Hey Poppy, so sorry this happened to you I know it must feel awful. Sadly it is a common scam in China but I do agree, there are scammers in every country and it isn’t a reflection of China or the people here. You have a really positive attitude and it’s shown in your reflection here! Hopefully by sharing your video others will know what to look for and will be able to avoid it happening to them. Thank you for telling your story!
Thanks for your support! It means a lot! I was very nervous about posting this video and I still am scared haha but I think it will help people to learn from my experiences!
Never work on a Tourist Visa, no matter which country. With a Tourist Visa YOU are a Tourist.Period. NB: Have been an Expat for more than 30 years, also in COMECON countries.
The internet expose us to scammers and you have to be some type of guru to prevent every scam that comes your way. I have had my fair share as well as people I know personally. My brother explained to me that these scummers mostly leave a trail but it takes an expert to figure it out. His friend is an ex-blackhat hacker turned Ethical hacker and for that reason he has successfully traced some scammers, some of them not from Nigeria. My point is that if you have been scammed before you can talk to BinaryReap3r who is an expert hacker that can help you trace a scammer or recover stolen digital asset like cryptocurrency, binary options etc. If you have been a victim of a scammer and you want recovery, Just talk to BinaryReap3r @ Gmail com
The internet expose us to scammers and you have to be some type of guru to prevent every scam that comes your way. I have had my fair share as well as people I know personally. My brother explained to me that these scummers mostly leave a trail but it takes an expert to figure it out. His friend is an ex-blackhat hacker turned Ethical hacker and for that reason he has successfully traced some scammers, some of them not from Nigeria. My point is that if you have been scammed before you can talk to BinaryReap3r who is an expert hacker that can help you trace a scammer or recover stolen digital asset like cryptocurrency, binary options etc. For fast and effective solutions or remedy after you have been scammed then you can Just talk to BinaryReap3r @ Gmail com
Simple answer - never work on a tourist visa (in ANY country), but especially China. It’s the foreigner who will be blamed for flouting Chinese law. They have no obligation to pay you, when you shouldn’t be ‘working’ in the first place
@@alpadrino3405 The clues in the name, 'tourist visas' are for tourism only! For work you need a 'Z work visa' and to pay taxes on your salary - only fair to China! If you were caught working on a tourist visa in Poppy's home country the USA, you'd be deported and barred from returning. I think Poppy was handed some awful advice when she was told to look for a job on the ground, I'd have hoped that as a respectable, seasoned traveller she would have known better than to break well-known, basic visa regulations :(
al padrino No, the scammers told them they are taking care of the paperwork. Poppy and her boyfriend gave them all the required details including passports but the scammers lied saying it takes time. So Poppy and her boyfriend were gullible and naive as most regular Americans are, to be honest. As an Australian they could not have fool me, in all honesty, first because I'm older, second because they teach basic laws here in school but of course lots of people skip classes in Australia too...😏 😃
Ayla Exactly! I researched a lot and you never work on a tourist visa and make sure to have all of your paperwork and everything all done before hopping on that plane to come to work in any country. Yes you need a Z visa which is the working visa. Tourist visas should only be for vacationing.
They addressed so many issues lots of people had with the scammers and that makes me extremely happy to know that *Leapnotch* is really listening to their community like they did so many years ago
Not working on a tourist visa is probably the strongest lesson to learn from your experience, I have had to help so many expats in your exact position in the past. They either convince themselves or get duped into thinking that it's okay to work on a tourist visa (sometimes the schools take their passports and pretend to be processing a work visa), and then when they don't get paid or if there's any sort of issue, there's no recourse because the person working on a tourist visa is breaking the law and has no leg to stand on, you can't go to the police and say "I have been working illegally and breaking the law, but my boss didn't pay me"... You paid some school fees on this one, it sucks but I hope others who see your video will be deterred from making the same mistake, working illegally in China is not okay, especially now that things have gotten more regulated
100% agree and that’s why I hope people do watch this video and learn from my mistakes because I’m not the only one to make them. In fact, after posting this video I’ve received many messages from people who have fallen into the same trap or said it took over 6 months to receive their visa, hence working illegally until then but thought that was the process. Let this be a lesson to all!
Poppy, I’m so sorry to hear you had to put up with this. You have such a great, positive personality that shines through your videos - I hope you’ll be able to put this behind you. Hopefully most of humanity won’t let you down.
Thanks John! I have put this behind me and that’s why I’ve finally gathered the courage to share this story. It still hard though, but what does kill you makes you stronger right?
This video is a good warning about the 'highlight reel' nature of UA-cam vlogging channels. Back at the time she was getting scammed and they were going broke, there's nothing but lovely, happy videos of them having a great time in China and swanning off to Malaysia care-free. The reality was they were eating nothing but cup noodles and hadn't been paid in 3 months, and they had student loans circling over their heads and were fast running out of options.
A valid point, but she is trying to make a living. I lived in China for many years, and know WELL the negative aspects. That being said, I've enjoyed her videos as they also show the positive side (that I also enjoyed). I don't think she's being phony about the parts she loves too. I would always encourage people to visit China, as it is fascinating. I would also warn them about some of the pitfalls too.
I am sorry that these bad things happened to you. You are a strong human-being with positive spirit, i cannot imagine what you have been through despite sharing all the good parts of your experiences in China to our viewers. I really do hope you recover from the awful scam/threat experiences and never deal with these ever again.
So sorry to hear your story in Shenzhen, very happy to see you go through this, and find the best way to handle. China has a lot of good people. Hope you still like China.
If $4.18 per 1,000 views is a current UA-cam algorithm, I call all my fellow people to watch your vids at least by 1.5 M times.... to compensate your lost.
I feel terrible that you have to go through that. Looking back at some of your old videos, you are really a strong person. I like the way you make sure that we the audience understand that it does not represent all China. Thank you.
So sorry about your experience, really admire the fact you were able to share so many objective videos of China even though this happened to you, honesty like yours on channels like this is getting more and more rare these days, please share with us the good and bad throughout your travels. As a Chinese I appreciate you opening up about this experience so more people will be warned and won't fall prey to these scammers. You have our support, stay safe and take care.
Thank you so much JZ! This comment honestly made my day and made this video worth sharing! I really do hope this video helps people be more prepared, nobody should have to go through this!
Dear poppy I am so so sorry for what happened to u. The same thing happened to me, and ur kindness was sadly taken advantage of. They also specifically target older individuals as well and my friend’s grandparents were scammed.
I am so sorry to hear your story. I totally understand why you didn't tell it earlier and not willing to disclose more info now. Shenzhen is like the wild wild west for even Chinese, it didn't exist until 40 years ago. Everyone in Shenzhen is from somewhere else. So you should have done some research before coming to Shenzhen. And you need a local friend to help you get started. Some rookie mistakes I would say. Beijing and Shanghai are more friendly to first time foreign visitors. But anyway, I do hope you can report the case to local police if you have enough evidence. They will get those bad people I can assure you. We need all crime victims to come forward so China can be a better place. Always support you!
Shenzhen was much worse in 1990's, where gangsters on motorcycle could cut off people's hands to rob their bags. And suddenly all motorcycles are banned in Shenzhen to stop these crimes. Now serpentza and laowhy86 complains about the ban of motorcycle all the time!
a scam implies an intention to “cheat” from the start of contact. This however, looks like a business went belly up, and unfortunately for lack of better word you were the “unsecured creditor”. Kudos to your handling and telling us about it. It certainly will bring more awareness.
I’m really glad I came across this video even though it’s 3 years old. I’m supposed to be going to China soon to teach English. The agents I’m working through have been pushing me to finish the paperwork etc. and sign this contract with lower pay and no housing etc. whilst saying they will change it once I arrive to the higher salary. I’ve been on the fence. It’s my first time teaching in China and so I was just going to do it. I’ve now told them that in order for me to move forward, I need to see the updated contract and my visa work needs to be finished before arrival. I still don’t think they’re scamming me. They seem really nice. But I don’t think the contract will update or change once I arrive. Thanks for the video. Just saved me a lot pain.
Through all the experience you still managed to improve your skills and make wonderful informative videos. I’m happy you’re sharing the bad as well as the good to help others make educated well researched decisions. Unfortunately corrupt people are everywhere as well as in the USA. Wishing you all the best and happy journeys.
Thank you Debbie for your support it means a lot to me! This video wasn't easy for me to make or post. I felt like I was re-living it just going through the recording and messages that will be in the second video. I do think this can help others be are of this issue so they don't make the same mistake. And that's what makes this video worth it to me!
@Where's Poppy Unfortunately, this is not the worst. Tell you the truth: Most of the fraudsters in mainland China come from Taiwan. Every year they swindle more than 10 billion yuan from mainland China. Many people have been deceived and went bankrupt.Before the popularity of mobile payments in mainland China, Taiwan was the largest source of fake RMB in mainland China and the largest fake RMB manufacturing base.
I feel your pain. When I was a college student I got scammed in China too but fortunately only for about 200 RMB. China is great, but still many things can be improved and this is definitely one of them. Thank you Poppy for sharing your experience which I strongly believe will help everyone planning to go for long term tourist/work in China. Also really appreciated that this experience didn't disturb your experience of China, thank you for sticking it out :)
As a Chinese,I am really sorry about this situation.Actually in China, the salary of the foreign teacher are better indeed,but you have to go to a ‘real’ school.At the end,Hope you like China!
Sounds about right. Being raised in China has turned me into the ultimate skeptic, a lot of cons going around. I am glad you didn't let the experience get to you too much. Hopefully, with higher education and living standards, these things will vanish. In the meantime, mad respect for you to keep your sunny disposition in videos with all these going on in the background.
Thanks soo much for sharing and I would love to hear about the second scam. I am planning to come to China in the very near future to teach English so this was very helpful to me. I have heard about these for years and am a bit scared but will not let that stop me. I guess it also depends on your luck as I heard many positive stories from honest schools and people too. It felt like your “school” was non existent and reminds me of this scam I once saw on TV. This one lady was tricked by scammers to give them $2000 US dollars saying that they will help her use it to get more money. They then took her to an old building that was closed and empty and told her to go and get her money. But they then drove away with all her money. It was so sad... I hope you will share the second scam story to inform us all so no one has to go through this again. I must say that when something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. Also, I always knew you should secure your position before you arrive. I personally would not just blindly go over to any country without already having all of the paperwork done in advance. It is scary to be stuck in the middle of no where with no job and no money.
Thank you very much for your support and comment. This is the very reason why I felt this video is worth posting. So many people want to go to China to teach english and so many people ask me about how to find a good school. But they need to do their research and be aware of these problems. I know plenty of people who haven't had any issues but I know others who have. Knowledge is power and if I can give people the power I didn't have, then it might make a difference for that next teacher!
Where's Poppy You are welcome and thank you for sharing your experiences so others who are not aware can avoid this the best they can. I researched a lot and I go to gooverseas.com where they have lists of many recruiting agencies along with reviews from former teachers to see what is good and what is bad. The reviews are both good and bad so we know they are not all fake with good reviews only. That site really helps and has many options but we must take the time to read and research. It is a great site. Thanks again and hope you can share the second scam story. I will be waiting. Yes, knowledge is power and my family is paranoid and have a bad impression of China so want me to go elsewhere. If they heard this story, it will scare them even more but it is important to know that this can happen anywhere.
