Three Stars Media reviews and complaints

Thanks for all of your posts! So glad I read this! I received a message from The Internet Company last week saying they wanted to schedule an interview. But after doing some research and reading all of your posts, there's no way I'm going there! Glad I didn't drive all the way to Orlando for this crap, since I live 1 1/2 hours away. I found this site that has some more info about all the different websites this company has, as well as some news videos about the owner, who has spent time in jail for fraud: http://scamfraudalert.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/career-network-aka-apple-staffing/ .

I made the big mistake of working for one of their companies and I am glad that they let me go. I went through the process not too long ago. I had filled an application out online and about a day later I received an email from them. It told me that I needed to watch the video presentation and if I felt the job was right for me I could set the interview up. I watched the video, set the interview up and then went to the interview. I had applied for a Human Resources position and when I went in for the interview they told me that that postion was no longer being filled but they did have a verification representative position open that they felt I would be great for. Stupid me being desperate for a job took the position and according to them it was great because they had one more opening for their so called boot camp starting the next day. Not paying attention to the other people in the waiting room, went to boot camp, dealt with all their fake high energy and great script that they went off on and got suckered into their load of crap. I should have known better then to take a commission based work from home job. I worked in the office for hte first week for my training that they claimed I was doing great with even though I was going through some personal issues. Worked part of the following week because I was having technical issues and then got fired a week later because they felt I wasnt suited for the position even though they told me prior that the issues I had dealt with earlier wouldnt effect my job. I worked 33 hours in 3 days and got paid a measly 200.00. Meanwhile, people who were doing less work then me in a full week are still working for this lame company. They will get everything that they deserve in the long run and I really do feel sorry for the people that work for a company like this.

The Internet Company is also trying to scheme people from the social network facebook to get your personal info to use as a way to get you through there door first. if you receive an email from facebook the person sending it is named Kelly Pomack, says she works there and even then sends you a link to fill an application out to the internet company. I had no idea, until I read all this info that it was a scam. My fake job interveiw was set up for 2day, but I won't be going because I can only find bad things about this company nothing good. Be wary of the email on facebook they have been removed from career builder.com, so now they are trying to use social networks to get your info. be wary of them.

I applied for a Administrative Assistant position with 3 Stars Media company back in April of 2009. The position sounded great, the pay sounded even better, it was almost to good to be true. I read about the Company on their website they even had pictures of the employees and all these wonderful functions they were doing for the community. I was excited and continued with my application process online. I received a email back from them stateing to pick a interview time from a list of dates and times. So I went ahead and followed the procedure and set up a SO CALLED "INTERVIEW" with them. I get to their METRO WEST OFFICE LOCATION proceed upstairs still at this point everything seemed legit. Beautiful office suite, receptionist, other applicants seemed pretty normal to me. The Receptionist asked me for a hard copy of my resume and asked if I could stand against the wall because she had to take my picture to attach to my file. I saw her doing it with the other applicants as well so even though it seemed a little skeptical the only thing that ran accross my mind was HMM THEY MUST HAVE ALOT OF APPLICANTS coming in and out. She then proceeded to give me a folder with the job description for a a verification specialist. After a few seconds she took me and 3 other applicants to the back office sat each of us down in front of a computer and told us we would be taking a test and had 30 min she told me to log in using my email address. The whole time I was taking the test I felt some of the questions where so random ex: If Susie has x amt tickets for sale and they each cost x amt of dollars how many tickets does she have left blah blah blah lol it just really seemed irrelevant. Anyway after the test was done I let her know and she said that they would review my test and if I am selected they would CONTACT ME BACK FOR A INTERVIEW. Ok so by this time I am really upset that I spent half an hour driving to Metro West and half and hour taking a test when the email clearly said INTERVIEW. Needless to say I didn't hear back from them but at this point I didn't care. FAST FORWARD TO TODAY: I receieve a email in regards to a position I applied for yesterday online they ask me to go to the site fill out my info upload resume and SELECT MY INTERVIEW TIME!
Automatically I though...this SOUNDS LIKE THREE STARS MEDIA COMPANY however the WEBSITE SAYS THE INTERNET COMPANY. so I start to look @ the staff pictures and SURPRISE, SURPRISE its the same PICTURES THAT WERE ON THE 3 STARS website a few months back...After googling just a few seconds ago about 3 stars I find this website. I am happy that people are complaining about this and I wish I would have found this site earlier . Be advised that now they are going by a diffrent name obviously "THE INTERNET COMPANY".
There are people out here who are trying to work and make a decent living and the last thing they need is company's like this USING AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF INNOCENT PEOPLE. I pray that our pictures taken @ their office and info aren't used for fraud purposes. The best thing we can do to protect ourselves is do some research in regards to these companies asking for us to submit our resumes, check the better business burea, and continue to file complaints and lastly ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR INTUITION if something seems suspect.

