There is an old scam which has recently reared its ugly head and is targeting desperate and ignorant job-seekers. Be on the lookout for a job scammer who is trawling South African classifieds websites. This scammer has been making money off innocent job seekers. They create hundreds of fake e-mail addresses and use them to place fake adverts for non-existing jobs. (mostly on Gumtree, OLX, justthejob, indeed, jobmail etc. Disclaimer: names of websites should be considered in context, not all jobs placed on these websites are fake).
When a job seeker replies to one of these addresses, they receive 10 emails from non-existing recruiters prompting them to fax their documents and certificates to a given 0866 fax number. This scammer has been around for the last 8 years and he or she is still creating new addresses and fake recruiter names every week. By merely responding to one of these fake advertisements or testing a couple of them, within minutes you will receive the same e-mails from many different “recruiters”. None of them offer direct contact details (only a 0866 fax number). There were also other job blogs where people complained about the same thing. The scammers’ modus operandi is still the same and they never seem to get caught.
Due to the fact that they are using such a lot of different addresses, they can get away with it every time. The scammers just switch between sets of free e-mail addresses and place their fake ads in all the cities, small towns, from Putsonderwater to De Deur – name a place, and you will find one of their scam ads there!
The scammers previously used a group of email addresses which were verified on whois.co.za as belonging to the same person and having the same contact telephone number. They must have caught wind of being tailed, as they deleted/discontinued that group of e-mail addresses and cleverly started using new ones. Job-seekers reading this post should not get caught by this scam.
· Always verify your source of inquiry. This means that you need to check the telephone number given in the job advert is in operation (you can do this by making a simple call to test that the telephone line exists and when you call you can ask questions about the job on offer). When you call, if they immediately direct you to the fax line it is best to play it safe and avoid applying for this job.
· Check that the company is registered to operate. A simple Google search should assist in proving that this company is a legally registered company. If they don’t have a registered VAT number they are not obliged to trade in South Africa. This usually applies to work from home opportunities.
· Make certain that FAX is not the ONLY means of communication. Many a time; regardless of email listing, the company does not receive calls and only directs communication to a fax number for correspondence. BE AWARE! The company should not have a problem with you emailing your CV if they are a registered recruiter/ employer. If they only have a fax number and are not willing to receive your CV via email 9 out of 10 times this fax number is set-up for the solitary purpose of a con and they get about R30.00 for every document you send!
· Take note that you should not be paying a recruiter to get employed or to get an interview. Also take note that legitimate recruiters will not ask you a fee to get registered on their database (because they are getting paid by companies to recruit staff for them). For example YB Networks/Zahn Webber asks you to deposit R390.00 into a bank account of one F Ntsoko – this is illegal! Note that some recruitment agencies do offer extra paid services like revamping your CV, but they won’t ask you for money to get shortlisted for an interview or for training. Remember the golden rule: If something is too good to be true, it’s most likely false. Report all suspected scams to Scambuster: www.scambuster.co.za.
