Have you been contacted by SVH Travel about an exciting remote travel agent opportunity?

Maybe you came across their job listings on LinkedIn promising high commissions and travel perks that sound too good to be true.

Well, they likely are too good to be true. There’s mounting evidence that SVH Travel is running an elaborate job hiring scam.

In this exposé, I’ll take you deep behind the scenes of the SVH Travel scam. You’ll see real-life examples of their shady tactics from real people who almost got reeled in.

You’ll learn exactly how the scam works, from the initial too-good-to-be-true job offer to their high-pressure webinars designed to trick you into paying them.

And I’ll reveal the biggest red flags that expose SVH Travel as a fraud you need to steer very clear of.

If you’ve encountered SVH Travel online or received emails from someone like “Edwin” about an exciting remote job oppurtunity, this is a must-read article.

Let’s dive in.

The SVH Travel Backstory

SVH Travel claims to be a legitimate travel agency. Their website (svhtravel.com) has a contemporary design and talks about helping customers “create your dream vacation.”

They have an “About Us” page describing their mission and showing photos of a small team. Their address is listed as being in Glendale, California.

And they have a LinkedIn company page with job listings for roles like “Travel Agent” and “Travel Coordinator.”

So far, so good. It seems like a normal travel company looking to hire energetic people for their team, right?

Wrong. It’s all a carefully crafted facade hiding an insidious scam.

The first major red flag? SVH Travel is not registered with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or other legitimate business directories.

According to the BBB’s scam tracker, SVH Travel is a “Work from home scam, employment scam” where you have to “pay money to receive training and materials from the company.”

And the evidence just piles up from there that SVH Travel is a fraudulent scheme designed to extract money from unsuspecting job seekers.

The Too-Good-To-Be-True Job Offer

This whole scam starts with an enticing bait: an unbelievable remote job offer.

People report being contacted directly by someone claiming to be a “Hiring Manager” at SVH Travel. This person, who often goes by the name “Edwin,” will say they came across the person’s resume or job application, thought they were a great fit, and want to offer them a position.

Here’s a real example of the kind of text message people get:

“Hey Summer, This is Edwin, the hiring manager at SVH Travel. You submitted your application on LinkedIn interested in our remote travel agent position. After reviewing your resume and your past work experience we think you’d be a great fit to join our team! Are you still interested?”

Already, multiple red flags:

1. The “Hiring Manager” is contacting you directly without you applying to a specific role. That’s not normal hiring procedure for a real company.
2. They don’t give any details about the actual role, responsibilities, background requirements etc. Just a vague “you’re a great fit!”
3. The awkwardly phrased messages reek of being machine-generated rather than from a real person.

But the biggest red flag of all is what they promise next…

If you engage with “Edwin” or follow the link they send, you get hit with some incredibly too-good-to-be-true benefits, like:

• 80%+ commission on all travel bookings
• Access to travel agent pricing (70-90% off )
• Ability to book free trips for yourself and family members
• Potential to earn $500-$900 per sale

Let me repeat that: they claim you can make $500-$900 for booking a single travel package!

At this point, alarm bells should be going off. No legitimate travel agency is going to pay those kinds of crazy high commissions or let employees book free vacations for themselves and family.

It’s clearly a trick designed to get your interest so they can reel you into the next stage of their scam.

The Mandatory “Training Webinar”

So you took the bait and expressed interest in the SVH Travel “opportunity.” What’s the next step?

You’ll receive an invite to a mandatory webinar training course to learn more details about the remote travel agent role.

As multiple Reddit users reported, during the webinar SVH Travel doubles down on those ridiculous promised perks and bonuses.

They really hype up the vacation packages and luxury travel experiences you can book for yourself. And they dangle the ability to be your own boss and work at your own pace as an “entrepreneur.”

All while reinforcing those insane $500-$900 per sale commission rates.

It’s a classic case of overwhelming people with the fantasy of getting rich by working from home part-time hours as a travel agent.

At this point, you’re probably thinking: “OK, this seems too good to be true, but maybe the opportunity is legit?”

That’s when they drop the other shoe…

The Strings-Attached: You Have to Pay to Play

After hyping up all those travel fantasies during the webinar, the SVH crew finally gets to the catch:

If you want to officially join SVH Travel as an independent contractor travel agent, you have to pay an upfront fee.

According to multiple reports, that fee can range from $49 per month to $396 per year (!!).

They try to spin this by saying you’re paying for access to SVH’s proprietary travel booking software with 700K+ hotel listings worldwide. And they make it seem like the fee is a small price to pay for all the money you’ll rake in as their travel agent.

But in reality, this is the pivotal moment where the facade drops. It’s clear this isn’t a real job, but a thinly-veiled work-from-home scheme designed from the start to extract money from you.

Real travel agencies don’t make you pay to work there. By demanding money up-front for “training” or “access” after luring you in with huge income promises, SVH Travel reveals their true colors as a scam.

