[fake] Warning about China internship scam...

[Jing Xi]

Just found out this company is using online ads to lure bi-lingual foreigners to pay $3,700 to work for free for 90 days with big name Chinese companies like Huawei, Lenovo, etc. The pay-off is supposed to be a great paying job, that nobody seems to get. My ex flatmate sent me this link.  http://scam-detector.com/forums/forum/employment-scams/366-gi2c-org-and-other-china-internship-scams-exposed-by-former-u-k-employee  and I also found this as well: http://eslwatch.info/forum/china/115-fraud-warning-gi2c-i-to-i-and-other-scammy-china-job-internship-schemes-beware.html  The second link mentions another UK company that is using the same scheme looking for "bi-lingual teacher interns" in China. Beware.

[roddy]

Jesus, you again? Lets see how long it is before chinascampatrol gets a mention.... oh there it is right on the page you link to...

 

If anyone wants to take the time to look into this, I bet you'll find a sudden recent surge of 'scam' reports on one company, posted and backed up by multiple accounts, all of which end up pointing in the same direction. Zero credibility. See also.(very confusing topic, good luck!)

 

For reference I know nothing about gi2c. But I'm pretty sure you could read both those links and still know nothing about gi2c. 

[Gi2C Group]

Public letter from Gi2C Group

 

Dear friends and Gi2C alumni,

 

Over the past few weeks, we have fallen victim to a malicious Internet smear campaign started by one of our competitors to discredit the legitimacy of Gi2C Group.  In China, the practice of tarnishing your competitor’s reputation by unsavory means is, unfortunately, quite common and typically referred to as “black PR”. Black PR involves frequently posting erroneous and defamatory information against a company in order to hurt their business.  In our opinion, it is a form of  cyberterrorism.

 

Long articles and fake reviews from the same users, claiming to have been former Gi2C clients who have been cheated by us, have suddenly started to appear daily on different websites that focus on traveling, studying or working overseas. One of the sites, the forum owner has stated that he has received more than 100 spam emails from the same IP address about this. These defamers are saying that we are a scam or fraud and are using our name, logo and business information to fabricate stories that are exactly that – stories.  Complete fiction.

 

After completing a thorough investigation by our team, we wanted to bring this to your attention as soon as possible in order to protect our employees as well as past and future alumni. The slandering company who is attacking us doesn’t care about the personal damage they are doing as they post insulting, untrue information that includes personal information about our team members.  The dishonorable tactics engaged by our competitor demonstrates that cyberbullying exists everywhere, even at the corporate level.

 

We don’t take this attack on our reputation lightly and hope that you will be able to differentiate fact from fiction. Take a look at our history. We have a track record that spans over six years and have successfully placed thousands of foreign interns, 2951 to be exact, in companies who are operating in Beijing and Shanghai. Our blog, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, contain years worth of factual intern reviews and useful China information. We have also been mentioned in the media numerous times over the years. Gi2C Group is official member of British Chamber of Commerce in China and China-Britain Business Council. In sum, we are a legitimate business working hard to serve our customers.

 

Our lawyers are in the process of bringing a civil lawsuit for defamation against the culprits who are behind this, but, as we all know, the legal process takes time and we need your immediate help to stop malicious links from spreading.  This isn’t just an attack against Gi2C Group. This is an attack against any ethical business that believes in fair competition. It is also an attack against those who believe the Internet should be a place free of hate and misinformation.

 

What can be done to stop being manipulated by fake information on the web? We encourage you to do your research and talk to real people before accepting something as truth. When deciding whether to intern or work in China, we welcome you to talk not only us but also to our competitors and decide for yourself which company is best for you. Do your own investigation of the truth and if you have any questions, please give us a call, send us an email or stop by our offices in Shanghai or Beijing. 

 

As with any business, we have had many proud moments, but are by no means perfect. We are humans and we are working with humans which means from time to time, misunderstandings occur. Especially in our business as there are always multiple cultures involved! However, our mission is continually improve, fix mistakes or problems as they arise, provide the best possible internship experience in China and ensure our clients are satisfied with the service we provide.

