some call "The Dragon Lady", "Wicked Witch of the East", and others "Scum" has been ripping off foreign teachers in China since 2005! This 8 year longevity is no longer a mystery as an insider from China ESL has been supplying the dirt on her in recent days.  But first you need to understand WHY people hate her so much. Because a photo is worth more than a thousand words, just look at this contract and emails Rebecca had with one of over 2,000 expat teacher victims (American Teacher Katherine Cox)

http://www.myalbum.ca/Album=XZP6FPGR

As you will see in this contract, Rebecca Tang not only collects 66% of a teacher's salary, but also makes them pay for both invitation and release letters - something Chinese law obligates her to do for free - as a requirement of law.  Further she instructs foreign teachers to violate the law by coming to work in China on an F or L visa, which if caught will get the teacher fined, deported, and banned from reentering china for up to 5 years. See below chart that we swiped from the CFTU website. 

 Also note in her CHINA ESL contract that Rebecca threatens teachers with being "blacklisted" and "deported" if teachers make complaints or problems for her, or disobey her contract!   You can read more about this blacklist at:

http://www.chinaforeignteachersunion.com/2013/04/china-foreign-teachers-union-obtains.html

So how does she get away with this crap for 8 years? Well she has had numerous affairs and business "cooperation" with the right people including the former Police Chief of Beijing and many foreigners like Craig Hill (Editor of China Daily Mail blog) who recruit foreigners to birddog and run interference for her when the heat is on.  These links will give you an idea og how she works:

http://www.thebeijinger.com/forum/2013/01/31/beware-chinaesl-scam-alert-rebecca-tang-will-rip-you

http://eslwatch.info/china-2/bad-recruiters-review-in-china/7150-webb-international

http://chinascampatrol.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/is-the-china-daily-post-and-editor-craig-hill-a-shill-scam/

http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewtopic.php?p=45560

http://www.thebeijinger.com/node/1592803

There are unconfirmed rumors from a former China ESL employee that Rebecca, who is now a multi-millionaire (she owns 6 companies and 8 apartments in Beijing & Shanghai) was arrested twice - once recently and once in 2008.  Supposedly she bought herself out of her legal jams with bribes. Of course it would be great if we can prove this, but we can't. However those who live and work in China know that this is the standard modus operandi of China cheaters. So all we can do for now is stand on the mountain top like others have also done and scream out at the top of our lungs...

BEWARE  OF  REBECCA  TANG 

&  THE  CHINA  ESL  SCAM!