You read it right Alix.  I got the same email this morning.  I thought it was a phishing scam as the very first requirement is to hand over SS# info; but apparently, since you got the same email, it is actually a different scam altogether.  I have worked with this company for years.  I don't get very much work; but the employees are wonderful and helpful and they pay right on time.  

There was a ruckus about this sort of pay to play thing several years ago, but it involved a title company out of Detroit (??) and a third party vendor who would be dishing out their title orders.  This is different, because unlike the Detroit company, which utilized a third party vendor, this company has their own web platform that they expect us to use and pay for the pleasure of using.

 I wonder how many examiners they are going to lose over this; and what kind of desperate examiners they will pick up in return.   They may find out that penny wise sometimes turns into pound foolish.