@@TrinhNguyen-sh4fj Thanks Trinh! That is really useful information! Do you mind commenting again with just your advice about this website and I can pin the comment to the top? Maybe you can also help people by sharing this site!
This is crazy!and thank you so much for taking the time to share your story,I’ve been watching all of your China videos as my fiancé and I will be heading out there soon for a month,I’m grateful you included this
I'm sorry to hear about this unfortunate experience. The world is a big place with many good people, it's the small % that are scrupulous. ❤️ that you're staying positive and continue to say good things of China...speaks volume of the person you are...sending positive vibes from 🇨🇦
So sad, I am sorry that this happened to you. Living in China was indeed an adventure, scams were the danger side of it. Many Chinese were scammed at least one time in their lives, what happened to you was actually not unusual. I wish you could recover from that.
Thanks Daniel! Yep haha it was surely an adventure for better and for worse. But I think I became a stronger person because of it. I've talked about this many times in my videos about how I think China made me stronger and honestly I was mainly referring to getting past these two scams.
@@WheresPoppy Nice attitude. I was curious about the second one though. Usually, Chinese police do not know how to deal with scams among two foreigners. It usually involves at least one Chinese. I guess the police had not handled it well.
OMG... I'm scared to see tomorrow's video but I know I'll be watching it. This sounds like a nightmare. I had no idea you went to teach English in China! I thought you just went there because rent was cheap and you could travel all over Asia easily being so close to the major airport over in Hong Kong. I'm glad you're safe and I hope no one else has this happen to them.
Yeah that was the reason why I chose to live in Shenzhen but not the overall reason why I decided to move to China. I hope this doesn't happen to anybody else either, that's why I made this video.
Thanks Gloria! It's unfortunate but hopefully these people got the karma they deserved. They will also have to live with the guilt that they scammed us for the rest of their lives.
I recommend to everyone watching ALL videos of a channel called Ben teaches English overseas .. the man saved a lot of people and continues to do so by making honest videos about the whole ESL business. I know he saved me from many shitty contracts and what would have been possibly a disaster...
Hi Poppy, don’t be too hard on yourself everyone makes mistakes. Yes, you were naïve but you weren’t the first and won’t be the last. Making this video will bring a lot of attention to this kind of situation so you’ll help a lot of foreigners avoid these scams in the future.
Whenever someone mentions Romania, I'm just like OMG. (Because it rarely gets mentioned and I'm Romanian)🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴 I also feel so bad that you got scammed.😥😣😔
@@WheresPoppy I know you are, you have told us in your Q and A video and I was the person who was surprised your dad was from there I think you have said. Lots of love!!!!!
I wanted to go to China this year, so I did the interview with them etc. They sent me a contract, so I took it to a lawyer (that's my friend) and he read through the whole contract and he told me that something does not add up for him and that there a whole lot of stuff that they must stipulate, needs to be stipulated in the contract. They kept messaging me saying "When are you gonna sign the contract and send it to me" So ek replied them" I have sent the contract to a lawyer and a soon as his finish everything looks good then I will send it to you, signed also". After that they didn't answer me at all. From then I haven't heard of them. While I negotiated with them, my friend flew to China, she negotiated with another recruitment company. When she came in China stuff didn't add up for her. To wrap it up.. the Guy who recruited her, was locked up by the Police, caught for corruption theft of money. He left her alone with no money etc etc. Luckily she had family in China so she stayed by them. According to the government, she has illegaly entered China,that China Police was looking for her. That guy actually took her illegaly into China. When I heard that, I decided not to go to China at all. There was alot of young poeple that was recruited by him. That people got in contact with The South African Government (Where I live and they are from) And they took the matter to the China Government. That young people were helped put of China(with help from the China Government). Btw it is more that 10 young poeple that was scammed by that guy. At the end he was arrested for Fraud.
That's crazy, this is honestly just sick. I'm so happy that this guy was finally arrested but it doesn't exactly make up for everything he did to these people. These people still have to live with being scammed and their experiences tainted. I really hope they made it out okay! More stories like this need to be shared so that people won't fall into them. Thanks for sharing!
This is awful... but glad that guys is arrested. I kinda wish someone can make a video on how to find legit companies that foreigners can trust in China :( It is such an exciting place but we do need to keep ourselves safe as well haha.
There is plenty people with good experiences, but is better to know people on the ground that you can ask and make sure everything is legit otherwise distance makes people feel safe to scam others.
Silentchrome China just arrest 50 South African tried to teach English in China without legal visa, I think they're already back South Africa now, but that's a problem, foreign English teachers get earn high salary but you need legal documents.
I am so happy you shared this story! I think we all know life in another country is not always with sunshine and flowers and it is important to learn to protect yourself. Do not feel like you are doing something negative, Poppy! By bringing this up, you can help so many people and that's definitely a positive thing!
Thank you so much, this is exactly my intention with this video! It's not to discourage or spread negativity but to who people how you can survive and what you can do to avoid making the same mistakes and falling into these traps.
@@WheresPoppy What's really heartwarming to know is that after your Malaysia detour everything turned around! I do believe that it was because of your optimism and positive energy, Poppy. Your older videos about China was like a breath of fresh air and really helped many of us to learn a different side of the country (even though you were going through an awful lot of difficulties at that time!). You have a heart of gold. Life (and all the good people in the world) would never let people like you down. ;P
I applaud you for sticking it out 3 months though. There was a time where I got a job and 2 weeks they didn't sign a contract with me, I asked what was happening, didn't get a proper answer, so I quit xD I've quit over less so I'm quite proud(? lol?) about your ability to stick to something. But also, terrible experience, an i'm sorry you had to go through it... but i'm glad you've been able to come this far and move forwards
Thank you!! Sounds like you were a lot smarter then we were by quitting after two weeks haha. I mean, I really am embarrassed we stuck it out for so long but oh well, you live and you learn!
Sounds like America... Sorry to hear this happened to you... Yes, there are a lot of Scammers out there lying and cheating everybody... Great to see you bounce back and Stronger for it...
Thanks *Leapnotch!* The world has been pretty bad lately. Almost everyone have been crying practically, but it kept happening. That's what you get when you feel you can navigate the process on your own. Big thanks to you. I'm not bothered with how bad the world is because my assets are insured due to your advice and I still receive my money back.
Oh my God Poppy! That's so creepy, I feel sorry for you :(, sadly there are bad people everywhere and it damage countries' background which is not fair! It's so weird to hear this story coming from you, I mean, it was a looong time ago if you see it from now on, and even in your videos back then you didn't show any worried expression, desperate or something, so i'm awestruck after hearing this. I felt the same way when I heard what happened to Jordan in India
Hey Poppy! Sorry this happened to you.. A friend of mine teaches English in China and she hasn't had any problems etc.. I also wanne go teach middle next year but I'm so scared of getting scammed.. and that second scam is hella scary.. I would personally freak out.. I am gonna go through the same agent my friend went through tho.. but I'm still very sceptical.. how can I find out if everything I'm doing is legit? Do you maybe have some tips? Is there anywhere I can find out more information?
So sorry about the scams, I had same problem in another country (I'll not mention). You are correct in that it is worse with someone from your own country. I had it happen twice, a third time it was tried but I quickly went over his head and by that time I had connections. I did get some resolve on the second one and the Korean company apologized that their foreign employee did it, paid me in full delivered cash and gave me another job. In addition I had a host family and connections when I visited Korea.....the Koreans really felt bad. My countryman...gone. The first one threatened me, even had an atty. threaten me, tried to get employees to lie....it was nasty.
Power to you for speaking up, these things do happen and people need to be aware! On the other hand not everything is bad in China, come check us out in hangzhou where we’re working hard improve conditions for everyone!
I am so sorry for you loss. Since Bonnie had run away, I think it’s merely impossible to find you money back. I would suggest every foreigner call the police immediately if you had problems in China. The police would be afraid of losing face (Our government being care of diplomatic image）and might try their best to help you, which is ironic for we local Chinese because we would hardly be treated as foreigners do.
Sorry to hear that you had such bad experience in China. As I chinese I'd like to give a tip about looking for English teaching job. You can directly go to the downtown of the cities and learn to identify the English school, you can find tens of the schools, and just walk in and ask if they can offer a job. Oral English would be a good choice. You should've gone to the police, because they love more the story of helping foreigners..
I'm so sorry to hear what happened. Time is impossible to turn back and can't put a positive spin on it. But one slight comfort is that if this injustice didn't happen then the paths of you, the lovely couple Martini and Ray...and Hugo (can't forget him) might not have crossed = priceless encounters!
Thanks RespectOthers! You are so right, I never would have met those wonderful people. I talk about this in my next video, basically saying I never would be doing UA-cam if this didn't happen
Hi Poppy, I suggest you to sign contract with the school directly. My girl friend is working in a primary school in Shenzhen. And she is now looking for English teachers for her school. It would be a long contract with good salary (Higher than you get from the agency)
Come on. There are so many foreigners (many of them don't even speak good English) teaching English in China for over a decade now. So teaching English in China is such a crowded and low barrier field. If you think that someone will pamper you to such an extend to make you teach English is quite naïve. I am glad you did not lose everything. So always go with reputable and established and personally referenced schools.
China is a massive country and although there are many foreigners, there is still a high demand for new teachers. There are jobs where you are earning around 2-3 USD a month, as an ESL teacher for a bi-lingual private school. Usually people start off with something a little less desirable while they're learning the ropes.
I am an after-class middle school teacher. I am chinese. For this kind of school, money shouldn't come from so-called investor, but from students and their parents. Students paid to have classes. When Bonnie said "Investor"，that's something bizarre where you should be skeptical. You may call 110 to get touch with the police for help.
Bonnie cheated you.You should call the police. No matter there is investor or not, the school should pay for you. The students and parents paid money to the school before they enter.
Hi, Poppy! I am sorry to hear your sad story in China, and as a Chinese, I am also ashamed of your bad experiences in China. I don't want to excuse ourselves or my country by saying that scams can happen in every country though it is true. What I want to tell you is that those scams are not only targeted at foreigners, but at local Chinese themselves, and they always happen in small private schools or companies. The scammers may think foreigners like you are easier to be cheated since you don't know the true conditions of China or those of the company you want to work for. I have to admit many local Chinese working for small private companies have got scammed though the government has tried to crack down on these kinds of scams. However, when they really happen, the government and the police even won't lend a hand to the workers if the loss of the workers or the case is not so serious or influential, because there are so many that they can't manage all of them. Under such conditions, you yourself will have to accept your bad luck and give it up, except that you want to get even with that at any cost. From all of your videos I have watched, I feel that you are a very positive and optimistic lady full of positive energy, so I am very happy to find that you have overcome such bad experiences successfully and still look at China and the world in a very positive and objective attitude. You're a great lady, and welcome back to China once more, but please keep alert and try to avoid various scams here and there.
