Lotus Marketing has been the latest multi-level marketing (MLM) company to recruit college students into their ranks and give false professional hopes to CSU East Bay students.

MLM companies, such as Lotus Marketing and Vector Marketing, use a marketing strategy of compensating their salespeople according to their individual sales and recruitment rate, sometimes exploiting workers.

Vector Marketing made headlines in 2008 after being sued by one of their employees, testifying that Vector violated California and federal labor laws by failing to pay adequate wages and illegally coercing employees into patronizing the company.

Companies such as these prey on college students as well as those eager to make money quickly. They use the same post but have different names for respondents to call; the same person answers the phone every time.

Located in Hayward, Lotus Marketing has posted numerous advertisements on Craigslist for new student employees, offering training in retail services, customer service, product promos, stock and inventory control, and sales or marketing with no experience needed.

Lotus Marketing stated, “Our mission is to generate solutions where the client, company and customers are all better off for having taken part in this ‘win, win, win’ strategy.”

“I was excited that they called back so quick, I scheduled an interview immediately,” said 21-year-old student Daniel Brown. “After my first interview they called me a couple of hours later and asked me to come in the next day for a second interview, they told me I was going to be job shadowing.”

When students apply and go in for interviews, however, they end up getting less than what they were promised.

“Once I went in for the second interview, I knew this was one of those Vector scams,” said Brown.

“They had me go out with them all day, I was gone for ten hours going to different places, and we were selling two dollar bubble shooters to people for 20 bucks. I didn’t even get to eat, all I had was a glass of lemonade and a cookie,” Brown continued.

At the end of the day, Brown walked away making no money, but gained a valuable experience he would soon never forget.

“Don’t trust those marketing companies, they are all scams,” said Brown.

Lotus Marketing was not available for comment.