Every year between September and November we start collecting data for our annual year-end report from 5,000 random teacher surveys and our email box. Although the final report will not be published until January 15th, 2018, there is one statistic we are proud of and want to share with you. You will at first be puzzled but bear with me... In 2017 we have been able to extrapolate that 43 foreign teachers report getting cheated every day in China, and in 92% of these reported cases, those behind the deceit were their own employers or recruiters!
So why the hell are we proud of these numbers? Well because when we published our first scam victims index in 2010, this daily number was 92 victims. This means we have made considerable progress in reducing a number of scam victims through our online internet PSA and Scam Alert campaigns. This is almost 100% reduction over a seven year period or roughly 12% a year. So we will gladly continue to receive the verbal abuse and bashing we get from all the black job agents as we continue to expose more and more of them every year.
This year most of the swindling comes from five different scams as follows;
42% - Agents and recruiters who skim salaries (as much as 50%)
30% - Unpaid overtime hours not being paid by employers
21% - Identity Theft (via fake or real visa and/or job agents)
05% - Fake tax deductions from dishonest employers
02% - Release letter or contract extortion by employers
Now here's some interesting data. Of those who reported being cheated, 96% of the victims admit they did not do any due diligence (fact checking) on their employers or recruiters. 92% said they just believed what their recruiter or job agent told them. 90% admitted they did not even know the legal teacher requirements for China, nor the visa laws of China and just trusted their recruiters to tell them the truth.
So for us to get this 43 number even lower next year, we are providing these links for every TEFL teacher even thinking about working in China. Read, learn, and you will avoid the 389 know scams that are targeting YOU even as you read these very words;
http://reddit.com/r/chinascamcentral
http://www.chinascambusters.com
http://www.chinaforeignteachersunion.com
http://eslwatch.info/forum/china
https://www.scam.com/showthread.php?704467-UPDATED-China-Liars-List-ESL-...
Thirty minutes of reading these links BEFORE you apply for a job in China can save you weeks of aggravation, legal fees, and losses that average $5,700 for the average victim. At the very least read these two scam warnings and NEVER upload your resume to any job site and here is why: http://chinascamwatch.wordpress.com.
If you decide to use an agent or a recruiter (90% of them are dishonest) you had better read this so you know who you are REALLY talking with: http://opnlttr.com/letter/china-esl-tefl-teacher-school-recruiter-blackl...
We will continue with our survey and publish the complete and final results in our newsletter and online at our website, so stay tuned.
Hopefully, by reading this today, you will not become one of the 47% of all China Foreign Teachers who become a scam victim within their first year in China. Bon Voyage and best wishes in your TEFL career fellow teachers!
