With the evolution of technology, unscrupulous individuals have found a way to use the Internet for their fraudulent activities by offering fake job opportunities via email and Facebook.
Worse, bogus local and overseas jobs offer now abound online as conscienceless individuals create multiple fake accounts of the Department of Labor and Employment and its attached agencies.
Their target: The new jobseekers and the aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW). So, if applying for employment local and overseas, one should be extra cautious of the many illegal recruitment schemes.
A jobseeker named “Mary” said she discussed a job opportunity with a man who introduced himself as Arthur Villena, an “employee” of DOLE. She received the details from an unverified Facebook page contacted her through a ‘DOLE Job Assistance-Local and Abroad’ Facebook page. The page featured job vacancies to Canada, Australia, Singapore, and London for nurses, caregiver, managers, and restaurant staff, among other local jobs in various cities in the country.
Mary recalled she called the cellphone number included in the job post created by page administrator. As they discussed details about the offer, she was instructed to send P1,000 as “reservation fee” through a mobile money transfer service.
After sending the payment, the scammer told the Mary to meet up at the DOLE central office in Intramuros, Manila, promising to assist her. However, the scammer never showed up at the central office, and he stopped answering calls. She later asked for the labor department’s assistance regarding the incident.
Mary reported the incident to the Information and Publication Service (IPS) of the Department, where she later found out that there was no “Arthur Villena” among the official roster of employees of the labor department. The IPS reported the incident to Facebook and requested it to close the account.
Similar modus has been used to duped job seekers abroad using fake Facebook pages that falsely use the name and logo of the Philippine Overseas and Employment Administration to advertise job vacancies in countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States.
DOLE, POEA, and other attached agencies advise the public to be cautious of supposed employment opportunities offered in social media, especially in Facebook pages and masquerading as DOLE or POEA-owned accounts. The people behind these fake accounts use these to offer non-existent job vacancies and orders.
The POEA has named some of such fake POEA Facebook pages as POEA Job Hirings in New Zealand, POEA Jobs Online, OFW POEA Jobs Abroad, POEA Jobs Abroad, POEA Job Hiring USA, POEA Job Hiring Australia, POEA Job Hiring UK, POEA Job Agency Hiring, POEA Trabaho Abroad Hiring, POEA Jobs in Dubai, Work Abroad-POEA Licensed Company, and POEA Accredited Licensed Agency.
The FB page “POEA Job Hirings in New Zealand” was reported to have posted ads of supposed vacancies of Honda New Zealand that target Filipino workers. The company has since denied any active recruitment activity in the Philippines or any country outside New Zealand.
In order not to be victimized by these unscrupulous individuals, one should be aware of the telltale signs of fake websites and suspicious overseas job offers online. These online scams usually offer as follows; quick deployment; no experience and license required; no placement or processing fees to be collected; and hassle-free processing of their documents for working abroad. Moreover, here are the usual elements of an internet job scam that you need to look out for: It is unsolicited. You received a job offer via email but you do not remember sending a job application. It is sometimes complete with a detailed job contract emphasizing the huge salary and the benefits.
Some of the fake POEA Facebook pages are POEA Job Hirings in New Zealand, POEA Jobs Online, OFW POEA Jobs Abroad, POEA Jobs Abroad, POEA Job Hiring USA, POEA Job Hiring Australia, POEA Job Hiring UK, POEA Job Agency Hiring, POEA Trabaho Abroad Hiring, POEA Jobs in Dubai, Work Abroad-POEA Licensed Company, and POEA Accredited Licensed Agency.
The FB page “POEA Job Hirings in New Zealand” was reported to have posted ads of supposed vacancies of Honda New Zealand that target Filipino workers. The company has since denied any active recruitment activity in the Philippines or any country outside New Zealand.
The official Facebook account of the POEA is facebook.com/poea.gov.ph and for the DOLE is www.facebook.com › labor and employment. There is a blue checkmark signifying that it is authentic as verified by Facebook itself.
The public, particularly jobseekersare encouraged to visit the official website of DOLE at www.dole.gov.ph, the PhilJobNet – www.philjobnet.gov.ph for local job posting, and of the POEA – www.poea.gov.ph for overseas job orders, and verify licensed and accredited recruitment agencies in the country.
The DOLE hotline is 1349 while the POEA hotlines are 722-11-44 and 722-11-55.
December 8, 2023