Thank you again to everyone who posted about this!

Thank you everyone for posting your experience. I was set to go on an interview today. I decided to research the company a bit before I went, which is what one would normally do when looking for perspective employers. Thankfully I came across this and other blogs and didn't waste my time.

I am infuriated by companies such as these trying to exploit people who are seeking legitimate job offers as an administrative assistant, especially in this economy that we find ourselves in. I am desperate for a job, but not that desperate.

Thanks again!

Anyone looking to move to Orlando better do research for any job they are looking to take...especially marketing, sales and customer service. This town is full of dirty employers.

Hi, anyone (duped too!) willing to let me interview them about their experience? Duped, I know you wrote detailed description, but I'd much rather talk to you in person or on the phone. You commented on my blog - I'm a journalist, obviously. I applied for a copywriter position, of course. I'd like to interview people who did all three interviews and PARTICULARLY past employees. Please. I'm also going to interview the police department - hopefully someone who has previously arrested Difrawi.

I'd really appreaciate it, thank you.
My email (well, one of my emails, this is the one that I allow all the junk from scanbots to go to): katnc24@hotmail.com Once you reply, I'll email you from my gmail account.

Thanks guys.

My Three Stars SCAM experience

I recently went for two interviews at Three Stars Media and this was my experience. I am hoping someone closes this company down ! It's hard enough to find a job in this market but when you get scammed like this, it becomes VERY demoralizing.
I applied for TWO jobs on CareerBuilder.com : Administrative Assistant and Human Resources Assistant.
Click here to see the actual postings as they appeared on Careerbuilder.com : http://i44.tinypic.com/11rrxa9.jpg and http://i39.tinypic.com/jj5qgy.jpg . NOTE: CLICK the pics to make the image larger to be able to read it. This applies for all future photo links.
I received and automated e-mail back from Three Stars, Inc. the next day requesting to set up an "initial interview" : http://i42.tinypic.com/s4t6br.jpg .
I went to the website and registered for an initial interview. The ENTIRE interview set up process was automated.
I received a confirmation e-mail for the "initial interview" : http://i41.tinypic.com/6hi88n.jpg .
And a reminder e-mail : http://i43.tinypic.com/wbz5mp.jpg . This reminding cements the thinking that the job interview is important. They want to make sure you show up.
I put the words "initial interview" in quotes above because there was NO interview on my first visit to Three Stars. Here is how the first visit played out.
I arrived at Suite 211 and the receptionist asked for my resume. She then handed me a white binder with laminated pages to view information for a "Verification Specialist". I quickly paged through this booklet because I already knew what was coming next. I have to admit, I didn't pay attention much to the laminated pages because I had a friend who interviewed a few weeks prior for a Sales Manager position and she told me the first interview was just an assessment test.
After flipping through the laminated booklet, I then handed the book back to the receptionist. She told me I needed to take an assessment test (I think the binder info alluded to this too) and she told me she needed to take a picture of me as they "have so many people coming through their doors" and needed to take the photo for "identification purposes". I complied and let her snap my photo. She then guided me through a door opening to a room with several computers and little cubicles dividing the individuals taking the test. She opened the test on a PC, told me I had 30 mins. to take it and she told me I could use a calculator and she opened the calculator on the desktop. She told me to log in to take the test using my e-mail address and my last name. I then saw all my person info (name, address, etc. as well as the pic she just snapped of me) and then was taken to the test. I don't remember all the questions but I found a few questions quite odd. One asked "Are you over 24 years of age? " another asked (not sure of exact wording) "We have part time work at home positions for individuals. Would you be interested in this position or would you like to stick with the position you applied for?" I selected to stick with my current job I applied for. And there were some questions on advertising: "What are advertising verticals?", "What are five of the top 100 Internet websites?". There was also three vocabulary questions (the only one I remember was the meaning of the word "CONVERGE", there were two other vocab words used in sentences, I can't remember, something about Freud). There were also some Math questions. From memory, I think there were three in total, two word problems (one something about cutting a piece of wood into three pieces and the other was an algebra question, I think it was "2x - 4 = 6") and another odd question was "If you knew you would be fired for admitting a mistake would you lie to save your job?" . There were other questions on the test but these certain questions stood out to me.
I left the computer room and the receptionist handed me a business card (http://i44.tinypic.com/p7vus.jpg ) and told me to log on to their website with my e-mail address and last name after 10am the next day to check my application status :
When I logged on the next morning the website had a message (after I logged in) showing that my "aptitude test was impressive" and they wanted to meet with me for a second interview. I scheduled the second interview and got another confirmation e-mail : http://i40.tinypic.com/97440m.jpg .
And again, another reminder e-mail for the second interview : http://i43.tinypic.com/30cuc8o.jpg . They really wanted to make sure I showed up !
I arrived for my second interview at Suite 217 and walked into a foyer with dark lighting and no one to greet me. I saw a big conference table with better lighting and big leather chairs and a projector. I sat down next to two women who were waiting for their "interview". One of the women asked me "what are we doing here? What's going to go on I wonder ?" - the both laughed nervously. I told her that first we would get a presentation, then tour, then have individual interviews. This was the experience of my friend. In reality, I misunderstood my friend - there was no individual interview after the tour, it was a group interview telling everyone that they would be getting a phone call if they were interested. Again, my friend when there for a sales job, NOT the jobs I had applied to for Admin Asst. and Human Resources Asst.
