I got a voicemail today saying it was from “Michael at Red Hat” and asking me to return his call to a number in “country code 621.” Country code 621 doesn’t exist, but country code 62 is Indonesia. The number on the caller ID was Australian.
Scam? Job offer? Who knows! If it were a legit call about my job application at Red Hat, I’d have expected a call from a US office– either their Boston or Raleigh locations. Or they’d have sent an email. And if it were a legit call, wouldn’t they have left a last name? On the other hand, an effective scam would have to know I had applied to work at Red Hat.
Secretly Ironic 
This Phishing stuff is really amazing. The only time I ever fell for it was one of those “have a
question about your e-bay item” when I was in fact selling something on e-bay. The fellow sent out a million of those, and of course maybe a thousand recipients were selling something on e-bay, but to them it felt real.
Of course phone calls are not free — though with VOIP … they almost are. Any evidence that this was a mass-distributed message? I am surprised Red Hat would work that way, but they are probably a very virtual company.
Since you asked advice, I guess I’d not be shy and go with a phone call to Red Hat’s US number and say you were still interested in a job and what is there opinion about this fellow “X” at phone # “Y”, could it be legitimate? This gives them an opportunity to increase your odds, and can’t hurt to remind them you’re still interested.
Failing that, you could always call him. It will cost you your first minute and possibly some 900 # charges … however those scams about $20,000 for a 1 minute call are Urban Legends (check out Snopes).
I’d say it may cost you $20 to satisfy your curiosity … for a job hunter it’s probably worth it.
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