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PH warns against illegal recruiters online

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) issued a warning for Filipinos hoping to work overseas after authorities have received multiple reports of illegal recruitment schemes that promise to either conduct work interviews after the quarantine or to deploy would-be OFWs immediately after the lockdown.
The POEA urges the public to be vigilant against individuals who may misrepresent legal and licensed recruitment agencies in the Philippines as a means to lure unsuspecting Filipinos to their scheme. After exchanging introductory messages online, the illegal recruiter then asks for reservation fees and/or phishes for important information from applicants.
“The public is warned of promises of online scammers for job interview and deployment after the “lockdown” or after “lifting of the quarantine”, “PM (private message) if interested”, “click link for more details”. The advertisements ask for reservation fees and/or personal information from unsuspecting applicants,” said the advisory from POEA.
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Methods include the use of fake job advertisements posted on Facebook and sent through private messaging platforms with the use of fake websites and generated fake emails. POEA furthered that most illegal recruiters then ask for a fee that the victim can send through remittance centres or via money transfers.
“POEA warns the public to ignore these online advertisements and not to give or deposit money, especially through remittance centres such as Western Union, Cebuana Lhuillier, or Palawan Express, or money transfers thru GCash, 7/11, or PayPal. Further, please be warned about providing sensitive personal information, such as full names, birthdates, addresses, etc. as these may be used in criminal activities,” said the advisory.
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Filipinos are advised to check with the POEA verfication system at www.poea.gov.ph to authenticate the job vacancy and/or job orders or to email the POEA Information Center at [email protected] .
The agency also asked the public to immediately report any suspicious or illegal activities pertaining to online recruitment scams to the Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch Operations and Surveillance Division at email [email protected] or contact 0919-067-4206.

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