The experience of the author's cousin's daughter as she unwittingly participates in a scam within the telecom industry during her summer job as a Client Channel Developer.
"My cousin and I have always been like sisters [why?],
and when her daughter, whom I'll call Ana, took on a summer job as a Client Channel Developer [cold caller?]
in the telecom industry in Portugal [did she have to travel overseas or was she already there?] ,
I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in her new venture [why?].
Ana was[?] a bright and motivated young woman, eager to learn and gain experience in the working world. This job seemed like the perfect opportunity for her to grow both personally and professionally [why?].
However, we never imagined that this seemingly innocent position would lead Ana down a path of deception, betrayal, and ultimately, the exposure of an entire scam operation. [Strong claims that are not explained]
In this blog post, I will share Ana's experience and the lessons she learned from this eye-opening journey, as well as its impact on the parent company and its employees. [Not currently delivered in this piece]
When Ana first started working as a Client Channel Developer [?], she was trained and certified to gather information on public opinion about changing to a new telephone service, as Portugal Telecom held a monopoly on landlines at the time [so she was a cold caller?].
[...]
Changes in the Job and Unraveling the Scam [the scam is never explained]
As the weeks went by, Ana and her colleagues were told that they needed to conduct more field visits and sell their telecom packages to the public. [...]
It was at a family gathering that I introduced Ana to a childhood friend of mine who happened to be the head of accounting at the parent company of Ana's employer. Upon learning about Ana's position, my friend's face dropped, and he urged her to leave the job immediately, revealing that it was a scam. [Yet he did not blow the whistle as head accountant?]
He explained that this scheme was not only taking place in Portugal but also in Spain, Brazil, and Argentina. The company would use the information gathered by employees like Ana to target the most interested households and businesses, offering them substantial discounts and special offers through their call center in Spain.[OK so they were using them for lead generation and cutting the salespeople out of the loop..... is that what we are talking about?]"
If we can get to the bottom of those questions I will re draft up to this point. I would do away with the summary, playlist and change the picture but we can discuss that. Do you still want to do this? Michael
Ana was 21 at the time, she’s 44 now, married with 3 kids and works in HR for a big telecom.
We were just talking about the post yesterday, she said she loved it but thought it was a bit short, that it lacks a lot of information, I reminded her that it’s a blog post, not a book…
I think it would benefit with a bit more information about the sequence of events, particularly what led to the investigation. Also what were the 'far reaching consequences' and how did it change the industry? I think because you know what happened you don't find it interesting to write about. I could make some suggestions - not sure how useful they would be. Also if you are worried about length you could make is a multi-part story.
Thank you, that is a great idea. I'll have to investigate how much and how I can reveal it since I had to promise some level of anonymity. I'll check my notes and research.
Once I get settled in and have all my series underway.... July. We could collaborate on a revision if you like. Keep the original up but tell the story in a different way with more detail. First I would have to ask you a load of questions, then I can draft and then give it back to you, then it will be up to you. What do you think?
Aria with questions and comments to start:
"My cousin and I have always been like sisters [why?],
and when her daughter, whom I'll call Ana, took on a summer job as a Client Channel Developer [cold caller?]
in the telecom industry in Portugal [did she have to travel overseas or was she already there?] ,
I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in her new venture [why?].
Ana was[?] a bright and motivated young woman, eager to learn and gain experience in the working world. This job seemed like the perfect opportunity for her to grow both personally and professionally [why?].
However, we never imagined that this seemingly innocent position would lead Ana down a path of deception, betrayal, and ultimately, the exposure of an entire scam operation. [Strong claims that are not explained]
In this blog post, I will share Ana's experience and the lessons she learned from this eye-opening journey, as well as its impact on the parent company and its employees. [Not currently delivered in this piece]
When Ana first started working as a Client Channel Developer [?], she was trained and certified to gather information on public opinion about changing to a new telephone service, as Portugal Telecom held a monopoly on landlines at the time [so she was a cold caller?].
[...]
Changes in the Job and Unraveling the Scam [the scam is never explained]
As the weeks went by, Ana and her colleagues were told that they needed to conduct more field visits and sell their telecom packages to the public. [...]
It was at a family gathering that I introduced Ana to a childhood friend of mine who happened to be the head of accounting at the parent company of Ana's employer. Upon learning about Ana's position, my friend's face dropped, and he urged her to leave the job immediately, revealing that it was a scam. [Yet he did not blow the whistle as head accountant?]
He explained that this scheme was not only taking place in Portugal but also in Spain, Brazil, and Argentina. The company would use the information gathered by employees like Ana to target the most interested households and businesses, offering them substantial discounts and special offers through their call center in Spain.[OK so they were using them for lead generation and cutting the salespeople out of the loop..... is that what we are talking about?]"
If we can get to the bottom of those questions I will re draft up to this point. I would do away with the summary, playlist and change the picture but we can discuss that. Do you still want to do this? Michael
Hi Michael, can I email you?
Yes if we can work out a way to do that without posting my email address on here.
Of course!
Privacy, number One!
Will get back to you.
I am subscribed so you can see my email on your list.
Thank you, just found it, did not know that...
It's an old system, sometimes it takes a while to reply to complex questions, it may take a day or two...
C:\> LOAD_REPLY.EXE
Loading reply to Substack Notes...
C:\> ENTER_MESSAGE.EXE
Entering message...
C:\> PROCESS_MESSAGE.EXE
Processing...
C:\> SEND_MESSAGE.EXE
Sending message...
Please wait, process is in progress...
C:\> CONFIRMATION.EXE
Message sent successfully!
Ana was 21 at the time, she’s 44 now, married with 3 kids and works in HR for a big telecom.
We were just talking about the post yesterday, she said she loved it but thought it was a bit short, that it lacks a lot of information, I reminded her that it’s a blog post, not a book…
I think it would benefit with a bit more information about the sequence of events, particularly what led to the investigation. Also what were the 'far reaching consequences' and how did it change the industry? I think because you know what happened you don't find it interesting to write about. I could make some suggestions - not sure how useful they would be. Also if you are worried about length you could make is a multi-part story.
Thank you, that is a great idea. I'll have to investigate how much and how I can reveal it since I had to promise some level of anonymity. I'll check my notes and research.
I have suggestions.
And I would love to know them!
Once I get settled in and have all my series underway.... July. We could collaborate on a revision if you like. Keep the original up but tell the story in a different way with more detail. First I would have to ask you a load of questions, then I can draft and then give it back to you, then it will be up to you. What do you think?
I would love that, itching for a colab!
OK I'll get back to you.