Thank you so much for taking time to write this message Andrew, it really made me feel good! It was such a hard time for me and I did my best to handle it without giving up traveling. I was worried this video would offend people so I sent it to one of my Chinese friend's first, and even she said she's been scammed and that this video is good to post to help stop future scams.
to:@@WheresPoppy: You're right, your video will make more people alert, and so help them to avoid being scammed in China or in any other places in the world. In this way, you have done a very good deed! The scammers might have been sure that you wouldn't go to the police to sue them just because you worked here illegally, which might cause more trouble for you if you had really sought the help from the police. That might be the reason why they could take advantage of you. However, from your description in the first video, I felt another possibility also existed: that is, that owner might not intend to scam you at the very beginning, but her business was really so bad that she was actually on the verge of bankruptcy. I don't think that the owner of a prosperous business would give up her business just in order to escape her obligation to pay you only $5000, which should also be a very small sum of money to a prosperous businesswoman. I don't intend to defend that scammer, but just to help you to analyze your situation at that period. Nonetheless, even if my second assumption was right, that owner shouldn't have disappeared that way, and she should have paid you for the work you had done for her even if she went bankruptcy. So even if she might not have intended to scam you when you worked there, she later really became a true scammer since she disappeared completely without informing you and paying you at the end. I appreciate your courage , objectivity, rationality and forgivingness very much! I write such a long message to you because you're my hero, and I like your instructive, encouraging, knowledge-spreading and mind-opening videos and I admire your virtues as well!!!
Definitely super scary!. I am terrified and saddened by your experience. The good thing is you are able to talk about it and hopefully you are back in the USA. Hopefully both of you are doing well now.
I am so sorry for what happened to you! To make you feel better, I can tell you that lots of workers from country side in China who work for a whole year in the cities without pay! It sucks, but it happens! Hope it won’t happen again to you! And hope you will still make some awesome video in China! Take care and be safe! Warm greeting from Australia!
Thank you for your support. Yeah and this is wrong! This doesn't just happen to foreigners, I have some Chinese friends who haven't been paid for working as well and it's not okay!
Where's Poppy I am so glad that you can still make so many great video in China despite the negative things happened to you, still being positive! Hope one day you can travel to Melbourne and me and my family are more than welcome to show you around . Wechat ID: ttvv99
How do you make her feel better. You make her feel more nervous! There is no easy money in China any more and the job seeker needs to check out the information of employer and sign a formal contract. Not over trusted some unknown businessman or a too positive promise. Just remember no free meals in this world!
Wrote big stuff but later i felt not necessary ...your videos are so genuine poppy . Thank you for sharing your experiences.Most of travelers never open up things in front of viewers or people. Good nature in you and passion towards to your goal gonna make you more successful person soon. Stay safe
Thank you so much Shiva! I try to be as open as I can without you know, putting myself in danger haha. That's why I'm still not 100% sure I want to share the second video because it got pretty ugly with this guy and I don't want him coming after me :/
@@WheresPoppy your words says sounds sharing video is risky. Then give him a name like bunny and Share the story 😉 we don't want get our poppy in to trouble.
A misleading title as no money ever existed in the first place.You got scammed into donating your free time which is a hard lesson in life for you but not the same as losing your own actual money.This sort of foreign labour exploitation goes on right across the world and i'm sure America has done just as bad to people with no green card.Maybe not a good idea to go back to China any time soon after releasing this video Poppy.Just sayin!
@@timyunsi In my country pay disputes can be lodged with an independent ombudsman who will investigate the claim and act on the employee's behalf.Several "fast food" companies have received huge fines after being exposed underpaying there workers as well as getting lashed with the bad publicity in the media.If there is no system in China to lodge a claim for unpaid wages beyond going to a local police man to try and strongarm it out of them then that is a failure of the administration.Poppy feeling she had to resort to posting on youtube about it is only going to have bad consequences for her though as when you sling mud you open yourself up to have it slung back at you.
Cloud Tim True and scams happen here in the US or anywhere too. It just depends on your luck. I used to know an international student here in the US who worked for a Vietnamese restaurant that only paid her $50 USD for 12 hours of work. That is exploiting labor so she quit as it was so little money for so much work. She also did not go to the police as she was only an international student and did not want to cause trouble. That is one of the reasons why Poppy did not go to the police. Plus he used her UA-cam channel content to blackmail her so she had to go silent for her own good.
@@WheresPoppy The company that you worked for a few times, Career China, seems pretty reputable. Did you think about applying to teach English with their program, First Leap?
@@chuckywang I will talk about this in my second video. No I didn't because this happened before I really knew much about them. But I do recommend First Leap as being a reputable company to work for and I wish I had found them first.
Poppy, sorry about your scam experience. You mentioned that you are paying 11% interest rate for student loan and that rate is way too high. Can you refinance the loan and get a lower rate? Not sure when you started the loan but interest rate in the US was historical low in the past few years. It has gone up a little in 2018 but still way lower than 11%.
No paycheck problem ..... 1：you worked illegally first (No government protection) ----> your own fault. 2: There's scams in U.S also(renting, jog hunting), and nobody is sad about this country or its culture. most of people know how to tell if they are scam while you can't. so it's a lesson.
She's even more stupid for posting videos online at the same time as she was working illegally. She's just asking to get arrested and deported if she says something stupid. At worst she could spend a month in jail.
The fact that there are scams in the US doesn't mean she shouldn't teach us about her experience in China. maybe she was never personally scammed in the US. And as an American you would be surprised how many people are seriously upset with the direction American culture is headed. Please think before you post with a hot head brother. There is a logical response to everything.
@@shantiyantra263 So your telling me that it's smart to work illegally in country without rule of law and then post a ton of videos on UA-cam while you're doing it? She's working illegally and drawing attention to herself. If someone get's mad at her they could have her arrested and deported people make up lies all the time about foreigners in China and get them arrested. People wouldn't even have to lie because her face splattered on the internet and all over chinese social media too. That was dumb I already know she left China long time but she did all this dumb stuff when she was there. It's almost like she was asking to spend a month in Chinese jail for working illegally.
So sorry to hear that. You don't deserve that. Still how open minded you are knowing there are positives and negatives. You are brave and resilient. Skills in planning and calculating for future finances are essential for all of us I guess, sometimes though things depend on others that are beyond our control.
3 months? Oh kid.. you gotta be more demanding from the get go. Never go forward without it being in writing. Also why didn't you go to the police????? They are so great in China. You got the job as soon as you put yourself out there?! So It's not like you couldn't find other work quickly. I appreciate how open you are so this won't happen to others! Don't trust ANYONE
As a Chinese who lived in the U.S for 7 years, I am sorry to hear you experiencing this. I have been scammed before even I am a Chinese, but right now I feel like it was a great lecture for me to be aware of the danger in this world. I learned that day not everyone out there is a decent human being. We don't harm others but we also need to prossess the skills/awareness to protect ourselves. I hope you will have more good experiences in the future. : ) BTW, REPORT TO THE POLICE! They will help you guys for sure and I am sure they would love to help out foreigners. This is not a scam after I watched your video, it's a straight up robbery, just go to the police or go to a news media or bring them to court. I would chose the first two options as a foreigner. btw, you should reveal their names for sure! Don't let them scam others again! I would just go to the police then go to the news media expose this crap on the internet and TV. They will get their ass kicked after that.
Thanks Patrick! I’m not sad anymore, I’m actually quite proud of myself for making it through everything. Now it’s time to help others so they don’t make the same mistakes
Why do you allow anyone to blackmail you like that! What you showed us here you should show to the Chinese police. Why did you not contact Serpenza about this? He lived there for 10 years and knows everything, his wife is Chinese he for sure could have given you the best and most valuable advice. It's not too late to contact him as a fellow youtuber and tell him your story
Genyi Luo I know some people do that, but if nobody complains, then the bad guys get away with it. Besides a best friend can have very different opinions, I have few very good friends who think differently than me on some issues, but this is them, not me. Things must be done and put on the internet so other people can learn the truth and China get the advertising they deserve. From what I see, they want people to say only good things about China, in that case they should do something TO DESERVE only good things to be said!
I cannot wait the day when Jordan and Livio tell us what happened to Livio first when Livio went to China, I know he was the victim of a scam too and they took him hostage and intimidated him somehow and there were money involved. They never told that story, only the beginning of it.
Here's the problem, if she had called the police, I bet the policed instead of helping her, the obvious victim, would actually incriminate and deport her for working on a tourist visa, and ignore the bigger issue of her employer praying on unsuspecting foreigners.
Where's Poppy yeah I worked for a kindergarten that offered me a month off paid when my son was born and then changed its mind and refused to pay, I’d never have taken the time off if I’d known. Foreigners leaving and not being given the release papers that they should have by law just out of spite so they have problems getting a new work visa etc. in China there’s literally no wishing people a good future, just butthurt adults that act like kids and take it personally that you want to leave. I don’t think it’s all areas of jobs, but definitely training schools
Thank you Poppy for so much amazing videos you have shared here. I am very sorry to hear this sad experience you ever had in China. To be honest, I don't think this school is a real scam but definitely it wasn't a trustable one. The question is many people, not only Chinese but also foreigners newly to China, think there are business opportunities everywhere there and they will start business from scratches. Usually they cannot get any loan from banks or get invest from VCs so that working for a new venture is extremely risky. However, there are lots of reliable English-teaching schools in China for example EF, Wall street English, New Orient, Webi English etc. and you should always contact or visit their offices by yourself. If you want to find jobs via job hunters please also visit their offices, pay attention their background and their reputation. There are about 1.4 billion people in China, no one can promise that he/she would not come across with a bad guy or a bad situation. Keep positive, open your eyes and stay with trustable people, hope you will have a good time when you back to China in the future!
Thank you so much for your support! I agree, there are many reliable english-teaching schools in China and people should look at those sites. Definitely in a country with such a high population, there will be unfortunately lots of bad people and it's easy to let them represent your entire experience. I of course was very bitter in the beginning, while also going through culture shock of being in a new country so different from my homeland. But I told myself over and over again that these people don't represent China and I'm not going to let them ruin my experience. And so, I hope by sharing this video it will not only help people avoid making these same mistakes but also known that this can happen to anyone and you will make it out okay even if it does.
@@WheresPoppy Usually Chinese don't cheat foreigners. 。. Generally it is foreigners and Chinese people who cooperate with each other. 。. Something like this. You remember to call the police. 。
@@WheresPoppy I will encourage you and all those who have been mistreated calmly but persistently look for help from authorities or local Chinese friends, and try to make every things back to what it should be. There are always some bad guys trying to make use of the language gap, the culture gap and the information asymmetry. Don't let them go so easily, and I am sure they are feared to be disclosed even they pretend not to be so. Even you don't have work visa but if you have signed contract with them or you can find witnesses they have to pay you salaries. You really should look for help and speak up in proper ways, and get a result. It's not only important for you but also important for other expats, and important for the reputation of the vast majority of normal people. Thank you!
Usually those guys will mislead you by saying "you don't have work visa", "police will not intervene such small cases", or even "Chinese officials are all corrupt", but please believe me most officials are also normal people as us and they have the sense of justice.
Thanks for your support Christian! I was very nervous to post this video but after uploading it to Patreon, we all agreed it shows a side of travel that people should be informed about so they don't make similar mistakes.
@@WheresPoppy So sorry to hear that... You treat people overly based on trust which doesn't work in China in general, right now... As a Chinese of China I only trust my parents and my sister. To all the rest people who approach me, I view them as cheaters unless they can convince me that they are not with sufficient physical evidence. Sadly, this is China at this moment.
