D1.4 Job Scams

"Outlaw Zhang San" Clone Shares Story 4

Around 2021, I received requests for help from several current students. To showcase my unique chivalrous spirit and experience being a "shadow elf" again, I transformed into "Outlaw Zhang San" once more. After a long period of in-depth and strategic efforts, the shop finally closed down.

Here’s what happened:

One day, an undergraduate student asked me for help—he’d been scammed and wanted me to expose the shop. He briefly explained that he’d lost several thousand pounds, but mid-story, he vanished without a trace. He read all my messages but never replied, leaving me standing alone in the virtual online wind, hair blowing, staring blankly into the distance, and involuntarily singing: "Blow, blow, my pride and indulgence."

After a long time, another current student reached out. Then, after some time, another one came—amazingly, they all spoke of the same shop.

It turned out these students had all used the same UK-based job agency for international students. Some sought part-time work, others full-time jobs after graduation, and some needed internal referrals or interview training. Prices varied by service: the cheapest included CV writing and interview simulations, while the most expensive was full-time job placement plus training in the UK.

After collecting fees, the agency provided completely low-quality, useless services—or failed to deliver the promised services altogether. For example, they claimed to internally refer students to part-time roles at specific stores, but instead sent them to poorly regarded positions that didn’t match the description. Some paid for full-time job placement in the UK but received nothing. Their so-called "custom CVs" were just downloadable templates with simple translations, and they refused refunds. In one case, they arranged a full-time manual labor job at a logistics company for a finance student.

After learning the basics—including reviewing parts of their contracts—I contacted the agency through various social platforms. Though the agency had a physical store in the UK, it primarily served the Chinese community. It had minimal English promotion and operated almost entirely in Chinese.

After infiltrating their inner circle, I discovered the company only had 3 employees—despite claiming to have foreign staff and a large team. The "foreign trainers" were hired temporarily for a fee. CVs were all downloaded templates from the internet, and even recommendation letters were copied online with minor modifications. Their so-called "prestigious company internal referrals" didn’t exist; they merely submitted applications to company HR departments on behalf of students. While they did provide some part-time and full-time roles, these were mostly undesirable positions that struggled to recruit—low-paying, labor-intensive jobs. Such companies would pay the agency a commission equal to 1-3 months of the student’s salary (or other compensation), meaning the agency profited from both sides. They exploited information asymmetry and students willing to pay for professional services (in fact, many students are happy to use agencies if they deliver value—saving time, simplifying processes, and avoiding unnecessary hassle. I’ve used various agencies myself, but most are unprofessional and unwilling to provide proper service. After being scammed multiple times, I developed a negative view of the term "agency"—especially after being cheated by a graduate from a prestigious university, which also made me wary of top graduates). In reality, students could have applied for these jobs themselves for free.

By gathering evidence and advising the students to file official complaints in the UK, they eventually got their money back. The agency was investigated for irregularities and voluntarily shut down. It turned out only one of the three employees was a British citizen. Their common tactic was exploiting students’ fears of jeopardizing their academic visas or future careers—allowing them to brazenly make huge profits from this nearly cost-free business.

This story teaches us: In the UK, you should never pay for a job—unless it’s an extremely prestigious, high-paying role obtained through a trusted, unspoken (but common) connection. After all, why would a top-tier job be offered to a stranger instead of friends or family?

For example, I have a friend with excellent English and a warm, generous personality. During his studies, he built close relationships with his professors and university leaders. Before graduating, he needed a job—his department head wrote him a recommendation letter directly. The head had also helped him secure a good part-time job during his studies, and the company’s manager there also wrote him a recommendation. Finally, through the department head’s private referral and the two recommendation letters, he successfully got a high-paying, prestigious job at a well-known UK company. For ordinary people to get such a role on their own, they’d need exceptional qualifications and abilities. It’s like comparing two candidates, A and B, with identical skills and education—if A has a referral and B doesn’t, A will almost always be chosen.