Eventually, more people filtered in. We had 10 in our meeting. A woman named Crissy W (WAH Advisor Regional Manager - according to their website. Go to http://threestarsinc.com/teams/corpTeams.cfm?dept=9 and click on the little girl being hugged by Mickey Mouse to see her pic and info) was our cheerleader for the next couple of hours. She first asked us to go around the room and introduce ourselves. She then told us about herself (she was a dancer and worked at Disney, although that didn't pay the bills and then she spoke about the company. Started in 2004, now has over 500 employees and also a team in India. She explained the role of the Verification Specialist and explained that they don't show the job name in their listings online because "no one would know what that job is and no one would apply for it". So she admits up front that the jobs that brought all of us in DID NOT EXIST, but not in those exact words. My Human Resources Assistant and Administrative Assistant jobs were not real open jobs at the company! We were told that Three Stars also had a website called "Career Network" and that they are going after Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com. She said that it costs a company $ 400 to post a job on those websites while their Career Network offers postings for only $ 99 and they initially started out by posting those ads for FREE in the beginning. She also showed up a clip on News Channel 13 where the company donated toys for charity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxXZd0u0dOE&feature=channel_page ) and talked up how they give back to the community. She also talked about their free happy hour, dinners at the Executive Managers house, and their co-ed flag football (http://threestarsinc.com/fun/eventsIndex.cfm ) . She then proceeded to give us a tour of the company. We all piled in the elevator and headed up to the 4th floor (from the 2nd floor) and first toured an office of people posting jobs on Craigslist and other websites, according to Crissy. The workers pretty much ignored us, except for one guy who watched the whole show. All of us idiots, in suits, all there for fake jobs. I could only think as I saw them sitting at their desks that these people were creating the same fake jobs that brought us in. Crissy said they were creating jobs from "their business clients". We were then lead to Human Resources and introduced to a manager named Dahlia who told us she has been with the company 7 months and LOVES it. She told us that "it's a long interview process, but stick with it" and she wished us all good luck.
Next up was the division that we saw the people in action who were Verification Specialists. Basically an auto dialing system will call applicants to tell them that they need to verify information for a job they applied for. When they call back, they go to this department. These people follow a script, verify certain info and then plug at the end to try and sell school admissions. For some reason a select few people work here vs. the at home position we were offered at the end of the interview. See below.
Next we walked into the webmaster division. First Crissy proceeded to flirt with Darvin K. - Director of Operations - as he showed her a photo that they laughed over, then we were introduced to Kelly R. - Executive Vice President (http://threestarsinc.com/teams/corpTeams.cfm?dept=1) and were told that she was the third person hired at the company when it was created out of someone's apartment. Kelly was wearing a flag football jersey. She explained the department was broken down into four departments. I can't remember all but one to come up with design ideas for a website, one to create the website, one to "break it" - quality control, and then it was released. Crissy proudly told us that Kelly created MANY websites. We were then lead to the next department "Employer Services" and met Scott D. - Career Network Director (http://threestarsinc.com/teams/corpTeams.cfm?dept=7 ) . We heard him give his spiel. He basically stated that he talks to companies to find out more about the jobs to make sure they post the correct information to get a qualified individual and also to make sure that there employees ask the right questions when they do their verification to pre-qualify candidates for companies. A good story anyway.
Next up, we met Ben D. - Senior Business Analyst (http://threestarsinc.com/teams/corpTeams.cfm?dept=1) . Ben told us that he handles SEO and making sure that the websites they create show up in the featured listings on search engines like Google and Yahoo!.
Lastly, we met Matt A. - WAH Advisor Regional Manager (http://threestarsinc.com/teams/corpTeams.cfm?dept=9 ), who was located in Suite 211 in the back offices, behind the computer testing area, who told us what a great company they had because one woman (can't recall her name) had a Mother that fell ill and she needed to move back up North (New Jersey I think?) and how great the company was because even though the woman had to move away she was still able to log on to a computer up there at 9am in NJ the following Monday and continue working. He said they had many employees talking about how expensive gas was and they realized it was a GREAT idea for their employees to work out of the home. Matt was planting the seed here.
And then we were lead across the hall again to Suite 217 and back to the conference room. Crissy's tone TOTALLY changed. No longer a cheerleader and full of friendly energy, she was somber and matter of fact. We were then given two hand outs : one detailing the job outline for the Verification Specialist : and the other for the computer requirements to work at home and the script for the education spiel : . Crissy told us that training started us at $ 10 per hour and we could earn extra money from there, depending on how many people said YES to wanting more information on signing up for education. She claimed she made $ 600 in her first week. She said they like for you to receive 80 -100 calls a day but the record was 150 calls in one day. She estimated that in 15 minutes at least TWO people would say YES to wanting more information about education. She said we were not to push the education, only plant the seed, mentioning it twice, the second time to confirm it. She said they only wanted people who were serious about signing up for classes. She then told us that she realized this job - Verification Specialist - was not for everyone. If we didn't think it was something we'd be interested in, we could leave now. Otherwise stay behind and she left the room to "get paperwork". Everyone was like a deer in the headlights. No one moved. She came back and then asked "ok, we have openings for tomorrow for the phone interview, who is available tomorrow ?" So then, with the peer pressure of everyone watching, she proceeded to ask everyone. Many set up times, signing up by stating the time and then telling Crissy their First name and last initial. One person said "Well, can I have some time to think about it?" "Of course!" - Crissy replied. That was a snowball effect then. Others said they too wanted to think about it.
