Internship scams?

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 05 Aug 2012 Posts: 2

Hi guys - I have recently graduated from university having studied architectural design and technology for the previous 3 years. I would really like to gain an internship in China, preferably Shanghai but It is so difficult to get one by contacting firms directly over there, due to various reasons.

So I have been looking at companies which offer the service of finding an internship for you and offering various other services in exchange for so much money. These are some of the companies I have been looking at with the bottom one being of real interest.

www.abroadchina.net
www.internasia.com
www.internchina.com
www.cngoldengate.com

Now I know like all types of services out there, some of them will be scams. But apart from ringing them up and talking to them - how can I be sure that the companies above are genuine and will offer the services that they claim, how can I be sure that they are not scams. Any help would be much appreciated : ).

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:12 pm

Hi Pepinho_03, and welcome to the forum.

When it comes to agencies like the ones you mention, I think it is a wise move that you are prepared to do the due diligence thing and investigate them before spending your money and putting your life in their hands.

As well as using google/yahoo!/bing etc. to find out any available background on the company, and say http://www.centralops.net to check out how long the websites have been around and who owns them, you might want to try having a look at: http://www.ratemystudyabroad.com/china and other similar sites that give reviews of such programs.

I've only looked at the first one on your list, and I've got to say I'm not sure about it. The website has been around a while and seems to be owned by the company who's name it holds:

Quote:

http://centralops.net/co/

Address lookup
canonical name abroadchina.net.
aliases
addresses 173.201.90.133
Domain Whois record

Queried whois.internic.net with "dom abroadchina.net"...

Domain Name: ABROADCHINA.NET
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/
Name Server: WSC1.JOMAX.NET
Name Server: WSC2.JOMAX.NET
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 25-mar-2011
Creation Date: 16-may-2002
Expiration Date: 16-may-2016

But why is their phone number registered to another company not in the same building.

http://www.abroadchina.net/contactus.asp

Quote:

US Office:
Abroad China,Inc.
1518 Inlet Court
Reston, VA 20190, USA
Tel:(703)-8341118

http://www.showmelocal.com/profile.aspx?bid=6897443

Quote:

Prominent Technology Ent

be the first one to review!
(703)834-1118

http://www.ziffen.com/virginia/reston/computers/10000030036.html

Quote:

Prominent Technology Enterprises Inc
(703) 834-1118
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Reston, VA 20190

If it had been the same building I would have said "Ah! a switchboard in the lobby puts you through to whichever office you want" but it's not even the same road. Maybe there's a good reason for this?? Dunno.

Also their fax appears not to match their claimed location:
http://www.abroadchina.net/contactus.asp

Quote:

Fax:(631)-9470273

Quote:

The area code 631 is used in the state of New York in eastern Long Island exclusively for Suffolk County

according to: http://uk.ask.com/beauty/What-Area-Code-Is-631
and others.

Again probably a good reason, dunno.

I'd look their reviews up on ratings sites as listed above, it's so much less confusing and ambiguous. Wink

Good luck,
p.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 05 Aug 2012 Posts: 2

Thank you for the nice welcome and help piecrust, much appreciated

I have searched about these companies online, trying to find any sort of reviews but 3 out of the four websites which I posted don't seem to have any sort of positive or negative comments about them.

The route you have gone down in relation to pointing out that abroadchina.net's number is registered to another company not in the same building and the fact that their fax does not match their claimed address is invaluable information. Those facts along with me not being able to find any sort of reviews makes me feel uncomfortable at the thought of trusting them. I have crossed them off the options.

I did some research into www.nternasia.com and was happy to find lots of reviews (I know they are not even 100% trustworthy), most of them are positive. Hutong seems to be a trusted organisation and the majority of people speak positively about it and with that being the second most reasonable in relation to price, then that is an interesting option.

I don't mean to be a pain pc, but could you do me one last favour and have a quick look at www.cngoldengate.com and let me know what you think. Their services and package that they offer is the most reasonable - slightly cheaper that Hutong School but again I can't seem to find any sort of reviews about them - I can only find there facebook page other than their actual website http://www.facebook.com/ChinaGoldenGate. Please could you have a glance over their contact details like you did for the one above and tell me what you think.

Thanks again mate, really appreciate your help and this forum is a god send with so many scams out there : (.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

@Pep - don't forget www.scamwarners.com as well -- it's our sister site and is sometimes a better place to look for examples of scams.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:43 pm

Sure, no problem.

