Job applicants beware! Not all promising openings are genuine

You are surfing the Internet when you chance upon a job advert that appears just tailored for you.

You apply hoping that this time round, the potential employer will look your way. Unknown to you, on the other side, the 'potential employer' is hoping that just like you, thousands of unsuspecting job seekers will apply for the job.

Within a short while of applying, you receive a reply. Yes, it says, you are the right candidate for the job but, for you to get it, you will need to pay a processing fee.

POTENTIAL EMPLOYER

Up to that point, your 'potential employer' knows something that you do not -- that the job does not exist. It is a scam. You only get to know this when your money disappears in thin air.

In July last year, Austine Muthomi, an accountant, received a WhatsApp message from a friend who told him that a renowned company was hiring accountants. The friend asked him to apply.

Elated at the prospect of a job, Muthomi sent his resume and after a few hours, received a response that the human resource officer was so impressed by his credentials that he had decided to hire him and would he be willing to start work the following week?

NO INTERVIEW

There was no mention of an interview.

"I had just revamped my resume a few weeks before the opportunity was shared so I thought that it had really impressed the hiring manager such that they had seen no reason for an interview," said Muthomi with the benefit of hindsight.

"I have gone for many job interviews before and I understand the job application process but I don't know why it didn't occur to me that something was amiss."

DOCUMENTS

The purported employer mentioned that some documents were required by the end of that very day, including a certificate of good conduct; KRA, CRB and HELB clearance certificates.

Something else should have raised the red flag but it did not at the time. The prospective employer was "willing" to help him find the documents.

"He said I only needed to send him Sh3,000 to facilitate. I sent it. He confirmed receipt. Then he went silent and blocked my number.”

On checking the company’s website, it hit him that he had just been swindled. The email provided by the fraudster was different from what was on the website and there was no such vacancy listed.

BACKGROUND CHECK

Security consultant Tyrus Kamau, of Euclid Consultancy Limited, a cyber-security company, says it is important for job seekers to perform a background check regarding any advertised job.

“A simple search about the recruiter will tell you a lot about the opportunity; whether it is legitimate or not. In the security field, we call it reconnaissance. You can even contact the company to inquire about the vacancy,” he advises.

While some cons are faster in executing their missions, others take it slow.

Three months ago, Donicious Mokua, 31, was short-listed for a loans officer job. He attended the first interview. Everything went on smoothly. He was scheduled to attend a second one.

LOST MONEY

“I had attended the first interview on a Monday and was scheduled for aptitude and psycho-metric tests two days later. However, on the interview’s eve, I received an email asking me to pay Sh300 which was meant to cater for lunch and refreshments. I shared it with a friend who revealed that she had lost some cash through a similar scheme. I didn’t send the money,” he says.

The sum may appear insignificant to the interviewee but imagine there are dozens of candidates, with each required to pay a fee.

Hundreds of naïve job seekers have fallen prey to these con tactics.

Muya warns that a recruiter asking for money should serve as a red flag.

“This is a tactic only employed by fraudsters who know that there are desperate job seekers who are willing to go to whatever length to secure employment,” he says.