 

We greatly appreciate your continued support now and in the future. Several of our loyal alumni were the first to contact us that this problem existed. Thank you for your concern and dedication to righting a wrong.  Our message to everyone is simply this: if you see something on the Internet alleging some problem with Gi2C, please ask us about it! We have nothing to hide and encourage open and honest dialogue. 

 

Yours truly,

 

 

The Gi2C Team

[Angelina]

I admit I fell for the scam post, I still have a few questions.

 

1. Do you charge any money?

 

If you do:

 

2. Do you promise applicants that they will be placed in an internship program once you receive payment? What happens if no company is willing to take them? Can they get a refund? 

 

3. Do you promise applicants that after the internship is over they will be employed full-time?

 

4. Do you promise applicants that if they do well in their internship they will be considered for employment? 

 

 

 

Also, are unpaid internships (defined as: intern does not receive any form of payment) legal in China? 

[Tianjin42]

Okay - I have had dealings with Gi2C through my own business. I don't know a great deal about them and they might even be considered a competitor in some respects but they always seemed legitimate to my staff and I. 

[Tianjin42]

"my ex-flatmate sent me this link"

 

Not typically a good sign when ostensibly posting a non-partisan warning on a chat forum. 

[Lu]

Roddy, in light of that indeed very confusing topic over at The Beijinger, can you confirm that poster Gi2C Group above is indeed someone of Gi2C? It's rather entertaining to guess which of the posters over there is not who they say they are (which is pretty much all of them), but now I'm also doubting the public letter posted here. (It looks legit, but you never know.)

[Gi2C Group]

Angelina, thank you for the questions, we wish everyone who became suspicious within this situation does the same as you did: just ask us. 

 

1. Do you charge any money?

Yes, we do charge fee for our services. 

 

If you do:

 

2. Do you promise applicants that they will be placed in an internship program once you receive payment? What happens if no company is willing to take them? Can they get a refund? 

For all our internship programs we require a processing fee (refundable) to be paid in advance to officially subscribe for your chosen program option. This fee is required by candidates before Gi2C starts working on guaranteed offers within applicants’ selected industry either in Beijing or Shanghai. The processing fee will be refunded in case we are unable to find an internship placement within 30 business days prior to intern's departure date or within 45 days of finalizing intern's subscription (whichever is later). We always warn our candidates that the reality of this business is that some people however rare the situation is, cannot be placed. 

 

3. Do you promise applicants that after the internship is over they will be employed full-time?  and 4. Do you promise applicants that if they do well in their internship they will be considered for employment? 

No, we do not promise anything like this even if we mention this possibility, it depends of: 1) the company: 2) intern's skills/ performance. We always warn our interns that internship doesn't guarantee job offer from the company. 

 

Also, are unpaid internships (defined as: intern does not receive any form of payment) legal in China? 

The thing is that in China under the law foreigner residents can apply for unpaid internships only. In other words unpaid and only unpaid internships in China are legal for foreigners, and any form of payment during internship is nothing but scholarship or donate from the company. 

 

Yours truly,

The Gi2C Team

[Gi2C Group]

Lu,

the origin version of this public letter you can see at our official website http://www.gi2c.org/public-letter-from-gi2c-group.html 

All official accounts of our company representatives come with @gi2c.org emails. It's easy to check. 

 

Thank you for your consideration.

[roddy]

The above poster has registered with a gi2c.org email address. 

 

@Tianjin42: See also "I just got a Red Alert from ChinaScamPatrol" and the classic "I just happened to find this post, made 20 minutes ago, on an obscure scam warnings site, so I registered here, 10 minutes ago, to tell you about it." 

 

Edit: Removed company's name from topic title, seemed a reasonable request. 

 

Edit edit: I'm just deleting new posts in here now, anyone who wants to follow the saga can head over to thebeijinger's forum, where they're having loads of fun.