Fake job offers are a major concern for job seekers in India.
Rajesh Kumar, from a village in Kerala's Alappuzha district, got a call from an unknown mobile number two months ago. The person on the other end, who introduced himself as an executive from a hiring agency in Delhi, spoke in mixed English and Hindi, about a Middle-East job offer for Mr Kumar. Initially, he was impressed with the details of the offer which carried a handsome package unthinkable for a fresher like him, but after some time, he became skeptical when the caller demanded Rs 5,000 as processing fee. After discussing some more details on the offer, Rajesh hung up the call.
Next day, at the same time, the man who introduced himself as the hiring agency executive called again. He repeated the offer and told Mr Kumar the opening will be closed soon as the agency had finalized five more resumes.
Following that call, Mr Kumar started thinking about paying the amount the agency demanded. To make sure the offer is not fake, he called his neighbor who is working in Delhi Police as a Constable.
The Constable rang the caller for a meeting to pay the processing charge, and since then the mobile number is untraceable.
Mr Kumar is among lakhs of job seekers in the country who encounter fake job offers on a daily basis.
Mr Kumar was not duped because someone checked the veracity of the job offer he received.
Fake job offers come in all forms, for domestic job seekers and also for those aspirants who wants to work in a foreign country. It is also the same for private and government sector.
In May this year, the Delhi Police arrested four persons for cheating over 360 unemployed youths from various states to the tune of over Rs. 50 lakh on the pretext of providing jobs under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious project Ayushman Bharat Yojna.
In February this year, the Consulate General of India in Dubai asked job seekers to stay away from fraudulent job advertisements luring Indians to the UAE. In a statement, the Consulate said they have come across at least two fraud job offers made to Indian nationals in the name of UAE companies.
Last October, six persons from Noida near Delhi were arrested by the Mumbai police. Among those arrested were people who had earlier worked for some leading job portals, from which they allegedly obtained data of job-seekers across India. Using this data, candidates were called from a call-centre running from Noida. The accused allegedly sent the candidates 'job confirmation letters', and asked them to deposit money in certain bank accounts as 'processing fee'. After depositing the money, the candidates would never hear again from the so-called recruiters.
Fake employment offer letters: How to recognize one?
So, how to not to fall prey for these fake job offer scams?
Check the authenticity of the offer
Most times the job offers come as an offer letter or as a phone call. It's easy to check the authenticity of an offer letter online.
Check for these things:
Is the company where you have been offered the job an existing or reputed one?
Are the particulars (position, salary, place of work etc.) given on the offer letter authentic?
Has the company released any notification regarding the fake recruitment agencies working on their behalf?
Search on the internet to know about the history of the hiring agency or the company you have been offered the job by.
Money element
If someone demands money straightaway for processing your recruitment, in most cases, there is something fishy in the whole deal. Be careful in this situation.
Interview
It's always better to go for a direct interview when you are called by an agency or consultancy for recruitment. Anyone, from anywhere can conduct a telephone interview, that too from untraceable numbers.
Ask around
Check with your friends or with people who are already employed in an industry to make sure the job offer in your hand is not fake.
Official websites
When recruitment happens in the government sector, a candidate needs to wait for the official notification to be released and then apply for it. And again for the offer letter, make sure the official websites of the organisation has notified the recruitment results or interview results so that you may plan further actions.
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