When i first moved to Toronto, Canada. I got scammed out of $27,000 Canadian dollars. It was horrible experience. Those money was all I had. I had to call the local police, but they didn't solve the case. I was 17 years old back then. Back in China, my teacher and parents told me all of Americans and Canadians are nice, obey the law. I guess bad people are everywhere. Sorry you experienced something like this in China.
Once I got scammed by my teacher in college, the lesson is don't desperate with money, run away and call someone for help immediately when thing does not work well.
Hey Poppy so sorry for your troubles but glad you're in a better place now. I'm going through my own hell at the moment with my previous school. They are refusing to give me my release letter and lasts months pay. I'm thinking of doing something similar as to you leaving but then eventually coming back. I've heard from a teacher that if you don't have that release letter you will be unable to get another job in China?? That can't be right.. please if you've heard otherwise I'd love to know! Best!
OMG the second one really terrified me, so nasty. And as a local mainland Chinese, I feel so sorry about what you have been through. That ‘Bonnie’ was really good at scamming, and I’m so sorry this experience had hurt you and made you feel so naive... that shouldn’t have happened at the first place. Hope you never met this kind heartless b1tch ever. And some advises about Chinese politics, I hope I can make myself understood. First of all, You can totally criticize China, for its environment or people or anything as long as it’s truth. You won’t get in trouble for that even if you shoot the videos and uploaded it. Second thing is, by no means should you publicly taking side on sensitive issue (like supporting the secession of any region)or anything that makes you suspicious for intending to split this country .(trust me that’s not a joke and not just for foreigners) Nor should you spreading the hateful words about CCP or leaders of China or some sensitive people to Chinese people publicly, (especially a person related to media.) The best tip is to just stay away from politics if you don’t know the red lines. I have seem almost every single one of your videos about China, so I’m pretty sure you’ll be just fine. I was also afraid with my words when I was younger, since there are rumors floating around and I didn’t know too much about CCP by then. But then I got to know it, and realized this party or this government has its won standard which are strictly obeyed. it was by then that I felt cool with my speech. Hahah and even feel kind of free now. (Some might laugh at me about this, but it’s true , I a ordinary person here feel good and safe and hopeful with my life. ) Looking forward to your second story. Poppy you are doing an amazing thing, to share the truth and share the real first-handed full-scale views about this world. I have learned a lot (including English lol). Thank you so much for your sharing.
Thank you so much for your love and support! I don't intend to discuss politics, not even about my own country haha. And you're right, I don't know enough about it anyway it wouldn't make sense for me to talk about it.
"Nor should you spreading the hateful words about CCP" ..wow this is textbook communist oppression. China sucks bro and we all know it. Thats why so many chinese are moving OUT of china. australia and canada are pretty much greater china now bc nobody actually wants to live there bc of its political oppression and commercial scammers
Bonnie sounds like she was scammed too. China killed many of the good people during the "Great Leap Forward", and then killed more of the remaining good people during the Tiananmen Square Massacre 六四事件 in 1989. I wanted to go to China to work, in 1988, after finishing my degree, until I saw on TV what a monstrous place it was that day in 1989.
@@alpadrino3405 A government that allows a person to criticize only those people who have no power, but does not allow the criticism of POWERFUL people, is a government that is very fragile and full of people who have the mindset akin to children. A government that is populated with child-minds is extremely dangerous, to everyone. If you can't insist that the CCP behave like adults, then you are doomed eventually. Adults don't have fragile egos.
@@immayoutubecommenter8856 Total BS the percentage of Chinese overseas is less than the percentage of Americans, you only feel that way because China is the most populated nation on earth. Also go on Chinese Weibo or any other Chinese forum there are tons of people criticizing the CCP every single day, there's even a media group in China (Southern Metropolis Daily) famous for criticizing the CCP with every single article.
Last month I lost $600, i got scammed. I was very upset and heartbroken. People theive out there are so rude and heartless.... It’s very hard to beware, we just have to be very careful out there no matter what, it was hard for me to get through. I learn from my mistakes and I’m not going to fall for it ever again. Anyway I’m sorry that happen to you. Just be careful. Hope one day the karma will go to them
And hopefully one day that person who scammed you will get the karma they deserve. I'm sorry to hear this but I'm glad you learned from it and hopefully it will never happen again!
Sorry for ur loss, I hope that doesn't influence ur impression of all the good things u have seen in China. Scams happens every where and I feel ashamed it happened in China. You should reach out to police by calling 110, they usually are helpful, believe it or not, especially when you are a foreigner.
Avery Koch many reason is the foreign would teach English in these countries are more or less have some problem, many white men in Thailand just for children prosititute and earn some extra money by teaching locals.
The main problem is did her have legal working visa as foreign teacher when teaching in China? This happen even in Australia, many Western country too..If u work as illegal at foreign country some of them can't get their pay.sorry for my broken English.
Many years ago I taught in China and one thing I learned was that some of the schools don't have the licence or authority to actually run in the city. So they cannot provide Z class working visas. Be very wary of working on a tourist visa. The government was cracking down even then. I was getting paid but had a couple of bad experiences with schools. Some of them would employ you with a 3 month probation period and fire you right on the last day. I encountered one Singaporean guy who had created a pop up school. Some of the Chinese staff were not paid for 3 months of work and I was fired on the last day of the probation period despite being told my job was secure. I almost lost 1 month of salary. We all formed a class action with the local education bureau and recovered our lost money almost 3 weeks later. Turns out the guy had a string of scams where he would try and run with the money. No idea what happened to him. My best advice is to secure a job in a school that provides the visas and has been around for a long time. A state run school or one of the larger groups such as Metro, 新东方 New Oriental etc.
Thank you for sharing your experience in China and hope you will give us more videos about China, many Chinese people (Mainland and overseas) are supporting you.
I'm very sorry to hear that, I hope you didn't fall victim to any scams yourself and that's why you're leaving. Whatever happened, stay strong and surround yourself with people who support and love you!
Taylor Kilander Thanks for sharing but I think you should have done more research before you went. Sorry for your bad experience and can’t you change to another company? Hope your perceptions change for the better.
Really appreciate this, *Leapnotch.* Incredibly useful and digestible content. You're making an impact and you deserve the reward. Keep it up.
Hey Poppy, so sorry this happened to you I know it must feel awful. Sadly it is a common scam in China but I do agree, there are scammers in every country and it isn’t a reflection of China or the people here. You have a really positive attitude and it’s shown in your reflection here! Hopefully by sharing your video others will know what to look for and will be able to avoid it happening to them. Thank you for telling your story!
Thanks for your support! It means a lot! I was very nervous about posting this video and I still am scared haha but I think it will help people to learn from my experiences!
Never work on a Tourist Visa, no matter which country.
With a Tourist Visa YOU are a Tourist.Period.
NB: Have been an Expat for more than 30 years, also in COMECON countries.
True that! Get the paperwork done first!
@TheInkinJapan Working-Holiday Visa... for Japan.
The internet expose us to scammers and you have to be some type of guru to prevent every scam that comes your way. I have had my fair share as well as people I know personally. My brother explained to me that these scummers mostly leave a trail but it takes an expert to figure it out. His friend is an ex-blackhat hacker turned Ethical hacker and for that reason he has successfully traced some scammers, some of them not from Nigeria. My point is that if you have been scammed before you can talk to BinaryReap3r who is an expert hacker that can help you trace a scammer or recover stolen digital asset like cryptocurrency, binary options etc. If you have been a victim of a scammer and you want recovery, Just talk to BinaryReap3r @ Gmail com
Basically knowledge is you can't work in a foreign country with tourists visa.
The internet expose us to scammers and you have to be some type of guru to prevent every scam that comes your way. I have had my fair share as well as people I know personally. My brother explained to me that these scummers mostly leave a trail but it takes an expert to figure it out. His friend is an ex-blackhat hacker turned Ethical hacker and for that reason he has successfully traced some scammers, some of them not from Nigeria. My point is that if you have been scammed before you can talk to BinaryReap3r who is an expert hacker that can help you trace a scammer or recover stolen digital asset like cryptocurrency, binary options etc. For fast and effective solutions or remedy after you have been scammed then you can Just talk to BinaryReap3r @ Gmail com
@Pa La moron
Simple answer - never work on a tourist visa (in ANY country), but especially China. It’s the foreigner who will be blamed for flouting Chinese law. They have no obligation to pay you, when you shouldn’t be ‘working’ in the first place
This is true, it's important to have all the paperwork and visas processed before training!
Exactly, this is how they can take advantage of you because you can’t report them
@@alpadrino3405 The clues in the name, 'tourist visas' are for tourism only! For work you need a 'Z work visa' and to pay taxes on your salary - only fair to China!
If you were caught working on a tourist visa in Poppy's home country the USA, you'd be deported and barred from returning. I think Poppy was handed some awful advice when she was told to look for a job on the ground, I'd have hoped that as a respectable, seasoned traveller she would have known better than to break well-known, basic visa regulations :(
al padrino No, the scammers told them they are taking care of the paperwork.
Poppy and her boyfriend gave them all the required details including passports but the scammers lied saying it takes time.
So Poppy and her boyfriend were gullible and naive as most regular Americans are, to be honest.
As an Australian they could not have fool me, in all honesty, first because I'm older, second because they teach basic laws here in school but of course lots of people skip classes in Australia too...😏 😃
Ayla Exactly! I researched a lot and you never work on a tourist visa and make sure to have all of your paperwork and everything all done before hopping on that plane to come to work in any country. Yes you need a Z visa which is the working visa. Tourist visas should only be for vacationing.
They addressed so many issues lots of people had with the scammers and that makes me extremely happy to know that *Leapnotch* is really listening to their community like they did so many years ago
Not working on a tourist visa is probably the strongest lesson to learn from your experience, I have had to help so many expats in your exact position in the past. They either convince themselves or get duped into thinking that it's okay to work on a tourist visa (sometimes the schools take their passports and pretend to be processing a work visa), and then when they don't get paid or if there's any sort of issue, there's no recourse because the person working on a tourist visa is breaking the law and has no leg to stand on, you can't go to the police and say "I have been working illegally and breaking the law, but my boss didn't pay me"... You paid some school fees on this one, it sucks but I hope others who see your video will be deterred from making the same mistake, working illegally in China is not okay, especially now that things have gotten more regulated
Hi Winston, Catch you here 😂. I think you are still in LA. Saw your alot video, Some with C-milk. Good to you.
@@goldminer996 thanks mate, that's incredibly refreshing to hear
@@serpentza You are a snake. You sell lies and snake oil for a living. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Steven Guan it’s such a pity that you’re so afraid of the truth 你只怕那个家丑不可外扬
100% agree and that’s why I hope people do watch this video and learn from my mistakes because I’m not the only one to make them. In fact, after posting this video I’ve received many messages from people who have fallen into the same trap or said it took over 6 months to receive their visa, hence working illegally until then but thought that was the process. Let this be a lesson to all!
The dude is just not fakeing . The finishes of the goals. Beautiful. Magisterial. Love you *leapnotch!.* .🙏🏼
Poppy, I’m so sorry to hear you had to put up with this. You have such a great, positive personality that shines through your videos - I hope you’ll be able to put this behind you. Hopefully most of humanity won’t let you down.
