Advisory against internet recruitment scam

by BLyTHe Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:39 am

Advisory against internet recruitment scam
By: Philippine Overseas Labor Office

All Filipino jobseekers in Korea are advised to beware of on-line recruitment for bogus employment in the United Kingdom which has already victimized a number of prospective U.K.-bound OFWs either by directly applying on-line or through Philippine-based recruitment agencies without authorization from POEA.
Jobseekers should look out for the following modus operandi that are used by unscrupulous recruiters:

1) Applicant is given scanned copies of appointment letter or employment offer;
2) Upon acceptance of the job offer, applicant is directed to contact specified UK travel agencies, immigration consultants and/or solicitors who accordingly will apply for his/her work permits, visa and other travel documents at the UK Immigration Office;
3) Applicant will then be instructed to remit a sum of money to a Western Union account to cover fees and other charges

To avoid being victimized by these entities, interested job seekers are encouraged to inquire with POLO-London: polo.london@yahoo.co.uk, or POEA: www.poea.gov.ph You may likewise visit the following websites for guidance : www.ukba.homeoffice, www.vfs-uk-ph.com For Canada-bound workers or immigrants, you can browse www.cic.gc.ca

Attached is the Advisory from POLO-London for additional information.

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY WARNS OF RENEWED INTERNET
RECRUITMENT SCAM

The Philippine Embassy in London warns both Filipino jobseekers and Philippine recruitment agencies about the recent upsurge in fraudulent internet recruitment offering fictitious jobs in the UK.

In all the cases reported to the Embassy, Filipino applicants have been offered inexistent jobs through email in the form of scanned letters of appointment, work confirmation or employment contract offering attractive compensation and benefits from their supposed UK employers. However, upon acceptance of the job offer, the applicants were usually directed to contact specified UK travel agencies, immigration consultants, and/or solicitors who accordingly will apply for their work permits, visas and other travel documents at the UK Immigration Office. It is at this point where the unsuspecting Filipino applicants would then be instructed to remit a sum of money to a Western Union account purportedly to cover their work permit and/or visa processing fees, courier expenses, assurance fee and other charges.

To avoid becoming a victim of this internet scam, the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) in London has issued its latest advisory as follows:

◊ Most, if not all, of the internet job offers particularly those requiring applicants to send money as payment for work permit and visa processing fees and other charges, have been found to be fake, deceptive and illegal;

◊ Filipino applicants and agencies should be aware that based on the new UK Points Based System (PBS), only highly skilled professionals would be eligible for work visas to the UK, unless the positions are included in the shortage occupation list. At present however, most of the available semi-skilled and low-skilled jobs in the UK are no longer open to non-Europeans, particularly in the hospitality (hotel, restaurants, food catering), retail business, construction, manufacturing, and other sectors. (Please check for guidance at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk );

◊ For visa application under the new PBS immigration rule, a work permit is no longer a requirement and has now been replaced by the new sponsorship system. This means that the UK Border Agency (Immigration Office) no longer issues work permits for entry visa purposes. In place of the work permit, the UK Border Agency issues sponsorship license to UK employers who in turn sends the �certificate of sponsorship� to their qualified candidates or applicants as a requirement for on-line visa application at the British Embassy in Manila;

◊ Travel agencies, immigration consultants, recruitment firms, solicitors or barristers, and other agents in the UK are not authorized to act as sponsor. Neither can they process or apply for working visas in the UK in behalf of the applicants;

◊ All visa applications shall now be filed at the British Embassy in Manila through the UK Visa Application Centre. The application shall be done personally by the applicants. The visa application must however be accompanied by supporting documents to be sent by the UK employer, including certificate of sponsorship, employment contract, letter from employer to provide maintenance, financial evidence from employer and copies of his passport (in case of domestic workers), and others.(Please see checklist at www.vfs-uk-ph.com);

◊ Filipino jobseekers and agencies should not rely on scanned documents such as appointment letters, employment contract, recruitment agreement and others as they can easily be forged or fabricated. They should make sure that in accordance with the POEA requirements, the original copies of the prescribed employment contract and other recruitment documents must be presented by the UK employer to the Labour Office of the Philippine Embassy for the required verification and authentication;

◊ It has also been observed that internet fraudsters have been illegally using not only fictitious business names and websites but also the names and contact details of existing UK companies as their front. Filipino applicants are hereby advised to conduct an independent research through the internet using the various search engines such as �google� or �yahoo�. In addition, Filipino jobseekers should be aware that UK employment regulation prohibits the charging of recruitment fees, including sponsorship fees, against job applicants.

For further inquiry, please contact the Philippine Labour Office at 6 Suffolk Street, London, SW1Y 4HG, Telephones 0044-(0)20-7451-1832/1833 or email at polo.london@yahoo.co.uk.