Here are links to view the Verification Specialist handout : http://i44.tinypic.com/2ishbm8.jpg, http://i39.tinypic.com/wbz5w5.jpg, http://i44.tinypic.com/23rtx8y.jpg, and http://i39.tinypic.com/1y7h8o.jpg .
Here are links to view the Computer requirements and the Education script : http://i44.tinypic.com/1zpqst5.jpg, http://i44.tinypic.com/15x71qp.jpg and http://i41.tinypic.com/n3kht0.jpg . This was what was to be covered in the phone interview. They wanted to hear you read the script and make sure your home did not have background distractions like "a baby crying or dog barking".
I realize this is lengthy but I wanted to give you all a firsthand account for what the Three Stars interviews entail so you don't have to waste your time like I did. If you want work at home job that pays $ 10 an hour plus commissions for planting a seed for education, then this job is for you. It's just a shame they scam, as they say "600 people a week walk through our doors", into thinking they are on REAL interviews for jobs they applied for online, only to learn it's a telemarketing work at home position instead.
Does Three Stars offer job s? YES, but ONLY the Work at Home "Verification Specialist". NOT the jobs that were posted online. Here is a listing of ALL the jobs supposedly available on the Three Stars website : http://threestarsinc.com/careers/jobIndex.cfm?type=1 . The jobs were the SAME, none were "filled" from the time frame that my friend applied weeks prior. Now I know it's because they simply DO NOT EXIST.
Their claim is that once you master the Verification Specialist job they then like to move you up in the company, depending on what areas you would be best suited for. I wonder how many people are actually moved up. Of course Crissy said she started out (7 months ago, oddly the SAME time Dahlia started with the company) in the Verification Specialist position and worked her way up. Oh and Crissy did tell us all that we did really well on the aptitude test, we were the best of the best, which I now know is a load of bull. The whole thing was a HUGE sales pitch. They made the place look like a fun, young, energetic place to work..and hey ! They even give to charities ! How could they be bad. Forget that that LIED to us to get us all in there in the first place ! I found it odd though that most of the offices did not have fluorescent overhead lights...only desk lamps. All offices were decorated very attractively. Staging here was key. Another odd thing ? NONE of the suites had the "Three Stars" name on the nameplates...which was odd because ALL the other offices DID show their names on the nameplate with the Suite number. Their suites simply had the suite number listed on the nameplate.
I just saw on the news today that Channel 9 News WFTV will be showing ANOTHER piece on Three Stars and their false job listings. They even show footage, the room that had the Verification Specialists/Education Counselors in it. Should be interesting to watch. http://www.wftv.com/
Lastly, as I mentioned, my friend also went through this process. Why on earth would I want to go through this? Well, she again went for a Sales Manager position and her second interview included info about the company, the company tour, but then also a pitch to the individuals on the interview to partake in a website called Monkey Jar (http://www.monkeyjar.com/ ) where you create your own "online mall" and you make money supposedly if your friends shop your "mall" by clicking the links to visit the store websites. Interestingly enough, if you click the "About Us" link on Monkey Jar you will see cartoon caricatures of both Kelly and Darvin from Three Stars. So I went on this interview to see how well I would do on the aptitude test and to see if I would do well enough to get the second interview. My friend who went for her Sales Manager second interview was told if they were interested in her they would call her. It makes me wonder what Three Stars got out of her second interview. Maybe advertising to get people to use the Monkey Jar website. Or maybe the whole thing is just a scam to get our personal info : they have our home address, work numbers, employment history, aptitude ratings, heck even a photo of us - that they can use to sell to marketing companies. Here is info about this take on the whole scheme : http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/three-stars-media-new-name-same-scheme . I know this is long, but I hope it helps others from going through this.
Early on in my search, I also received these two e-mail (and many more - too many to post) from Career Network which I now know is also Three Stars : http://i41.tinypic.com/xqgaw3.jpg and http://i39.tinypic.com/2rgjm2o.jpg . I did not like the fact that the company name and phone number were not listed. I e-mailed back asking for this information and did not receive a response. I think these e-mails were generated off jobs I applied for on Craigslist.com. Once you click the link for the fake tech support job you are brought to this website: http://perfectcareercenter.com/JobOffer/Register.cfm?JobPositionID=92050 . Notice the questions at the bottom regarding education. You guessed it...this is so a Three Stars work at home Verification Rep. can call you back and ask if you are interested in furthering your education. The website is called : perfectcareercenter.com but if you click the about us link it shows that this is Three Stars. So when you search for a job online today you have NO IDEA if the job you are apply for is real or if it's yet another Three Stars fake job website. I think networking to find a job today is best way to not get scammed. Happy job hunting everyone...be careful out there. At least Three Stars didn't ask for my social security number at any point. I feel very sorry for job seekers that DO offer this information online. :-(