It's very recent, one year registration - expires in 19 days.

Quote:

canonical name cngoldengate.com.
aliases
addresses 2a01:238:20a:202:1090::144
81.169.145.149

Domain Whois record

Queried whois.internic.net with "dom cngoldengate.com"...

Domain Name: CNGOLDENGATE.COM
Registrar: CRONON AG
Whois Server: whois.cronon.net
Referral URL: http://www.cronon.net
Name Server: DOCKS16.RZONE.DE
Name Server: SHADES02.RZONE.DE
Status: ok
Updated Date: 25-aug-2011
Creation Date: 25-aug-2011
Expiration Date: 25-aug-2012

http://www.cngoldengate.com/page5.html
gives as their email address:
Mail: [email protected] - this has been around a tiny bit longer:

Quote:

Address lookup
canonical name chinagoldengate.com.
aliases
addresses 2a01:238:20a:202:1090::144
81.169.145.150
Domain Whois record

Queried whois.internic.net with "dom chinagoldengate.com"...

Domain Name: CHINAGOLDENGATE.COM
Registrar: CRONON AG
Whois Server: whois.cronon.net
Referral URL: http://www.cronon.net
Name Server: DOCKS16.RZONE.DE
Name Server: SHADES12.RZONE.DE
Status: ok
Updated Date: 17-aug-2011
Creation Date: 15-dec-2008
Expiration Date: 15-dec-2012

http://www.chinagoldengate.com/index.html seems to be an alternate web address also -same site.
The email addresses are the same on both sites, the registrant is masked. * no it's not, see below.

Possibly registered and run/owned by the same company, however the webform at: http://www.cngoldengate.com/page5.html harvests potential customers' emails, and sends them via http://www.serifwebresources.com , don't know where to.

May need baiting to determine if cngoldengate.com is a legitimate site, or a piggyback scam being used by scammers on the back of chinagoldengate.com

Safest to look into chinagoldengate.com as a viable prospect for your internship.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 2:48 pm

Hi, pepinho. Have you asked about any of these outfits in your university placement office? Does your university make available any resources to their graduates seeking the kind of position you are thinking about? Most universities make a pretty good effort to help their graduates find jobs. It makes them look good which, in turn, attracts more students.

Another idea... can your university put you in touch with recent graduates of your program? Those people may have recently gone through the same process you are doing now and might be able to provide a lot of very relevant help and advice.

Best of luck.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:21 pm

Good idea RM. They might help with the Mandarin too, personally I have little clue how Chinese infrastructure works or where are the trusted sources to find out.

ETA.: I trust this: http://www.chinawhy.net/blog/Article.asp?id=28

ETA.: Both sites do have the same registrant, I'm out of practice reading those things:

[quote]Domain: cngoldengate.com
Nameserver: docks16.rzone.de
Nameserver: shades02.rzone.de
Status: OK
Registrant Name: Qingdao Phoenix Island Business Consulting Service Co. Ltd.

[Registrant's detailes redacted by request of the registrant due to reciept of lots of spam. 29/11/12]
/quote]

http://www.list-of-companies.org/Details/11539295/China/Qingdao_Phoenix_Island_Business_Consulting_Service_Co_Ltd_/
This leads straight to an ad for internships with Goldengate. Confused

Co Ltd - that's a company status with specific legal meaning and applies in the uk only. (other countries have eg. Pty LTD for Australia, AG and GmbH in Germany)

- Their claimed location - Germany - does not fit with what they call themselves as a company.

I can find no evidence whatever that Qingdao Phoenix Island Business Consulting Service Co. Ltd. is a legitimate company in Germany.

In the UK companies calling themselves LTD have to be registered at Companies House:

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/5618cffda97f3d9ba6863b15392e9768/wcframe?name=accessCompanyInfo

Qingdao Phoenix Island Business Consulting Service Co. Ltd. - this has no listing.

According to http://whois.domaintools.com/unisew.net the email [redacted, see above] is only associated with 4 domains - two of which we know about - so it's not just a slapdash web design company - it's more than likely associated directly with Goldengate.

ETA.: The other websites are: http://www.unisew.net/
and
http://www.3a-chemicals.com/
- both of which are also based in Huangdao District, Qingdao, China, as are the other two.

Looks to me like the whole thing was put together by someone who doesn't understand how businesses are structured and operated in the western world - they may well all be legit, but I personally would think twice about trusting their competence.

ET. Redact contact details of registrant by request. PM me if required.