Beware of fake job pundits

March and April are traditionally months of appraisals and job change for most people. But lately, news of fake job rackets busted across India has become viral in media. Such situation does not only portray the shady intentions of the fraudulent but a sad story for all the job hunters.

Recently, 2 fake job rackets have been busted in Vijayawada where 3 were held for cheating innocent job seekers. The accused collected money from many people, promising jobs in Krishnapatnam port and Vijayawada Thermal Power Station (VTPS) and at NTTPS.

Similarly, many cases of hoax employment have been in the lime light in the recent past. Even metros like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata have not remained untouched by these gangs of frauds who promise for government as well as private jobs.

Targets of the thugs

The over indulgence of internet in our world has given these fake recruiters key to ruin the lives of many youths who are in search of jobs. These frauds are always on e-hunt to target vulnerable who easily fall prey to their bogus advertisements and promises of job offers. Freshers, college pass outs, failed students, retired personnel, job seekers from rural and semi rural areas are the main targets of the deceivers as these lot has no or less resources and knowledge of the worldly know-how.

Modes of trapping

There is no thumb rule of making people fool as these fake job recruiters or agents only aim at making easy money by hook or by crook. They reach out to their prey

• On internet by fake newsletters, advertisements, social networking sites and emails
• Word of mouth
• Via touts and agents who directly approach
• Fake phone calls and SMSs
• Offering work from home or home- based jobs.
• Directly giving employment letter without any telephonic or face-to-face interview. 

How to avoid cheaters 

 With your wit, thorough research and proper guidance, you can easily get rid of these fraudulent.

Things to remember

• Always look for jobs on official website of the organisation.
• Do some research at your end beforehand like- knowing about the company, how old it is, past record of recruitment, nature of the work, achievements, board of directors or owners etc.
• Check scam lists. Always check with organisations such as-Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission to see if the company has been reported as a scammer.
• It is better to follow the lengthy procedures of recruitments rather than looking for short cuts and becoming puppets to these touts.
• Never involve your money initially. The thumb rule here is any job that seeks advance payment is probably a scam. Whoever asks you to first deposit the fees, take it as a warning sign.
• Always ask for receipts and acknowledgement slips for all the payments made as the recruitment fees.
• Do not meet anyone who is offering / promising you job in private. The official procedure of recruitment doesn’t have the provision on personal meetings. It is preferable to have meetings in offices.
• Never give away your personal information and important documents, which includes any passwords, security number, ATM card number, bank details, original certificates and many more.

Any case of job scam can lead you to the loss of hard earned money, depression and loss of identity. Therefore, it is very important to be alerts and agile while searching jobs as these scammers are all over ready to dart on to their next victim.