By Wendy Williams
A BRITISH teacher has been left nearly €1000 out of pocket after her dream job in Spain turned out to be a scam.
In a cruel hoax, Yorkshire-born Josephine Ryder, 47, lost the money after applying for a teaching job at the London Academy in Granada.
She was unaware that a job advert she had seen online had been taken by fraudsters masquerading as the language school.
She parted with the money, following a Skype interview and being sent a bogus ‘contract’ for her new job.
In total she transferred £653.08 (€824) via Western Union to cover the cost of her flights and accommodation.
“I was elated, I had seemingly landed myself the ideal job with a small school in Granada,” explained Ryder, a trained English teacher.
“I foolishly went along with all of their requests for money.”
She only smelt a rat when, two days before she was due to fly, they told her there was a problem with accommodation and her flight was put on hold.
Then they stopped replying to her emails and she realised it was a scam.
“It turns out it wasn’t the real London Academy – it was someone who had got hold of their details and advertised the job,” she explained.
Ryder, it turns out, is not the only person to have fallen victim to the scam.
A discussion on English teaching website www.eslcafe.com shows there have been numerous others duped.
Meanwhile the ‘real’ London Academy has come forward to warn people and clear their name.
“It appears that someone has copied all the information from our website and used it to create a bogus contract,” explained a spokesman.
“Several people have called asking when they were due to start working.
“I apologise to anyone caught up in this scam.”
He added: “Under no circumstances send any money or offer your personal banking details.”
The Olive Press was unable to contact the gang via a 958 Granada number, nor ‘Maite Perez’, who had her name on the contract.
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