Complaint Review: RichFox Media

RichFox Media has been implementing a fraudulent job hiring scheme, soliciting honest job seekers to sign up for website trials and input their credit card information - as a condition of being hired.

There have been several other scam alerts posted on various websites, and this is my personal account. I applied to their internship program via Craigslist yesterday and received the following email this morning, cut & pasted verbatim:

" You have applied for an internship at RichFox Media. This is a paid internship at $20 an hour and will involve training (please see below for full description).  If you are interested, then please complete this application by Thursday, December 16^th 11:59 pm EST.  You have more chances of getting this internship the sooner you fill out this application.

If you have any questions, then please fill out the application to the best of your ability. Once you are done filling out the application, please e-mail it back to us. 

About The Internship

RichFox Media is looking to hire a couple of interns by second week of December. Interns can work on their own schedule from home, but are required to complete 15-20 hours of work per week. Interns will be compensated $20 per hour for the work that they perform. As an intern, you will be trained to perform web development and online marketing tasks, and will be required to use that knowledge to create and market websites for clients. The day to day tasks will be assigned to you by your Project Manager and will vary significantly based on a client that you are working with. We are going to have 8 interactive tutorials online that will teach you how to work with Joomla, WordPress, HTML/CSS, Flash and other platforms to develop websites. We are a startup in a stealth mode, so we are trying to avoid releasing much information. You can learn more about us from our website. We are working in partnership with a major advertising agency and have access to their offices.

RichFox Media Internship Application

Estimated Completion Time: 30 minutes

1.      Full Name:

2.      Cell Phone:

3.      E-Mail:

4.      Graduation Year:

5.      Are you an American Citizen or a Permanent Resident?

6.      Where are you from? (Country, State, etc.): 

7.      In 50 words or less, tell us a little about yourself (hobbies, interests, quirks, etc.): 

8.      Why are you interested in Marketing?

9.      What do you hope to accomplish with your internship at our company? (50 words or less): 

10.  What do you believe are your biggest strengths and why?

11.  What other Marketing internships are you considering?

Prior to the beginning of the internship, we want you to get acquainted with software that you are going to use during the program. This step in the process also helps us evaluate candidates that are serious about this position. Below you will find software that we want you to get familiar with:

12.  Intuit Website Builder. This is one of the ways that we are going to teach you how to develop websites for small businesses. Use this link to sign up for Intuit Website Builder account (Its very important to use this link, so that we can track you). The sign up is for a free 30 day trial, so do not worry, you will not be charged anything. If you are not accepted in to the program, you may cancel your subscription prior to the expiration of the free trial.  

Please list your login here:

13.  MyVoice. You will need to have a separate business phone number as you will be working with clients and team members over the phone. Use this link to sign up for MyVoice account (Its very important to use this link, so that we can track you). Sign up for a local phone number and use 30-day free trial plan, so that you will not get charged anything. Again if you are not accepted into the program, you may cancel prior to the end of the free tril. 

Please list your phone number here: 

14.  eFax. You will need to have a fax number in order to have the ability to receive fax over e-mail. Our company and clients will use this fax number to send you important documents (i.e. contracts). Use this link to sign up for eFax (Its very important to use this link, so that we can track you). The sign up is for a free 30 day trial.

Please list your fax number here: 

15.  Please add any additional comments here:

Please allow 2-3 days for our team to review your application. If we will have any additional questions, then our HR manager will conduct a phone interview with you."

Most Sincerely,

Lauren Crawford

Human Resources Manager

RichFox Media

(866) 950-2578

Twitter: @RichfoxMedia

Note that I called the number provided, and repeatedly got a busy tone - which clearly shows this is a FAKE number. Its also my belief that the names given in their emails and self-posted press releases are also FAKE.

I have done exhaustive research, and have not heard or read any true accounts of interns that have gone through this alleged "internship program". There are only a couple of postings from alleged hires, stating how excited they are to begin the internship - but again, NOBODY has accounts of finishing the program, or general details of what the work is like. 

The company seems to have been posting these internship positions for approximately one year, continuously claiming they are in "stealth mode" and cannot divulge further information - but I have never heard of other startups using this technique. Further, their website is repeatedly down - which raises additional red flags.

All internet job-seekers should proceed with EXTREME CAUTION, when dealing with RichFox Media, and others that use questionable & deceptive tactics!!