Thanks John! I have put this behind me and that’s why I’ve finally gathered the courage to share this story. It still hard though, but what does kill you makes you stronger right?
This video is a good warning about the 'highlight reel' nature of UA-cam vlogging channels. Back at the time she was getting scammed and they were going broke, there's nothing but lovely, happy videos of them having a great time in China and swanning off to Malaysia care-free. The reality was they were eating nothing but cup noodles and hadn't been paid in 3 months, and they had student loans circling over their heads and were fast running out of options.
mate, exactly. the lifestyle being portrayed isn't whats going on behind the scenes.
That youtuber / influenzer life is so fucking fake. Thx NO pass for pointing this out - you could not be more right..
Did you like the dramatic acting at the beginning, this is so difficult to talk about.
Exactly!!! Your comment should be upvoted to when you open UA-cam! Seriously!
A valid point, but she is trying to make a living. I lived in China for many years, and know WELL the negative aspects. That being said, I've enjoyed her videos as they also show the positive side (that I also enjoyed). I don't think she's being phony about the parts she loves too. I would always encourage people to visit China, as it is fascinating. I would also warn them about some of the pitfalls too.
CAN’T JUST IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT YOU GUYS. HE’S A CERTIFIED LEAPNOTCH.
I am sorry that these bad things happened to you.
You are a strong human-being with positive spirit, i cannot imagine what you have been through despite sharing all the good parts of your experiences in China to our viewers. I really do hope you recover from the awful scam/threat experiences and never deal with these ever again.
So sorry to hear your story in Shenzhen, very happy to see you go through this, and find the best way to handle.
China has a lot of good people. Hope you still like China.
That's absolutely horrible that are people like that out there who take advantage of others ;/ so sad, I'm sorry that this happened to you!
Thanks Kaja! Yeah we were pretty unlucky in the beginning but we made it out okay!
I think we Chinese should do something to make up your lost.
If $4.18 per 1,000 views is a current UA-cam algorithm, I call all my fellow people to watch your vids at least by 1.5 M times.... to compensate your lost.
DARK ENERGY haha thanks for the support! But I don’t know where you got $4.18, it’s more like $1 haha
@@WheresPoppy I see.. I am bit out of date ... So I will strive to promote your channel with 6.4M views for next a few months .. I will try. 🌷🌷🌷♥️
I feel terrible that you have to go through that. Looking back at some of your old videos, you are really a strong person.
I like the way you make sure that we the audience understand that it does not represent all China. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words!
@@WheresPoppy You are welcome. It is just what is on my mind.
So sorry about your experience, really admire the fact you were able to share so many objective videos of China even though this happened to you, honesty like yours on channels like this is getting more and more rare these days, please share with us the good and bad throughout your travels. As a Chinese I appreciate you opening up about this experience so more people will be warned and won't fall prey to these scammers. You have our support, stay safe and take care.
Thank you so much JZ! This comment honestly made my day and made this video worth sharing! I really do hope this video helps people be more prepared, nobody should have to go through this!
Really brave of you to share this story Poppy and I'm so sorry you and your boyfriend had to go through this!!
Thank you Scott! I really hope these videos help people!
Dear poppy I am so so sorry for what happened to u. The same thing happened to me, and ur kindness was sadly taken advantage of. They also specifically target older individuals as well and my friend’s grandparents were scammed.
I am so sorry to hear your story. I totally understand why you didn't tell it earlier and not willing to disclose more info now. Shenzhen is like the wild wild west for even Chinese, it didn't exist until 40 years ago. Everyone in Shenzhen is from somewhere else. So you should have done some research before coming to Shenzhen. And you need a local friend to help you get started. Some rookie mistakes I would say. Beijing and Shanghai are more friendly to first time foreign visitors. But anyway, I do hope you can report the case to local police if you have enough evidence. They will get those bad people I can assure you. We need all crime victims to come forward so China can be a better place. Always support you!
I agree, definitely rookies mistakes and therefore I hope this video prevents others from making the same. Thank you for your support Michael!
Shenzhen was much worse in 1990's, where gangsters on motorcycle could cut off people's hands to rob their bags. And suddenly all motorcycles are banned in Shenzhen to stop these crimes. Now serpentza and laowhy86 complains about the ban of motorcycle all the time!
The first one was not a scam. It was about a business that went belly up and could not fulfill the debt obligation.
If you don't have payroll, you aren't a business. This was a straight up scam, and I don't doubt the Chinese were also scamming the Chinese.
this is not a scam. the company director knows she is bankrupt
Yeah definitly a scam but we Will never know if Is a planned One or no
a scam implies an intention to “cheat” from the start of contact. This however, looks like a business went belly up, and unfortunately for lack of better word you were the “unsecured creditor”. Kudos to your handling and telling us about it. It certainly will bring more awareness.
For we ordinary people, doing something illegal usually make us a victim of the worse guys...
I’m really glad I came across this video even though it’s 3 years old. I’m supposed to be going to China soon to teach English. The agents I’m working through have been pushing me to finish the paperwork etc. and sign this contract with lower pay and no housing etc. whilst saying they will change it once I arrive to the higher salary.
I’ve been on the fence. It’s my first time teaching in China and so I was just going to do it.
I’ve now told them that in order for me to move forward, I need to see the updated contract and my visa work needs to be finished before arrival.
I still don’t think they’re scamming me. They seem really nice. But I don’t think the contract will update or change once I arrive.
Thanks for the video. Just saved me a lot pain.
Through all the experience you still managed to improve your skills and make wonderful informative videos. I’m happy you’re sharing the bad as well as the good to help others make educated well researched decisions. Unfortunately corrupt people are everywhere as well as in the USA. Wishing you all the best and happy journeys.
Thank you Debbie for your support it means a lot to me! This video wasn't easy for me to make or post. I felt like I was re-living it just going through the recording and messages that will be in the second video. I do think this can help others be are of this issue so they don't make the same mistake. And that's what makes this video worth it to me!
@Where's Poppy Unfortunately, this is not the worst. Tell you the truth: Most of the fraudsters in mainland China come from Taiwan. Every year they swindle more than 10 billion yuan from mainland China. Many people have been deceived and went bankrupt.Before the popularity of mobile payments in mainland China, Taiwan was the largest source of fake RMB in mainland China and the largest fake RMB manufacturing base.
Cool Cool I have never heard of this. Taiwanese people do not seem like that type but good and bad exist in all ethnicities.
I feel your pain.
When I was a college student I got scammed in China too but fortunately only for about 200 RMB.
China is great, but still many things can be improved and this is definitely one of them.
Thank you Poppy for sharing your experience which I strongly believe will help everyone planning to go for long term tourist/work in China.
Also really appreciated that this experience didn't disturb your experience of China, thank you for sticking it out :)
As a Chinese,I am really sorry about this situation.Actually in China, the salary of the foreign teacher are better indeed,but you have to go to a ‘real’ school.At the end,Hope you like China!
@@tommygun1381 Excuse me?
Sounds about right. Being raised in China has turned me into the ultimate skeptic, a lot of cons going around. I am glad you didn't let the experience get to you too much. Hopefully, with higher education and living standards, these things will vanish. In the meantime, mad respect for you to keep your sunny disposition in videos with all these going on in the background.
Thank you!! I did the best I could!
Thanks soo much for sharing and I would love to hear about the second scam. I am planning to come to China in the very near future to teach English so this was very helpful to me. I have heard about these for years and am a bit scared but will not let that stop me. I guess it also depends on your luck as I heard many positive stories from honest schools and people too.
It felt like your “school” was non existent and reminds me of this scam I once saw on TV. This one lady was tricked by scammers to give them $2000 US dollars saying that they will help her use it to get more money. They then took her to an old building that was closed and empty and told her to go and get her money. But they then drove away with all her money. It was so sad...
I hope you will share the second scam story to inform us all so no one has to go through this again.
I must say that when something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.
Also, I always knew you should secure your position before you arrive. I personally would not just blindly go over to any country without already having all of the paperwork done in advance. It is scary to be stuck in the middle of no where with no job and no money.
Thank you very much for your support and comment. This is the very reason why I felt this video is worth posting. So many people want to go to China to teach english and so many people ask me about how to find a good school. But they need to do their research and be aware of these problems. I know plenty of people who haven't had any issues but I know others who have. Knowledge is power and if I can give people the power I didn't have, then it might make a difference for that next teacher!
Where's Poppy You are welcome and thank you for sharing your experiences so others who are not aware can avoid this the best they can. I researched a lot and I go to
gooverseas.com where they have lists of many recruiting agencies along with reviews from former teachers to see what is good and what is bad. The reviews are both good and bad so we know they are not all fake with good reviews only. That site really helps and has many options but we must take the time to read and research. It is a great site. Thanks again and hope you can share the second scam story. I will be waiting.
Yes, knowledge is power and my family is paranoid and have a bad impression of China so want me to go elsewhere. If they heard this story, it will scare them even more but it is important to know that this can happen anywhere.
@@TrinhNguyen-sh4fj Thanks Trinh! That is really useful information! Do you mind commenting again with just your advice about this website and I can pin the comment to the top? Maybe you can also help people by sharing this site!
Where's Poppy Sure I will do it tomorrow as it past my bedtime now so need to sleep. I would love to share what I know as it can help others.
Trinh Nguyen damn even Vietnamese can teach English in China, China is really fucked up
This is crazy!and thank you so much for taking the time to share your story,I’ve been watching all of your China videos as my fiancé and I will be heading out there soon for a month,I’m grateful you included this
Thanks for your support! I'm glad this story can help people learn from my mistakes and be prepared!
I'm sorry to hear about this unfortunate experience. The world is a big place with many good people, it's the small % that are scrupulous. ❤️ that you're staying positive and continue to say good things of China...speaks volume of the person you are...sending positive vibes from 🇨🇦
Thank you DaVid! It means a lot you saying this! I've tried so hard to be positive about this experience but it's definitely been hard.
Yes it is a small fraction that are scrupulous, as most are unscrupulous if they can get away with it.
So sad, I am sorry that this happened to you. Living in China was indeed an adventure, scams were the danger side of it. Many Chinese were scammed at least one time in their lives, what happened to you was actually not unusual. I wish you could recover from that.
Thanks Daniel! Yep haha it was surely an adventure for better and for worse. But I think I became a stronger person because of it. I've talked about this many times in my videos about how I think China made me stronger and honestly I was mainly referring to getting past these two scams.
@@WheresPoppy Nice attitude. I was curious about the second one though. Usually, Chinese police do not know how to deal with scams among two foreigners. It usually involves at least one Chinese. I guess the police had not handled it well.
OMG... I'm scared to see tomorrow's video but I know I'll be watching it. This sounds like a nightmare. I had no idea you went to teach English in China! I thought you just went there because rent was cheap and you could travel all over Asia easily being so close to the major airport over in Hong Kong. I'm glad you're safe and I hope no one else has this happen to them.
Yeah that was the reason why I chose to live in Shenzhen but not the overall reason why I decided to move to China. I hope this doesn't happen to anybody else either, that's why I made this video.
OMG I'm Chinese and I just wanna say I'm SO sorry to hear about this unfortunate experience of yours :( Ugh those nasty, nasty scammers out there...
