SUSPICIOUS MINDS

There have been attempts, I believe, to draw my poor lil' husband into something deeply, deeply sketchy. Last night we were at the grocery store when this guy (accompanied by his wife) approached us and asked Geoffrey about something he was buying. From there, the conversation drifts to where are you from, how long have you been here, what do you do. That last issue, apparently, is the pounce point, at which the guy asks us (but really he was asking Geoffrey, I could just tell) if we were looking for opportunities for "secondary income." He tells us a lot of things, yet nothing ... at ALL ... about what work would have to be done in exchange for the magical secondary income. Sketch-chee. The rub, see, is that this is the THIRD time this has happened to us. Always the person approaching us is a man, though they've been of different races, ages, etc. Always it has been seemingly random, in some retail store. Always it has been when I've been with Geoffrey, but never have they seemed to express much interest in me (maybe because me being a journalist scares them? Or maybe because they then know right off I can't do math ...). Most interestingly, these people always have been former Marines, though in this area I'm willing to accept it could be an unrelated coincidence. Anyway, so this happens again last night. Geoffrey, recognizing the pattern, decides to ask the dude for his card in an attempt to get to the bottom of all this. Hey, whaddya know? He's fresh out of cards. But he jots down a number on a scrap of paper, and we go our separate ways.

At this point, Geoffrey and I were curious to the point of delirium -- so curious, in fact, that we could hardly eat our dinner. And you KNOW it takes a lot to distract we two tubbies from food. We remembered that the guy had said he was in town for a conference at one of the hotels near us. So naturally, as any normal people would do, we decided to become amateur super-ninja-spies and infiltrate. We cased the joint for a few seconds, noting the piped-in sound from a hotel ballroom of a "motivational speaker" talking over a soundtrack of Van Halen (NOT Def Leppard)'s "Right Now." Yep. We decided to move in closer, but were detected, despite our ninja stealth, by a conference leader (I'm guessing) who happened to be sitting outside the door. He asked us if he could help us, and we maintained our ninja-infiltrator cool. I made up a big whopping lie about looking for some friend (it was waaaaay smoother than Geoffrey's Web site makes it sound) and managed to extract a key piece of information. The name of the entity having the conference, which was for "indepedent business owners," was T & E International. Mission accomplished.

Now, just then would have been a fine time to make a link to this T & E International, but, wouldn'tcha know it? They have no Internet imprint whatsoever, at least that I can find. Hmmm. The plot thickens. We pledge to keep up the investigation, however. I've started by asking everyone I can think of whether they've ever encountered these folks or heard of this thing. So far, nothing. I'm sure it's some sort of pyramid scheme, but how does it work? And why do they do their approach the way they do? And why does Geoffrey fit whatever profile they seem to have?

Whatever it is, I'm SURE it's sketchy. I'll keep you posted. And meanwhile, if you have any leads, please contact your nearest ninja to transmit the message.

Comments

[larry]

I guarantee you it's Amway. They've changed their name, but it's still Amway. They've got this new gig where each person gets their "own company", which creates LOTS of crazy names all over the place. This T & E thing is probably just the made-up name of the "company" that the main speaker guy runs. It's probably from his and his wife's names -- "Thornton and Edwina, International". Y'all should be "SG Imports, Unlimited."

Oh and the ex-marine thing completely fits the profile. For some reason they love that stuff, as did a lot of the firefighters I used to hang with.

Me - "No, I *don't* want to get into Amway, thanks..."
HIm- "It's *not* Amway, it's my company -- [insert stupid name here]."
Mw - "Dude, it's still Amway!"

[Will]

So, yeah, I think it might be Amway. My friend Dave was hit up with just such a proposition. Don't know why they think Geoff would want to join. Maybe they think he'd eat enough of the products so they'd make money, even if he didn't sell anything. If it isn't Amway, it may be an evil international coorporation that clones babies and eats them. Yes. You heard me. Eats them. Oh the humanity!

[Roberta]

Hi, I was approached my friend who a few weeks ago was approached. I went to the meetings and it seemed promising. Then when I got to my job today, I told my co-worker about it and it seemed like it was Amway. I had heard of Amway through my mother, but only to a small degree. So it's not worth it?

[BH]

I have an actual business card from T&E from an African man that approached my wife at her desk job, was very nice and after some general chit-chat asked about me. Upon hearing what I do, he gave her his card and said I MUST call him. First thing I did was try to google them (no url on the card) and found this 'blog. My card says "Internet Commerce and Leadership Development in Association with the Barnhart Group". The man's name is in the middle, with the title Management Team. They're at 1329 C St. NE Washington, DC. {is this a DC blog?...)

Anyway, hopefully you all won't get superrich with all the nuggets i've divested ;-)

[T]

I was also approached outside a retail store by a very attractive, young, friendly couple. They seemed completely normal to me, except that they had a little too much in common with me, and they were a little too quick to offer me a job. I, too, couldn't understand what exactly their company did, but I was curious just the same. My skeptical husband and parents cautioned me and told me to be sure to research the business card they gave me. Their card says they are independent "business consultants" from T & E International. Anyway, I'm glad I listened to my husband and parents. Thanks for posting this on your blog. This is a definite scam.