Adding to the scam vibes, people report a lack of transparency or consistency around the fee. Some webinars claim it’s $49 per month, others say $396 per year. It seems to change constantly.

And webinar participants describe the chat being filled with messages from bots or fake accounts expressing excitement about the “opportunity.” Nothing about the webinar experience feels professional or legitimate.

The Ultimate Red Flags SVH Travel Is a Scam

By now, I hope the bigger picture is becoming clear:

SVH Travel isn’t a real travel agency hiring remote agents. It’s an insidious work-from-home scam leveraging fake job promises to trick people into paying them.

Here are the biggest red flags that confirm SVH Travel as a fraud:

🚩 Their initial outreach is spammy and unsolicited to random people.

🚩 They promise unrealistic benefits like 80%+ commissions and free luxury travel.

🚩 The “hiring managers” go by cheesy fake names like “Edwin.”

🚩 They require payment of entry fees to access their “training” and software.

🚩 Their webinar experiences seem unprofessional and questionable.

🚩 There are no trusted online reviews or evidence of a real business.

One huge smoking gun: a reverse image search reveals the staff photos on SVH Travel’s website are all stock images!

Daniel Jones learned this the hard way and posted on Twitter about his experience talking to this so-called “Jacob” at SVH Travel:

“After investigating further, I realized how complex this scam was. The website looks very professional but is either a flat-out scam trying to collect sensitive information, or a multilevel marketing scheme, or… both.”

He discovered that the SVH website redirects to other spammy sites like “themepark.com” with even more hiring scam listings.

Daniel concludes: “I have since reached out to the REAL company (as far as I’m aware) for comment.”

Except there is no “real company.” SVH Travel is a sham.

More Real-Life SVH Travel Scam Experiences

Probably the most comprehensive account of the SVH Travel scam comes from this Reddit thread with hundreds of replies from people who almost got lured into their hiring trap.

User after user confirms being spammed by someone named “Edwin” promising a remote travel agent role with outrageous benefits.

When they follow up, the trail leads to the SVH webinar and eventual request for payment to join. Tons of people reporting red flags like:

“Just got this text from Edwin… I’m assuming that this is a scam.” – u/Wheresthetrain415

“I got the text as well from SVH… Definitely a scam.” – u/NYC-Skylines

“Edwin been texting me, imma block dat.” – u/Huge_Lynx_5914

The overwhelming consensus is that SVH Travel is an obvious work-from-home job employment scam running some kind of shady multilevel marketing scheme.

There are even SVH webinar “insiders” who came to warn others after seeing how unethical it was:

“I was wondering what the catch of all these.. and it’s just the monthly subscription” – u/AkimotoKaito_291999

“I’m listening to the webinar right now, don’t waste your time. Definitely a pre-recorded “webinar” with bots in the chat.” – u/Aggravating-Edge-611

That Reddit thread is a must-read for learning about all the underhanded tactics the SVH Travel scam employs through first-hand reports.

Why SVH Travel’s Scam Is So Dangerous

At this point, hopefully I’ve convinced you to steer well clear of SVH Travel and their “opportunities.” But let me reiterate why their scam is so insidious and unethical.

They prey on desperate job seekers. With curved unemployment numbers and many people looking for remote work, SVH Travel exploits people’s aspirations for better opportunities.

The recruitment scam tactics they use are incredibly deceptive. From using fake names to bot-filled webinars to shady redirects, they go to great lengths to deceive people until the very end.

The income claims are outrageous lies. Let’s be real, travel agents don’t make $500 per sale on commissions. Not at any reputable agency. Yet SVH dangles this fantasy to lure people in.

They make you pay them! This work-from-home scam literally tries to collect money from its victims for useless training or “business opportunity” fees. That’s blatant fraud.

Be very wary of remote job offers that seem too good to be true and demand payment for anything. That’s the telltale sign you’re about to get scammed.

Some Final Tips for Vetting Legit Remote Job Opportunities

Finding a legitimate remote job opportunity takes diligence and precaution. Here are some quick tips for separating real job offers from potential scams:

✅ Verify the company’s online presence with a proper website, “About” page, business listings, online reviews etc. SVH Travel lacks all legitimacy on the web.

✅ Use reverse image search on any headshot photos listed on the company’s website or staff pages (this exposed SVH Travel’s use of stock images).

✅ Reputable companies will never pressure you to pay fees of any kind as a job requirement. That’s a dead giveaway it’s a scam.

✅ Be wary of guarantees of extremely high commissions, payouts, or “get rich” income promises. If it seems too good to be true, it absolutely is.

✅ Check the email address domain of anyone reaching out about “job opportunities.” Look for generic third-party email domains and lack of proper company emails as red flags.

✅ Also consider using paid job search platforms like FlexJobs or Remote.co that pre-screen companies and roles before publishing remote job listings to their sites.

Using services like those, cross-checking information online, and practicing basic Internet safety can help protect you from scams like SVH Travel.

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