Thanks Gloria! It's unfortunate but hopefully these people got the karma they deserved. They will also have to live with the guilt that they scammed us for the rest of their lives.
I recommend to everyone watching ALL videos of a channel called Ben teaches English overseas .. the man saved a lot of people and continues to do so by making honest videos about the whole ESL business. I know he saved me from many shitty contracts and what would have been possibly a disaster...
Hi Poppy, don’t be too hard on yourself everyone makes mistakes.
Yes, you were naïve but you weren’t the first and won’t be the last.
Making this video will bring a lot of attention to this kind of situation so you’ll help a lot of foreigners avoid these scams in the future.
Yeah that's what I'm hoping for!
Whenever someone mentions Romania, I'm just like OMG. (Because it rarely gets mentioned and I'm Romanian)🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴 I also feel so bad that you got scammed.😥😣😔
Haha well I am Romanian :)...I feel the same way. Thanks for your support!
@@WheresPoppy I know you are, you have told us in your Q and A video and I was the person who was surprised your dad was from there I think you have said. Lots of love!!!!!
Very sorry to hear about your experience. Love your videos.
I wanted to go to China this year, so I did the interview with them etc. They sent me a contract, so I took it to a lawyer (that's my friend) and he read through the whole contract and he told me that something does not add up for him and that there a whole lot of stuff that they must stipulate, needs to be stipulated in the contract. They kept messaging me saying "When are you gonna sign the contract and send it to me" So ek replied them" I have sent the contract to a lawyer and a soon as his finish everything looks good then I will send it to you, signed also". After that they didn't answer me at all. From then I haven't heard of them.
While I negotiated with them, my friend flew to China, she negotiated with another recruitment company. When she came in China stuff didn't add up for her. To wrap it up.. the Guy who recruited her, was locked up by the Police, caught for corruption theft of money. He left her alone with no money etc etc. Luckily she had family in China so she stayed by them. According to the government, she has illegaly entered China,that China Police was looking for her. That guy actually took her illegaly into China.
When I heard that, I decided not to go to China at all.
There was alot of young poeple that was recruited by him. That people got in contact with The South African Government (Where I live and they are from) And they took the matter to the China Government. That young people were helped put of China(with help from the China Government).
Btw it is more that 10 young poeple that was scammed by that guy.
At the end he was arrested for Fraud.
That's crazy, this is honestly just sick. I'm so happy that this guy was finally arrested but it doesn't exactly make up for everything he did to these people. These people still have to live with being scammed and their experiences tainted. I really hope they made it out okay! More stories like this need to be shared so that people won't fall into them. Thanks for sharing!
This is awful... but glad that guys is arrested. I kinda wish someone can make a video on how to find legit companies that foreigners can trust in China :( It is such an exciting place but we do need to keep ourselves safe as well haha.
Yep. Never trust the words but the paper!
You can try EF since it is a Swedish company teaching English in China.
There is plenty people with good experiences, but is better to know people on the ground that you can ask and make sure everything is legit otherwise distance makes people feel safe to scam others.
Silentchrome China just arrest 50 South African tried to teach English in China without legal visa, I think they're already back South Africa now, but that's a problem, foreign English teachers get earn high salary but you need legal documents.
I am so happy you shared this story! I think we all know life in another country is not always with sunshine and flowers and it is important to learn to protect yourself. Do not feel like you are doing something negative, Poppy! By bringing this up, you can help so many people and that's definitely a positive thing!
Thank you so much, this is exactly my intention with this video! It's not to discourage or spread negativity but to who people how you can survive and what you can do to avoid making the same mistakes and falling into these traps.
@@WheresPoppy What's really heartwarming to know is that after your Malaysia detour everything turned around! I do believe that it was because of your optimism and positive energy, Poppy. Your older videos about China was like a breath of fresh air and really helped many of us to learn a different side of the country (even though you were going through an awful lot of difficulties at that time!). You have a heart of gold. Life (and all the good people in the world) would never let people like you down. ;P
Thanks Ato! That was a really nice message to read :)
I applaud you for sticking it out 3 months though.
There was a time where I got a job and 2 weeks they didn't sign a contract with me, I asked what was happening, didn't get a proper answer, so I quit xD
I've quit over less so I'm quite proud(? lol?) about your ability to stick to something.
But also, terrible experience, an i'm sorry you had to go through it... but i'm glad you've been able to come this far and move forwards
Thank you!! Sounds like you were a lot smarter then we were by quitting after two weeks haha. I mean, I really am embarrassed we stuck it out for so long but oh well, you live and you learn!
Sounds like America... Sorry to hear this happened to you...
Yes, there are a lot of Scammers out there lying and cheating everybody...
Great to see you bounce back and Stronger for it...
Wow dude, that’s crazy. It sucks that you guys went through that... but it’s good that you’re so positive about your experience!
Thanks *Leapnotch!* The world has been pretty bad lately. Almost everyone have been crying practically, but it kept happening. That's what you get when you feel you can navigate the process on your own. Big thanks to you. I'm not bothered with how bad the world is because my assets are insured due to your advice and I still receive my money back.
Oh my God Poppy! That's so creepy, I feel sorry for you :(, sadly there are bad people everywhere and it damage countries' background which is not fair!
It's so weird to hear this story coming from you, I mean, it was a looong time ago if you see it from now on, and even in your videos back then you didn't show any worried expression, desperate or something, so i'm awestruck after hearing this. I felt the same way when I heard what happened to Jordan in India
sorry, 你在中国经历了这样的事我也觉得很羞耻，的确，中国有很多诈骗团伙，比如电信诈骗，工作诈骗，金融诈骗等等。但是我想第一个骗局不是真的骗局，是培训学校经营不善，没人投资，使得其倒闭，这样老板自己没钱支付员工工资，但最后老板自己借钱支付了一千多元，估计他自己也很难受，这也是极其不负责的表现，可能他也真的没有办法了。中国有很多地方都存在拖欠工资的情况，你刚好遇到了一个，但是这几年在国内政府打压下，这种情况越来越少，如果遇到拖欠农民工工资的情况，请先报警，一般都能得到解决。在中国工作希望你找正规合法的企业，只要他雇用你，那一定要签署劳动合同，没有劳动合同在中国是不合法的，你工作被骗的就是这种不合法的企业。另外，如果你在中国没有工作签证就去打工赚钱，这是非法的哦。再次对你在中国的遭遇感到不幸，吃一堑，长一智，希望你以后总是有好运相随。
Ye Geng 我不知道她为什么第一次被骗的时候没有报警，一般来说警察对于涉外案件是相当重视的
你在下面说中文她看得懂么？
@@orezna 对于涉及中国的视频，在下面评论中文一般不是为了让PO主看懂，而是创造华人自己的讨论空间，让更多的人参与讨论
划痕海归 拿旅游签证打工是犯法的 去报警理亏
没看视频直接滑下来找中文评论，我还在想她不是离开中国一段时间了么怎么会被骗五千刀。。。不过外国人来中国没有工作签证，算不算打黑工啊，这样的话她根本不受保护的。。。
Hey Poppy! Sorry this happened to you..
A friend of mine teaches English in China and she hasn't had any problems etc.. I also wanne go teach middle next year but I'm so scared of getting scammed.. and that second scam is hella scary.. I would personally freak out..
I am gonna go through the same agent my friend went through tho.. but I'm still very sceptical.. how can I find out if everything I'm doing is legit? Do you maybe have some tips? Is there anywhere I can find out more information?
So sorry about the scams, I had same problem in another country (I'll not mention). You are correct in that it is worse with someone from your own country. I had it happen twice, a third time it was tried but I quickly went over his head and by that time I had connections. I did get some resolve on the second one and the Korean company apologized that their foreign employee did it, paid me in full delivered cash and gave me another job. In addition I had a host family and connections when I visited Korea.....the Koreans really felt bad. My countryman...gone. The first one threatened me, even had an atty. threaten me, tried to get employees to lie....it was nasty.
Damn well I’m happy you got paid eventually and given another job! Still not a fun experience
To trust people: Judge by their action, not their words.
Yk Chan by Kim Jong Un.
Sorry to hear that and happy that you are so positive and gone through it/ them.
Thanks Jayden!
Poppy I am waiting to hear part 2.
I'm glad you didn't quit and it makes my own problems seem dumb
Power to you for speaking up, these things do happen and people need to be aware! On the other hand not everything is bad in China, come check us out in hangzhou where we’re working hard improve conditions for everyone!
Thank you! I've been to Hangzhou and loved it! I went to Qiandao lake, it was beautiful!
I am so sorry for you loss. Since Bonnie had run away, I think it’s merely impossible to find you money back. I would suggest every foreigner call the police immediately if you had problems in China. The police would be afraid of losing face (Our government being care of diplomatic image）and might try their best to help you, which is ironic for we local Chinese because we would hardly be treated as foreigners do.
Thank you! It's okay I've made peace with losing that money.
Damn, good for you for taking the high road and sharing this difficult story as a precaution to others.
Thank you for your support!
Sorry to hear that you had such bad experience in China. As I chinese I'd like to give a tip about looking for English teaching job. You can directly go to the downtown of the cities and learn to identify the English school, you can find tens of the schools, and just walk in and ask if they can offer a job. Oral English would be a good choice. You should've gone to the police, because they love more the story of helping foreigners..
Thanks for your support Klaus!
I'm so sorry to hear what happened. Time is impossible to turn back and can't put a positive spin on it. But one slight comfort is that if this injustice didn't happen then the paths of you, the lovely couple Martini and Ray...and Hugo (can't forget him) might not have crossed = priceless encounters!
Thanks RespectOthers! You are so right, I never would have met those wonderful people. I talk about this in my next video, basically saying I never would be doing UA-cam if this didn't happen
Hi Poppy, I suggest you to sign contract with the school directly. My girl friend is working in a primary school in Shenzhen. And she is now looking for English teachers for her school. It would be a long contract with good salary (Higher than you get from the agency)
Thank you but I'm not interested in teaching anymore, thanks :)
My American friend wants to teach English in Shenzhen. Can I contact you about it?
Very well for telling us this, it shouldn't be a taboo or something. More people need to know this. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your support Jed!
Come on. There are so many foreigners (many of them don't even speak good English) teaching English in China for over a decade now. So teaching English in China is such a crowded and low barrier field. If you think that someone will pamper you to such an extend to make you teach English is quite naïve. I am glad you did not lose everything. So always go with reputable and established and personally referenced schools.
China is a massive country and although there are many foreigners, there is still a high demand for new teachers. There are jobs where you are earning around 2-3 USD a month, as an ESL teacher for a bi-lingual private school. Usually people start off with something a little less desirable while they're learning the ropes.
I am sorry about this happened to you. It happened to me almost before, in China. Please be careful!
I am an after-class middle school teacher. I am chinese. For this kind of school, money shouldn't come from so-called investor, but from students and their parents. Students paid to have classes. When Bonnie said "Investor"，that's something bizarre where you should be skeptical. You may call 110 to get touch with the police for help.
Interesting, I didn't know that at the time but that makes a lot of sense.
Bonnie cheated you.You should call the police. No matter there is investor or not, the school should pay for you. The students
and parents paid money to the school before they enter.
Hi what was the company/website you went through to do the summer volunteering in Malaysia?
Such an unfortunate situation, sorry for your bad experience. But, thank you for making others aware so they can avoid being scammed.