[Tash]

Wow, I cannot believe that so many of you have had similar experiences as I did. A woman, very bubbly and friendly, initiated a conversation with me outside of a retail store. She began the conversation asking about possible daycare opportunities in the area for her sister, but wouldn't you have it--she never mentioned any more about the daycare. The only thing she is interested in talking about is this business opportunity with "independent business owners". I have asked so many questions and have received no answers. I have never been offered a job opportunity where they encourage you to bring your spouse to the "interview"(Go figure). And how many interviews are held in a hotel conference room? I will stick to the old adage, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is." I am glad my husband's skeptism, brought out my own even more and I won't end up wasting my time, with such a deceptive enterprise. If this opportunity is so genuine and legit, then why not be open and honest about it in the first place? Beware of T&E International or any other business offer that seems to good to be true and does not require specific requirements, resume or application.

[lisa]

I was contacted by a friend no information provided just wants to meet on Saturday. I think this is a pyramid scheme as well. I have heard of Amway my Father participated it was a joke. Why do people think the get rich quick schemes realy work?????

[Nate]

Wow, I had the same thing happen and this is the first place i found to actually shed some light on it. Thank you for sharing your experiences. An Indian guy approached my wife and i in a retail store and seemed way to friendly and curious about us. He gave me his business card at the end (did not mention anything much about what he does) and asked for my phone, i assumed he was just a nice guy interested in area friends, and felt BAD back in the car telling my wife how it sucks that our natural inclination with friendly people is to be suspicious... how ironic now. anyway, his card says

T & E International
The TEAM Approach To Business
[NAME]
Leadership Team

Office: 1-866-390-8850
Mobile: [xxx]
Email: [xxx]
Web: te-international.com

He just called and was SO vague about it and wanted to meet me to discuss. I tried three times to get him to tell me what it is his company does. he was very vague and said he "eliminates the middle man in manufacturing". after 2 minutes of VERY vague talk, i told him that his descriptions were too vague and that this could be anything under the sun and that if he could not give me direct information that we were not compatible for a business partnership. he said it sounds like we are not and that was it. i came online with my wife to search everything and found almost nothing till this site, then my wife found him on a social networking site, thankfully looks like nothing odd. it just bugs me were so forthcoming to him in our first conversation telling him where we are from. this day in age i HATE how careful we tend to feel the need to be and then wham, someone is out make a buck off you... ah anyway, thanks for listening, and keep us posted if YOU find out anything more.

[Nate]

WOW... look at this:

http://members.cox.net/te-international/homete.html

and their supposedly PW protected portion: http://members.cox.net/te-international/intranet/news.html

(dont worry, you're not hacking, the link is public, they just dont publically provide a direct link to it on their website... anyone who is not a partner would use the intranet page to enter the PW and go there)

found the script the guy read to me almost WORD-FOR-WORD!!! pasted below:

PHONE TEAM QI - SCRIPT
(Oct 7, 1999)
Combination / Intro
Hi ___(candidate)____, this is _________( you may not remember me by name ...). How are
you doing? Listen, let me tell you why I am calling. I'm sitting here with a good friend of
mine, he's a very successful business owner. We were kicking around some business ideas,
and he asked me who I knew that was sharp and upward thinking. I thought of you. Hang
on, I'd like for you to speak with him. His name is Mr.(First & Last)
Power Upline
Hi ___(candidate )___. Listen, this is just a shot in the dark, but let me tell you why we
called. I'm part of a well established team of independent business owners, which makes
up a large E-Commerce Firm called T&E International. The whole firm is rapidly growing
and we are looking for a few key people to expand our Management Team. I asked
___________ who he knew who was sharp and upward thinking and he spoke pretty
highly of you so I didn't think it would hurt to give you a call.
Let me ask you a question __(candidate)__, are you the kind of person that's open minded
about Internet business ideas and developing a strong professional level secondary income,
in addition to what you're making now, or are you totally satisfied with your present financial
situation?
Okay, let me tell you what we're doing. Over the next 2-3 weeks, I'm planning to interview
15-18 people, and out of that I'm looking to hand select the right 2 individuals to bring on
board as part of our business team. Someone sharp who would fit into a leadership role in
the Firm. Now __(candidate )__, we don't really know each other at this point so I can't
promise you anything, but what I would be willing to do, is to sit down with you for 15-20
minutes and give you an overview of what T&E International is all about and more
importantly to see if we feel comfortable working together. Does that sound okay? (Does
that make sense?). What area are you located in? What would work perfect for my
schedule is __(day / time) __. Can you rearrange your calendar and get free on __(day)__?
Actually I 'm planning to be in that general area anyhow. Instead of trying to meet
somewhere, what would probably work out the easiest, is just to meet you at your place.
How about giving me directions...

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if you hear this... RUN!!!! actually, it's all just rather comical now, though an hour ago i felt a bit intruded. anyway, all that for what it's worth, so im sure, at some point they'll find this and change the link. :-)

[Bill Snively]

Nope, they have not yet changed the link. That is hysterical! T&E International is a scam and yes they are affiliated with Amway/Quixtar. The founders are Tom & Estelle Joachim, just go to www.amquix.info.