Pinoys warned vs. ‘too good to be true’ jobs offered online

MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment cautioned Filipinos seeking overseas employment to be wary of job offers online.

The warning issued Sunday came after the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Madrid, Spain received a request to verify an online job offer for a fruit farm cashier position with a salary of 3,000 to 6,000 euros, or equivalent to PHP175,000 to PHP350,000.

POLO Madrid Labor Attaché Joan Lourdes Lavilla advised job seekers to be careful in entertaining “too good to be true” job opportunities abroad.

“We advise jobseekers to be very cautious. Scammers use names of legitimate companies and when you look at the job offer, it is usually too good to be true. They also give mobile numbers only. One tip is to check their given address using Google maps because sometimes there is no actual structure or company,” Lavilla said in a virtual briefing on Friday.

Another indication of a scam is when an applicant is required to send money through a remittance center.

“What our kababayan (compatriot) did was right. She checked with us first before grabbing the job opportunity,” Lavilla added, as quoted in a news release.

Overseas jobseekers may visit the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s website poea.gov.ph to verify the legitimacy of job offers.

Lavilla also informed of the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in Spain, thus allowing more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) go back to or seek employment.

She said Spaniards prefer Filipinos because they can speak and understand the English language.

OFWs in POLO Madrid’s jurisdiction, which includes Spain, Andorra, France, Portugal, and Monaco, are composed of household service workers, hotel and restaurant staff, and professionals like information technology personnel, researchers, managers, and nurses. (PR)