Good Morning.

Recently I was contacted by an individual from overseas, interested in my business. He said he was acting from a consulting firm, in collaboration with a new title company.

They wanted an “American Contact” for a Marketing Executive position who would acquire client accounts for them. It sounded innocent at first, I would rather have business partners and clients than enemies so I figured maybe this would be legit but then they started hassling me: have you landed any accounts yet for us?

Slow down. They had not sent me any W9 paperwork or 1099 paperwork, HR information, salary/commission information, nothing. I had not even agreed, I said I would be interested but would require information.

Then the phone calls and texts began. It was here I realized some very “shady” and possibly illegal activity on their part. They claimed they knew my clients were, and they knew my pricing information. Then, while not necessarily illegal, the dynamic changed: instead of me being the American liaison for them, they wanted me to start a COMPANY for them and run their satellite office, when in fact I had never heard of these guys before. Again: no offer letter, no commission/salary information, etc.

That is when I laid down the law. See, I may be a Title Abstractor but I am THE CEO OF A CORPORATE BUSINESS FIRST. The business grows, and then the title searches come. That is how it works. Does anyone watch the show SUITS? I can imagine Harvey Specter saying “I do not get clients for other people, I get clients for me”. Even if it was by the books, my entire life’s work was at stake and I told them my terms. If they wanted me to conduct any work for them, via as a contractor, employee, or executive, they were going to have to pay me BIG TIME (to which they backed off). I say this because, the rest of you should feel the same way, hence why I am warning you. I even had a friend who fell under the ruse of “foreign investors from (Name of Country)” and I warned him not to do it, only to have him get stiffed.

So then I see a post from what sounds like them. They have the same M.O. and everything: “wanting to start a title abstracting services with an Onshore Partner“

It is your business. It is YOUR life’s work. Sure, you may be a title searcher, who has acted alone and worked for 15 years, but why sell yourself short and let someone try and take that from you? Be smart. If they want to do business with you, they should pay you for it.

You have been warned. Stay diligent, and keep searching!

P.S. If anyone doubts my story I have plenty of emails and screen shots. By principal I do not bash other companies or people by name  on open social media as it is unprofessional...