Reports of people ending up being scammed as a result of fake job offers have been commonplace recently. On Monday, October 10, Pune Police arrested two people for scamming a couple of students by offering them fake assurance of job placements in hotels abroad.
In light of these developments, The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has released a new advisory cautioning people against falling prey to fake job alerts. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to sharing tips via Twitter to prevent individuals from falling prey to such schemes.
https://twitter.com/PIB_India/status/1579349036620214272
"Are you seeking a job? BEWARE! Miscreants look for opportunities to trick people into #JobFrauds. Whether it is a fake website, fictitious offer letter, or fraud e-mail, here is how you can save yourself from such job frauds," PIB wrote in the tweet.
The video illustrates an example of such a scam through text messages. An individual receives texts saying they could earn Rs 2,000-5,000 a day by doing a part-time job. The video then goes on to inform users that scammers have taken to sending fake SMSs offering part-time employment from reputed companies.
To safeguard oneself from these scams, PIB provided three tips:
Avoid clicking on unverified links, regardless of how tempting they might appear.
Be cautious before conducting any monetary transaction with strangers
The best option is to report and block such numbers.Towards the end, the video encourages victims of cybercrime to register complaints at
this website.
Fake jobs abroad
Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs also released an advisory related to such fake job rackets. "Before travelling on tourist/visit visa for employment purposes, Indian nationals are advised to check/verify the credentials of foreign employers through concerned missions abroad, and antecedents of recruiting agents as well as any company before taking up any job offer," the press release had stated.
The MEA and some Indian state governments have also been involved in rescuing people who ended up getting stranded in foreign countries, having fallen prey to online job fraud schemes.
Not long ago, the government rescued close to 130 Indians who were forced to work in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia after being lured by fake offers of well-paying job opportunities in the information technology sector. The people were held captive and compelled to commit cyber-fraud for firms involved in digital scamming and forged cryptocurrencies.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
