Beware all!!!
I and a few colleagues of mine have been approached by a company calling themself Aplha Aviation Ltd. claiming to offer a GIV-SP position in Rio de Janeiro. To get a firm job offer I must complete an asessment in a B737 simulator somewhere in Europe but prior to these arangments being made I must deposit US$7150 (what they claim is 50% of the cost for a GIV-SP type rating) into an escrow account. I tried to tell them that I could not do that but that I would be happy to present them with a bank letter stating that the funds where available. This would not work for them!?!?!?
Shortly after I received the e-mail that I have pasted below.
They offer US$6800/month + what the call an "expat bonus" of US$2500/month. On top of this you get free housing and medical insurance. If it talks like a duck and if it walks like a duck then guess what!? It probably is a duck! In other words...to good to be true!
The below quoted text is cut and paste from an e-mail I received.
"I have been contacted by one of our members regarding the above Company. Please alert all relevant organisation to advise their members who may have just qualified for Commercial Pilot status/Flying Instructors/low level experience, in particular, (and possibly others), that they should be careful not to part with any money for training as these Companies are not known and they have seemingly de-frauded several newly qualified Commercial Pilots in Europe of thousands of pounds. The details given by
our member are as follows:
Contact by a company calling themselves Intair, to the Flying School where he worked as an Instructor (PPL level), asking if any Instructors wished to apply for a First Officer position in this Company to operate a Learjet 60 (which is Cayman Island registered), out of Helsinki for a two year period. Other details were given by fax regarding remuneration etc., (salary US$4,000 per month, free of tax, loss of licence and other insurances and accommodation for Pilot and family). Accompanying the
faxed letter offering the position to the Candidate was an escrow
document for the individual to put forward money - about £6,000 up-front - as part payment for the Learjet course, which would be refundable in the event that the B737 EFIS simulator assessment (prior to confirmation of employment) was not satisfactory - this money to be held in escrow by a Spanish Lawyer (a company called Alpair, was mentioned in the Escrow document as the Training provider in Finland).
Flight Ticket from UK to Helsinki was paid for, through a Travel Agency, by Intair. The names of the people involved are R (or S) BERZ, allegedly the Exec. VP, and Georgios Constadinos.
Fax number prove to come from Spain (possibly Ibiza) and mobile phone numbers thought to be Spain too. Address on the fax was given as: Intair Aircraft Limited, King Olav V 1, VIKA, Oslo-Norway.
The flights were indeed paid for, but before the money reached the Travel Agency's account it was stopped. The member by this time was in Helsinki. The aircraft registration given to our member was VP-BTM: However Cayman Island registrations are VP-C followed by two letters and VP-CB happens to be Bermuda - so the registration was not confirmed by the CAACayman Islands.
The UK fraud squad is being informed, and our member informs me also the Finish and French equivalents has also been notified, having discussed this with some people in Finnair.
Please notify members of IFALPA so that they can alert their members.
Regards,"
So again. Everyone beware of these people taking advantage of us poor pilots!!! I only have one question: WHY???
Will