Agency warns Kenyans over fake ship jobs
The director general Kenya maritime authority Ms.Nancy Karigithu displaying the legal passbook for seafarers from the Kenyan authority at a press briefing ni her office where she cautioned Kenyans from being recruited by quack agents in dubious jobs in the vessels in this picture taken on 27 June 2013. PHOTO/LABAN WALLOGA
What you need to know:
- According to the advertisements, all one needs to do is send a registration fee of Sh975 to a number through mobile money transfer services and wait for the visas to be processed. No medical tests are required so long as one is physically fit, according to the firm.
A scandal targeting job seekers wishing to work as seafarers abroad has been unearthed, with Kenyans being warned against applying for the seemingly lucrative positions.
A company has placed advertisements on the Internet, purporting that it is carrying out a recruitment drive for seafarers who would work aboard cruise liners and earn a minimum monthly salary of $984 (Sh84,624), but investigations have revealed the firm does not exist.
According to the advertisements, all one needs to do is send a registration fee of Sh975 to a number through mobile money transfer services and wait for the visas to be processed. No medical tests are required so long as one is physically fit, according to the firm.
Already, a number of people have sent the money, and are waiting for further communication from the fraudsters.
“These are con men who want to take advantage of jobless Kenyans,” Kenya Maritime Authority director-general Nancy Karigithu told reporters at the authority’s Mombasa offices.
