POEA cautions jobseekers vs. online ‘seminar’ scam

POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said unscrupulous individuals or groups are sending an email using the name of a licensed Philippine recruitment agency without the latter’s knowledge to lure prospective victims. (File Photo: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)/Facebook)

MANILA – The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Monday warned Filipinos looking for jobs overseas against emails informing them of being selected for employment abroad.

POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said unscrupulous individuals or groups are sending an email using the name of a licensed Philippine recruitment agency without the latter’s knowledge to lure prospective victims.

“The email has this standard subject line: ‘Last 8 slots left for XYZ INTERNATIONAL MANPOWER SERVICES (POEA License No. 1223-3837) for the first 20 applicants for Canada June 2020 Deployment’,” he said in a statement.

The jobs are supposedly available in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

He added that the target victim is asked to pay PHP3,000 as a reservation fee to be sent through a remittance company for the supposed mandatory orientation seminar to be conducted at the office of the licensed recruitment agency.

The scammer also promises high salaries, non-payment of placement and processing fees, and other too good to be true remunerations.

He added that unsolicited job offers through email and social media which requires payment of fees for seminar, documentation, and processing of visa and other travel documents is a sure sign of a scam.

At the same time, Olalia advised applicants to validate the authenticity of job offers with the POEA through its verification system at poea.gov.ph and hotlines 8722-1144 and 8722-1155.

He also urged the public to immediately report any suspicious or illegal online recruitment activities to the Anti-Illegal Illegal Recruitment Branch’s Operations and Surveillance Division at email poea_airb_osd@yahoo.com.