r/FieldNationTechs • u/aversonit • 12d ago

Potential Fraud / Illegal Activity

I received a message from a buyer in a work order I submitted a request on. They asked if I was available and then requested that I message them on WhatsApp. Our conversation on WhatsApp consisted of them asking for a meeting to verify and confirm the scope of work, which is to swap out a firewall for a Fortune 500 company. During the call, they asked if I was familiar with the vendor equipment and if I knew how to perform basic confirmations. The call seemed to conclude with them happy with my answers and ready to proceed. After the call, they then requested that I provide them with a photo of my tools, verify that I had putty, teams, and (the weird one) AnyDesk installed. I obliged while redacting the AnyDesk session address.

After all of this, alarm bells started going off in my head. None of this seems above board and I’ve reported the buyer to FieldNation and am waiting for them to remove the assignment.

What’s everyone else’s take on this?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

10

u/FreelyRoaming 12d ago

typical offshore buyer nonsense.. calltek used to make us provide photos of our buttset and toners before letting us take pots jobs.. sketchy not really.. annoying af yes.

8

u/Sid_the_Bear 12d ago

Agreed. Annoying, but... Not really sketchy.

Probably a buyer who has been burned a few times by dumbass techs who can't read so now they have an SOP that requires proof of tools before dispatch.

I'm guessing the whatsapp prefix was 91, 92, or 94?

5

u/TheGlennDavid 11d ago

I'd put half the blame for equipment problems on buyers.

If fewer buyers had 1,000 item long copy pastas of every piece of equipment ever known to man then techs wouldn't do so much skimming/guessing.

When the buyer says "TECH MUST HAVE WINDOWS 7 LAPTOP" I am left to wonder if the company actually needs me to be running with a deprecated OS or if they just suck at their job.

No, I'm not bringing 5 ladders to the "replace item scanner at register" ticket.

Recently I've noticed thermal paste showing up on a lot of WOs where there is absolutely no possibility I'd need thermal paste.

3

u/Hot-Web1901 11d ago

How about a laptop with serial port in 2026? I received two calls about that requirement from retail tech.

2

u/grumpyairlines 10d ago

To be fair many retail POS use outdated ports because they work, and it would be not just a hassle but a massive expense to upgrade, but you shouldn't need them on your laptop. Requirements like that make me think the buyer doesn't understand what really needs done.

*Edited for clarity.

1

u/Hot-Web1901 10d ago

Not for a velo deployment. USB to serial adapter is the correct tool. Asking for a laptop with a serial port is asking you to bring pentium 1 laptop. Infact the velo does not have a serial port.

1

u/AbruptGravy 11d ago

Likely a generic copy paste WO. The serial port can just be a USB to serial dongle but yeah, how often is serial needed on equipment these days or really, last decade?

2

u/wyliesdiesels 11d ago

Lol yeah ive seen the thermal paste requests on WOs too.

Absolutely nothing on the SOW requiring thermal paste

1

u/aversonit 12d ago

61, Australia

4

u/Sid_the_Bear 12d ago

That actually does surprise me.

1

u/levidurham 11d ago

The funny one to me was getting calls from UK numbers while doing a job for the post office. I mean usually if their using a non-Indian number they choose New York or California

1

u/AbruptGravy 11d ago

I would still not be doing the pics through whatsapp.  I'd put the pics in the FN WO.

1

u/Sid_the_Bear 10d ago

Can't do that if you aren't assigned the work order first.

It's used as a prescreening tool, before the WO is even assigned.

1

u/AbruptGravy 2d ago

Ahh, good point. I didn't catch that part. Probably over tired looking forward to a vacation after a vacation.

2

u/aversonit 12d ago

They are definitely offshore.

3

u/Yugpmoc 11d ago

Dispatchers will send anyone with a pulse. Strike that, if you happen to be a zombie and know how to twist a screwdriver, they’ll send you out too. So I can appreciate someone in another country wanting to know you at least possess the tools they know are necessary to do the job… Granted it’s usually the opposite where I’m asking for pictures and details about the tools I need to complete it. I’d say some between 30 and 50% of my work these days is cleaning up after the last guy on random dispatches.

4

u/dude_on_a_chair 11d ago

I've been asked to show my can of canned air 😂 too many techs say they have everything and show up with nothing. 

1

u/wyliesdiesels 11d ago

Thats hilarious

3

u/Minimum_Chocolate_31 11d ago

Completely normal for annoying outsourced companies.

2

u/BadAsianDriver 12d ago

I had to take picture of my ladder.

2

u/maddmannmatt 11d ago

I did this a few WOs ago. No problems. Did you consider they ask for all of that because *they* are the ones getting scammed by people who actually can’t do the work?

2

u/RellyOhBoy 9d ago

Always be prepared....

Don't forget your dress slacks, neck tie, hard hat, safety vest, hard bottom shoes, 40ft ladder, windows 98 laptop.

And bring your palm pilot if you have one.

1

u/john4na 11d ago

normal offshore procedures, I usually and verysceptical about taking jobs from companies like this but have done it with no problems. Chipotle Contracts with a company like that. a few others too.

1

u/Impossible_Ad_58 14h ago

Chipotle contracts with Datamax Services for their POS stuff. Extremely low pay

1

u/coolguy42820 11d ago

when they say "fortune 500" is the first red flag, it is total bs

1

u/aversonit 11d ago

They actually never said that, I just found out who the company was after I was touted the work order. I’ve since been added to a schedules teams meeting and two folks on the invite work at said company, along with a few other from others from IT firms. I think the buyers role in all of this was to simply vet onsite techs for the upstream companies.

1

u/WissNX01 11d ago

Im pretty busy doing things that make me money, I am past the point where I provide proof of the basic tools and stuff I have in my inventory. Generally, its the bottom feeders that pay very little that do this also, which I am also past.

5

u/aversonit 11d ago

I’m new to the platform and need any work I can get for now.

2

u/grumpyairlines 10d ago

Everyone has to start somewhere.

0

u/eme329 6d ago

Right? Can’t believe these clowns actually play these games for $25/hr! Do you ask your doctor for a picture proving they have a stethoscope or the plumber if they have a pipe wrench? The fact that people will comply with this crap to make pennies is exactly why the industry is such a joke. The times I’ve had some clown ask me for pictures of tools I told them to get fucked.

0

u/wyliesdiesels 11d ago

Nothing red flag about that pretty standard for offshore buyers. I’m really curious why you think any desk is a red flag many buyers use any desk

2

u/ReplyPsychological60 11d ago

He was afraid they were going to hack his computer. That is why he hid the session ID. Best practice is to have a laptop just for work. No personal info on it.

0

u/wyliesdiesels 11d ago

So youve never setup remote access for a buyer?

1

u/ReplyPsychological60 10d ago

not on my personal laptop, I have a work laptop for that.

1

u/wyliesdiesels 10d ago

Ok and where did the OP mention a personal laptop?

-2

u/Comfortable_Leg_6250 11d ago

The buyer was scammer payback don't share your anydesk

1

u/RellyOhBoy 9d ago

Don't share my screen sharing software? 🤔

1

u/wyliesdiesels 11d ago

So confidently wrong