I sorry to hear that. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Poppy! I am sorry to hear your sad story in China, and as a Chinese, I am also ashamed of your bad experiences in China. I don't want to excuse ourselves or my country by saying that scams can happen in every country though it is true. What I want to tell you is that those scams are not only targeted at foreigners, but at local Chinese themselves, and they always happen in small private schools or companies. The scammers may think foreigners like you are easier to be cheated since you don't know the true conditions of China or those of the company you want to work for. I have to admit many local Chinese working for small private companies have got scammed though the government has tried to crack down on these kinds of scams. However, when they really happen, the government and the police even won't lend a hand to the workers if the loss of the workers or the case is not so serious or influential, because there are so many that they can't manage all of them. Under such conditions, you yourself will have to accept your bad luck and give it up, except that you want to get even with that at any cost. From all of your videos I have watched, I feel that you are a very positive and optimistic lady full of positive energy, so I am very happy to find that you have overcome such bad experiences successfully and still look at China and the world in a very positive and objective attitude. You're a great lady, and welcome back to China once more, but please keep alert and try to avoid various scams here and there.
Thank you so much for taking time to write this message Andrew, it really made me feel good! It was such a hard time for me and I did my best to handle it without giving up traveling. I was worried this video would offend people so I sent it to one of my Chinese friend's first, and even she said she's been scammed and that this video is good to post to help stop future scams.
to:@@WheresPoppy: You're right, your video will make more people alert, and so help them to avoid being scammed in China or in any other places in the world. In this way, you have done a very good deed! The scammers might have been sure that you wouldn't go to the police to sue them just because you worked here illegally, which might cause more trouble for you if you had really sought the help from the police. That might be the reason why they could take advantage of you. However, from your description in the first video, I felt another possibility also existed: that is, that owner might not intend to scam you at the very beginning, but her business was really so bad that she was actually on the verge of bankruptcy. I don't think that the owner of a prosperous business would give up her business just in order to escape her obligation to pay you only $5000, which should also be a very small sum of money to a prosperous businesswoman. I don't intend to defend that scammer, but just to help you to analyze your situation at that period. Nonetheless, even if my second assumption was right, that owner shouldn't have disappeared that way, and she should have paid you for the work you had done for her even if she went bankruptcy. So even if she might not have intended to scam you when you worked there, she later really became a true scammer since she disappeared completely without informing you and paying you at the end. I appreciate your courage , objectivity, rationality and forgivingness very much! I write such a long message to you because you're my hero, and I like your instructive, encouraging, knowledge-spreading and mind-opening videos and I admire your virtues as well!!!
Definitely super scary!. I am terrified and saddened by your experience. The good thing is you are able to talk about it and hopefully you are back in the USA. Hopefully both of you are doing well now.
I am so sorry for what happened to you! To make you feel better, I can tell you that lots of workers from country side in China who work for a whole year in the cities without pay! It sucks, but it happens! Hope it won’t happen again to you! And hope you will still make some awesome video in China! Take care and be safe! Warm greeting from Australia!
Thank you for your support. Yeah and this is wrong! This doesn't just happen to foreigners, I have some Chinese friends who haven't been paid for working as well and it's not okay!
Where's Poppy
I am so glad that you can still make so many great video in China despite the negative things happened to you, still being positive! Hope one day you can travel to Melbourne and me and my family are more than welcome to show you around . Wechat ID: ttvv99
How do you make her feel better. You make her feel more nervous! There is no easy money in China any more and the job seeker needs to check out the information of employer and sign a formal contract. Not over trusted some unknown businessman or a too positive promise. Just remember no free meals in this world!
Wrote big stuff but later i felt not necessary ...your videos are so genuine poppy . Thank you for sharing your experiences.Most of travelers never open up things in front of viewers or people. Good nature in you and passion towards to your goal gonna make you more successful person soon. Stay safe
Thank you so much Shiva! I try to be as open as I can without you know, putting myself in danger haha. That's why I'm still not 100% sure I want to share the second video because it got pretty ugly with this guy and I don't want him coming after me :/
@@WheresPoppy your words says sounds sharing video is risky. Then give him a name like bunny and Share the story 😉 we don't want get our poppy in to trouble.
haha I did give him a name, don't worry I'm not revealing anything about identity
A misleading title as no money ever existed in the first place.You got scammed into donating your free time which is a hard lesson in life for you but not the same as losing your own actual money.This sort of foreign labour exploitation goes on right across the world and i'm sure America has done just as bad to people with no green card.Maybe not a good idea to go back to China any time soon after releasing this video Poppy.Just sayin!
Man, it's not that bad hahaha, she can definitely come back to China. I would just report those people to the police.
@@timyunsi In my country pay disputes can be lodged with an independent ombudsman who will investigate the claim and act on the employee's behalf.Several "fast food" companies have received huge fines after being exposed underpaying there workers as well as getting lashed with the bad publicity in the media.If there is no system in China to lodge a claim for unpaid wages beyond going to a local police man to try and strongarm it out of them then that is a failure of the administration.Poppy feeling she had to resort to posting on youtube about it is only going to have bad consequences for her though as when you sling mud you open yourself up to have it slung back at you.
Cloud Tim True and scams happen here in the US or anywhere too. It just depends on your luck. I used to know an international student here in the US who worked for a Vietnamese restaurant that only paid her $50 USD for 12 hours of work. That is exploiting labor so she quit as it was so little money for so much work. She also did not go to the police as she was only an international student and did not want to cause trouble. That is one of the reasons why Poppy did not go to the police. Plus he used her UA-cam channel content to blackmail her so she had to go silent for her own good.
So if you want to sell me a car, I grab the car and don't give you any money, you were not scammed because that money never existed? Very smart.
How about working, saving up the money to travel instead of living off a dream.
Sorry to hear what happened to you. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks for your support Shawn!
So sorry this happened to you! Some people just suck
yep they do hahah
@@WheresPoppy The company that you worked for a few times, Career China, seems pretty reputable. Did you think about applying to teach English with their program, First Leap?
@@chuckywang I will talk about this in my second video. No I didn't because this happened before I really knew much about them. But I do recommend First Leap as being a reputable company to work for and I wish I had found them first.
chuckywang I heard great things about First Leap and Career China. I heard New Life ESL is good too. I may apply to them.
Do it!
Poppy, sorry about your scam experience. You mentioned that you are paying 11% interest rate for student loan and that rate is way too high. Can you refinance the loan and get a lower rate? Not sure when you started the loan but interest rate in the US was historical low in the past few years. It has gone up a little in 2018 but still way lower than 11%.
No paycheck problem ..... 1：you worked illegally first (No government protection) ----> your own fault. 2: There's scams in U.S also(renting, jog hunting), and nobody is sad about this country or its culture. most of people know how to tell if they are scam while you can't. so it's a lesson.
She's even more stupid for posting videos online at the same time as she was working illegally. She's just asking to get arrested and deported if she says something stupid. At worst she could spend a month in jail.
she left china a long time ago bro. and she is anything but stupid.@@DavidJohnson-dp4vv
The fact that there are scams in the US doesn't mean she shouldn't teach us about her experience in China. maybe she was never personally scammed in the US. And as an American you would be surprised how many people are seriously upset with the direction American culture is headed. Please think before you post with a hot head brother. There is a logical response to everything.
@@shantiyantra263 So your telling me that it's smart to work illegally in country without rule of law and then post a ton of videos on UA-cam while you're doing it? She's working illegally and drawing attention to herself. If someone get's mad at her they could have her arrested and deported people make up lies all the time about foreigners in China and get them arrested. People wouldn't even have to lie because her face splattered on the internet and all over chinese social media too. That was dumb I already know she left China long time but she did all this dumb stuff when she was there. It's almost like she was asking to spend a month in Chinese jail for working illegally.
@@shantiyantra263There is a world famous scammer site called CRAIGLIST
So sorry to hear that. You don't deserve that.
Still how open minded you are knowing there are positives and negatives. You are brave and resilient.
Skills in planning and calculating for future finances are essential for all of us I guess, sometimes though things depend on others that are beyond our control.
Thanks for your support Ankan! Lesson learned and hopefully I'll never make the same mistakes again!
@@WheresPoppy we all make mistakes
3 months? Oh kid.. you gotta be more demanding from the get go. Never go forward without it being in writing. Also why didn't you go to the police????? They are so great in China. You got the job as soon as you put yourself out there?! So It's not like you couldn't find other work quickly. I appreciate how open you are so this won't happen to others! Don't trust ANYONE
It seems that she does not have a work visa.
If you do't get paid after a moth you gtfo and leave.
As a Chinese who lived in the U.S for 7 years, I am sorry to hear you experiencing this. I have been scammed before even I am a Chinese, but right now I feel like it was a great lecture for me to be aware of the danger in this world. I learned that day not everyone out there is a decent human being. We don't harm others but we also need to prossess the skills/awareness to protect ourselves. I hope you will have more good experiences in the future. : ) BTW, REPORT TO THE POLICE! They will help you guys for sure and I am sure they would love to help out foreigners. This is not a scam after I watched your video, it's a straight up robbery, just go to the police or go to a news media or bring them to court. I would chose the first two options as a foreigner. btw, you should reveal their names for sure! Don't let them scam others again! I would just go to the police then go to the news media expose this crap on the internet and TV. They will get their ass kicked after that.
I feel you, so sorry to hear this story. I do believe in karma and golden rule!!! just move on, leave this behind, not worth being sad
Thanks Patrick! I’m not sad anymore, I’m actually quite proud of myself for making it through everything. Now it’s time to help others so they don’t make the same mistakes
Wow thats crazy, looking forward to watching the next video. Love from Nebraska
Thanks Max!
Why do you allow anyone to blackmail you like that!
What you showed us here you should show to the Chinese police.
Why did you not contact Serpenza about this? He lived there for 10 years and knows everything, his wife is Chinese he for sure could have given you the best and most valuable advice.
It's not too late to contact him as a fellow youtuber and tell him your story
Don't think they will help. Check video from SerpentZA‘s best friend prozzie, they calls poppy and travel light pandering panda.
Genyi Luo I know some people do that, but if nobody complains, then the bad guys get away with it.
Besides a best friend can have very different opinions, I have few very good friends who think differently than me on some issues, but this is them, not me.
Things must be done and put on the internet so other people can learn the truth and China get the advertising they deserve.
From what I see, they want people to say only good things about China, in that case they should do something TO DESERVE only good things to be said!
I cannot wait the day when Jordan and Livio tell us what happened to Livio first when Livio went to China, I know he was the victim of a scam too and they took him hostage and intimidated him somehow and there were money involved.
They never told that story, only the beginning of it.
Here's the problem, if she had called the police, I bet the policed instead of helping her, the obvious victim, would actually incriminate and deport her for working on a tourist visa, and ignore the bigger issue of her employer praying on unsuspecting foreigners.
Because she was working in China illegally.
I’m sorry to hear that, did you get your money back?
Schools here in China can be awful, I’ve worked for one dodgy place but have heard many shitty stories that are almost carbon copies of your story.