Three Stars Media is a fraudulent comapny owned and run by convicted Felon, Ayman El Difrawi who spent 4 years in Federal Prison for bank fraud, among other charges including child abuse of a 4 year old boy.. You should google him and you will be in shock with what you will read. They are a phishing and scamming company. They only want your personal information on your resume or application and this is how they lure you in.. Thier jobs do not exist. They sell your personal information, and within a day or two of your interview you start getting bombarded with spam. This guy, El Difrawi is a known master criminal with an extensive rap sheet. You will not find his name anywhere on the company. He is totally behind the scenes and uses about 15 different names.

I am thankful to all that have posted their experience as I am looking to relocate to Orlando and was about to plan a trip just for this interview. Now I can save that time and the resources.

Three Stars is a scam operation. By the way, they get their employees to say only good things about the company and destroy those who complain. Here is a recent local news video about the company:

http://www.wftv.com/action9/19970193/detail.html

I'm sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation with Three Stars. But your complaint has stopped me and probably several others from pursuing their employment interview offer. I'm glad I did a little more research before going down there. I found it a little suspiscous when I couldn't find an address or phone number for their office on their website. Then, when you do get their number, the sysem is automated and you never get to talk to anybody. They can forget getting any more of my info. Glad my resume info is minimal. Again, sorry for your unfortunate situation but thank you for the information.

He is not making anything up.

If that is the case...then blame the thousands of complaints by hundreds of people all over the Internet...maybe they also MADE UP stuff.

The BBB report...maybe those are made up reports...

Three Stars Media is in the ###.

http://sites.google.com/site/avoidworkforscammers/

you got fired, so what. of course you're going to say negative stuff. Put some energy in finding a new job, instead of posting negative comments about stuff you make up.