Advertisement

EFCC Gives Tips On Avoiding Job Scammers

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has pointed out ways to avoid falling victim to employment scams.

This was highlighted on  EFCC’s twitter space held on Wednesday.

Hauwa Ringim, Head Foreign Exchange Malpractice, who was the first speaker, pointed out the various ways in which scammers dupe job seekers.

Advertisement

She said, “Scam is a misinterpretation of facts. So, an employment scam is a form of Advanced Fee Fraud where the recruiters or employers make promises to victims, at the end of the day money exchanges hands.”

She said the recruiters or employers follow different ways to defraud victims, but there are also red alerts a job seeker needs to watch out for.

She said when the employer requests payment, it is a red fag and the job seeker must be on alert.

Ringim also said that if the job offer sounds too good to be real, the applicant must be on guard to avoid becoming a victim of scammers.

Speaking further,  She said it is a red flag when the employer tells the applicants to work from home.

Some advised job seekers to also beware of employers who avoid giving specifics about the job for which they’re hiring.

Another speaker, Sanusi Mohammed, explained that: “If anyone comes to you and then offers you a job, I think the first thing you should look out for is, if the place where he tells you he will get you the job is recruiting.

“Are they really recruiting? Agencies, Ministries? For example, when an offer is made to you online, sometimes they refer you to some websites purportedly belonging to the ministries, departments or agencies where you are to get the job.

“And when you follow the link, you will discover that it is not the actual or real website of any government agency. It is just something created by them to hoodwink you and convince you that such a thing exists, but in actual sense, it doesn’t.”

Mohammed said, if the offer is physical and someone approaches the applicant, they should verify information about where he works and who he/she is.

He said the applicant must also ask questions like: “Is he in a position to give you a job? Doesn’t he have an elder brother, a younger brother, a cousin, an aunty, a sister who is also in need of a job? Why is he offering it to you alone?”

He however pointed out that if such a person is genuine, the job seeker will not be asked to pay in return.

“But if he requests money, you should know him and you should be able to know whether in his entire lineage no one else is in need of a job. So why is he offering it to you in exchange for cash?”, he said.

On penalties for job scammers, he said, “The penalty is very stiff, because you have made someone to believe what does not exist, and then in so doing, you even collected either money or anything valuable from him in exchange for the purported thing or the job that you would have offered him.

“So, the penalty is under our Advanced Fee Fraud laws. And then it provides for a minimum of seven years jail term and maximum of 21 years jail term without an option of fine.

“So, that is to say, if one is found guilty he is to serve a sentence of seven solid years, minimum. The circumstances of the trial may make it more. So that is how harsh it is. The penalty is for the offenders.”

However, according to Ringim, those that give out money in exchange for employment are also guilty.

efccinternet fraudscammers
Comments (0)
Add Comment

Advertisement