Damn really? Well I hope more people will hear about these stories so they don't fall into the same dodgy schools
Where's Poppy yeah I worked for a kindergarten that offered me a month off paid when my son was born and then changed its mind and refused to pay, I’d never have taken the time off if I’d known. Foreigners leaving and not being given the release papers that they should have by law just out of spite so they have problems getting a new work visa etc. in China there’s literally no wishing people a good future, just butthurt adults that act like kids and take it personally that you want to leave. I don’t think it’s all areas of jobs, but definitely training schools
Thank you Poppy for so much amazing videos you have shared here. I am very sorry to hear this sad experience you ever had in China. To be honest, I don't think this school is a real scam but definitely it wasn't a trustable one. The question is many people, not only Chinese but also foreigners newly to China, think there are business opportunities everywhere there and they will start business from scratches. Usually they cannot get any loan from banks or get invest from VCs so that working for a new venture is extremely risky. However, there are lots of reliable English-teaching schools in China for example EF, Wall street English, New Orient, Webi English etc. and you should always contact or visit their offices by yourself. If you want to find jobs via job hunters please also visit their offices, pay attention their background and their reputation. There are about 1.4 billion people in China, no one can promise that he/she would not come across with a bad guy or a bad situation. Keep positive, open your eyes and stay with trustable people, hope you will have a good time when you back to China in the future!
Thank you so much for your support! I agree, there are many reliable english-teaching schools in China and people should look at those sites. Definitely in a country with such a high population, there will be unfortunately lots of bad people and it's easy to let them represent your entire experience. I of course was very bitter in the beginning, while also going through culture shock of being in a new country so different from my homeland. But I told myself over and over again that these people don't represent China and I'm not going to let them ruin my experience. And so, I hope by sharing this video it will not only help people avoid making these same mistakes but also known that this can happen to anyone and you will make it out okay even if it does.
@@WheresPoppy
Usually Chinese don't cheat foreigners. 。. Generally it is foreigners and Chinese people who cooperate with each other. 。. Something like this. You remember to call the police. 。
@@WheresPoppy I will encourage you and all those who have been mistreated calmly but persistently look for help from authorities or local Chinese friends, and try to make every things back to what it should be. There are always some bad guys trying to make use of the language gap, the culture gap and the information asymmetry. Don't let them go so easily, and I am sure they are feared to be disclosed even they pretend not to be so. Even you don't have work visa but if you have signed contract with them or you can find witnesses they have to pay you salaries. You really should look for help and speak up in proper ways, and get a result. It's not only important for you but also important for other expats, and important for the reputation of the vast majority of normal people. Thank you!
Usually those guys will mislead you by saying "you don't have work visa", "police will not intervene such small cases", or even "Chinese officials are all corrupt", but please believe me most officials are also normal people as us and they have the sense of justice.
Yeah that's why I decided I needed to make this video. Unfortunately there was no contract for the first job though, she never "finished revising" it.
Damn Poppy I love how you always reveal the real.... thanks for opening my eyes I'm sorry it went sideways
Thanks for your support Christian! I was very nervous to post this video but after uploading it to Patreon, we all agreed it shows a side of travel that people should be informed about so they don't make similar mistakes.
@@WheresPoppy I'm going to create a Patreon and I apologize for not doing it earlier :/
@@cristiangonzalez5227 No need to apologize! We can't support everyone in what they do. I'm always happy just having people's support!
@@WheresPoppy So sorry to hear that... You treat people overly based on trust which doesn't work in China in general, right now... As a Chinese of China I only trust my parents and my sister. To all the rest people who approach me, I view them as cheaters unless they can convince me that they are not with sufficient physical evidence. Sadly, this is China at this moment.
Maybe I overly generalized my country... But in China, you need to be very very precaucious for anything involving money.
When i first moved to Toronto, Canada. I got scammed out of $27,000 Canadian dollars. It was horrible experience. Those money was all I had. I had to call the local police, but they didn't solve the case. I was 17 years old back then. Back in China, my teacher and parents told me all of Americans and Canadians are nice, obey the law. I guess bad people are everywhere. Sorry you experienced something like this in China.
It sucks that people who scam have to exists.. Stay positive we all live and learn 👍
True, we become stronger people because of it!
Thank you Poppy for sharing your experiences in China its very helpful.I Love You and your Videos.Love and Respect From Germany.
After back to back ads, I guess I'll never know how Poppy got scammed.
UA-camrs have to make money too yo.
Just use a ad blocker
Once I got scammed by my teacher in college, the lesson is don't desperate with money, run away and call someone for help immediately when thing does not work well.
So to summarize, you did no research? Ok.
Hey Poppy so sorry for your troubles but glad you're in a better place now. I'm going through my own hell at the moment with my previous school. They are refusing to give me my release letter and lasts months pay. I'm thinking of doing something similar as to you leaving but then eventually coming back. I've heard from a teacher that if you don't have that release letter you will be unable to get another job in China?? That can't be right.. please if you've heard otherwise I'd love to know! Best!
OMG the second one really terrified me, so nasty.
And as a local mainland Chinese, I feel so sorry about what you have been through.
That ‘Bonnie’ was really good at scamming, and I’m so sorry this experience had hurt you and made you feel so naive... that shouldn’t have happened at the first place.
Hope you never met this kind heartless b1tch ever.
And some advises about Chinese politics, I hope I can make myself understood.
First of all, You can totally criticize China, for its environment or people or anything as long as it’s truth. You won’t get in trouble for that even if you shoot the videos and uploaded it.
Second thing is, by no means should you publicly taking side on sensitive issue (like supporting the secession of any region)or anything that makes you suspicious for intending to split this country .(trust me that’s not a joke and not just for foreigners)
Nor should you spreading the hateful words about CCP or leaders of China or some sensitive people to Chinese people publicly, (especially a person related to media.)
The best tip is to just stay away from politics if you don’t know the red lines.
I have seem almost every single one of your videos about China, so I’m pretty sure you’ll be just fine.
I was also afraid with my words when I was younger, since there are rumors floating around and I didn’t know too much about CCP by then.
But then I got to know it, and realized this party or this government has its won standard which are strictly obeyed. it was by then that I felt cool with my speech. Hahah and even feel kind of free now. (Some might laugh at me about this, but it’s true , I a ordinary person here feel good and safe and hopeful with my life. )
Looking forward to your second story.
Poppy you are doing an amazing thing, to share the truth and share the real first-handed full-scale views about this world.
I have learned a lot (including English lol). Thank you so much for your sharing.
Thank you so much for your love and support! I don't intend to discuss politics, not even about my own country haha. And you're right, I don't know enough about it anyway it wouldn't make sense for me to talk about it.
"Nor should you spreading the hateful words about CCP" ..wow this is textbook communist oppression. China sucks bro and we all know it. Thats why so many chinese are moving OUT of china. australia and canada are pretty much greater china now bc nobody actually wants to live there bc of its political oppression and commercial scammers
Bonnie sounds like she was scammed too. China killed many of the good people during the "Great Leap Forward", and then killed more of the remaining good people during the Tiananmen Square Massacre 六四事件 in 1989. I wanted to go to China to work, in 1988, after finishing my degree, until I saw on TV what a monstrous place it was that day in 1989.
@@alpadrino3405 A government that allows a person to criticize only those people who have no power, but does not allow the criticism of POWERFUL people, is a government that is very fragile and full of people who have the mindset akin to children.
A government that is populated with child-minds is extremely dangerous, to everyone. If you can't insist that the CCP behave like adults, then you are doomed eventually. Adults don't have fragile egos.
@@immayoutubecommenter8856 Total BS the percentage of Chinese overseas is less than the percentage of Americans, you only feel that way because China is the most populated nation on earth. Also go on Chinese Weibo or any other Chinese forum there are tons of people criticizing the CCP every single day, there's even a media group in China (Southern Metropolis Daily) famous for criticizing the CCP with every single article.
Last month I lost $600, i got scammed. I was very upset and heartbroken. People theive out there are so rude and heartless.... It’s very hard to beware, we just have to be very careful out there no matter what, it was hard for me to get through. I learn from my mistakes and I’m not going to fall for it ever again. Anyway I’m sorry that happen to you. Just be careful. Hope one day the karma will go to them
And hopefully one day that person who scammed you will get the karma they deserve. I'm sorry to hear this but I'm glad you learned from it and hopefully it will never happen again!
I live here, have had good experiences, but did have delayed pay at the beginning of my last job
Sorry for ur loss, I hope that doesn't influence ur impression of all the good things u have seen in China. Scams happens every where and I feel ashamed it happened in China. You should reach out to police by calling 110, they usually are helpful, believe it or not, especially when you are a foreigner.
Never get advice from hostels?
Tons of friends I know worked and were paid properly in China..
Thanks for sharing. Also, sorry to hear that.😔
Thank you Blaze for your support!
This is SO common in a lot of countries. Vietnam, Thailand, China etc. They "use" foreign teachers and never pay them. :(
how about japan
It's really frustrating, hopefully this video can help foreigners not fall into this trap!
@@WheresPoppy I think East-South China has not the same situation with Vietnam/Thailand etc..... (our poor neighbors)
Avery Koch many reason is the foreign would teach English in these countries are more or less have some problem, many white men in Thailand just for children prosititute and earn some extra money by teaching locals.
The main problem is did her have legal working visa as foreign teacher when teaching in China? This happen even in Australia, many Western country too..If u work as illegal at foreign country some of them can't get their pay.sorry for my broken English.
Many years ago I taught in China and one thing I learned was that some of the schools don't have the licence or authority to actually run in the city. So they cannot provide Z class working visas. Be very wary of working on a tourist visa. The government was cracking down even then. I was getting paid but had a couple of bad experiences with schools. Some of them would employ you with a 3 month probation period and fire you right on the last day. I encountered one Singaporean guy who had created a pop up school. Some of the Chinese staff were not paid for 3 months of work and I was fired on the last day of the probation period despite being told my job was secure. I almost lost 1 month of salary. We all formed a class action with the local education bureau and recovered our lost money almost 3 weeks later. Turns out the guy had a string of scams where he would try and run with the money. No idea what happened to him.
My best advice is to secure a job in a school that provides the visas and has been around for a long time. A state run school or one of the larger groups such as Metro, 新东方 New Oriental etc.
disclose the bad people
absolutely not
Bruce Chen No use in disclosing them.
Yes Bruce, I agree. Shine a little light on the darkness. These people operate off of good will.
@@TrinhNguyen-sh4fjI agree, probably they use fake names, and possibly the authorities might also be corrupt also.
That would put Poppy in more danger than them.
Thank you for sharing your experience in China and hope you will give us more videos about China, many Chinese people (Mainland and overseas) are supporting you.
Working on a tourist visa... You really deserved this one
Sorry to hear that you got scammed in China hopefully it’s a good lesson for your next journey. Please be careful next time.
Thank you!
Currently an expat in China and having an awful time. I’m leaving after 6 months because its definitely not what I expected.
I'm very sorry to hear that, I hope you didn't fall victim to any scams yourself and that's why you're leaving. Whatever happened, stay strong and surround yourself with people who support and love you!
I plan on moving to Shgnahai. Why don't you like it?
Taylor Kilander What happened that made you hate it so much? I heard many positive experiences from others who have lived there for years.
Taylor Kilander Thanks for sharing but I think you should have done more research before you went. Sorry for your bad experience and can’t you change to another company? Hope your perceptions change for the better.