POEA warns UK job applicants vs. new internet scam
July 12, 2007
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) advised Filipinos intending to apply for a job position in the United Kingdom to be wary of online offers that can supposedly send them to UK using only a student visa.
POEA reported that the modus operandi of scammers is to send an email to UK job applicants with an invitation to meet in Makati for a "face-to-face" interview. Those who "passed" the interview will then be asked to pay US$625 as processing or consultancy fee.
In exchange for a supposedly guaranteed 2-year multiple entry student visa, the applicant will also need to pay 2,750 pounds. They are also given a chance to pay only 750 pounds, with the balance payable once they have found a job in the UK.
More info about this modus operandi from GMANews.tv.
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December 6th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
goodday!I HAVE MY APPLICATION AS STUDENT VISA FOR UK.I CHECKED MY AGENCY IF ITS UNDER THE POEA AND LUCKILY IT IS.I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF THAT PROGRAM(STUDENT VISA)IS SAFE? IS IT OKAY IF I WILL PUSH THIS OFFER? THANK YOU
April 16th, 2008 at 1:30 am
I actually recieve this message after submitting my resume in http://www.bestjobs.ph here is the company i apply
Victoria Suite Hotel Ltd London, UK.
# 3 Victoria Suite Hotel Avenue Leichester, London UK.
Email:victoria.suitehotel@gmail.com
+447031873569
i apply as a waiter and were surprise by the time i recieve there reply on my resume here it was…
___________________________
Victoria Suite Hotel Ltd London, UK.
# 3 Victoria Suite Hotel Avenue Leichester, London UK.
Email:victoria.suitehotel@gmail.com
+447031873569
Dear Michael Nelson..
Congratulations Congratulations!!!
After Our Hotel Human Resources Department Have Finished their Serious
review and screening We agreed to Offer you this position.
We agreed on employing you as their (Senior Cutomer Service Manager)
Our employment terms are as follows.
Contract duration:4 years with annual vacations.
Salary : 8, 9 5 0 Pounds sterling per month as your Net salary.
Work Duration: 8 Hours per day.
Overtime: to be paid for seperately.
Accomodation/feeding/travelling expenses will be taken care of by the company.
Your visa and flight expenditures will be taken care of by Our company.
All you have to do is to show interest and give us
authorisation to seal the employment by sending this recommended
requirement’s…
A Scan Copy Of Your handwritten application letter,
A Scan Copy Of Receipt of your payment,
A Scan Copy Of Your Valid Passport.
It should be scanned and sent to us via email with
an employment processing fee of ( 250 Gb Pounds sterling)so that the
processing of the visa and other documents related to your job will
commence with the help of your personal informations gathered from
your cv/resume and application form which you will complete after the
sealing of the appointment.
Via Western Union Money Transfer Company..
Receivers Name: Mr. Frank Smith
Address: # 3 Victoria Suite Hotel Avenue Leichester, London, UK.
To indicate interest and authorise us to seal the appointment,furnish
us with the requirements immidiately.Your employment letter will be
sent to you immediately after the employment is sealed,the Company
employment application/Working Visa, and Working Permit form, will be
sent to you also which you have to complete and return to us within
Three Days, and you have to send all the requirements we required from
you today….
Best Regards…
Mr. Frank Smith
Hotel Human Resource Manager
Victoria Suite Hotel Ltd London, UK.
+447031873569
___________________________
I was fell out of my chair b he time i was reading this letter. i knew
this was a scam and decided to play with them… i reply..
___________________________
Dear Mr. Frank Smith
Good Day SIr, Im Michael Nelson , you just told me that you agreed on employing me as your Senior Cutomer Service Manager, Im very happy to hear that but since you said that you will be needing a processing fee of 250 Gb Pounds sterling, Im very sorry to say to you sir but i dont have any money to provide thats why i want to ask, if there is another way to pay you sir like salary deduction? i prefer salary deductions so that i could be able to pay you. I hope that you understand my situation sir…
Hoping for your kindness consideration..
Michael Nelson
__________________________
Then after that day, they reply………
___________________________
Hello Michael Nelson..
Good day to you, and we will like to inform you that we received your urgent respond concerning tyhe employment job offer letter which we send to you, and well regarding to you suggestion that we will deduct the fee from your first month salary we will like to inform you that we dosen’t accept salary deduction so all you have to do now is to make sure that you afford half of the processing fee to enable the Uk British Immigration Expert Service to start processing of your documents immediately, and we will only allow you to pay half of the fee there will know delay while processing of your documents…
Note: For more informations kindly contact the UK British Immigration Expert Service via email for more information and for your working entry visa form and some other working documents…
british.immigration@mail.org
Thanks..
Mr. Frank Smith…
___________________________
I feel angry with their nonsense and reply………
___________________________
Sir from what i observe in your letters that were sent to me, i
can feel that you are an illegitimate company which means your toying
with people saying you are hiring hotel workers, im not that stupid to
believe in such letters without any documents. first and foremost if
you are really legal company show me documents that will prove your
legitimacy and second show me some documents saying you are license by
our POEA. third i also mave email address of michaelnelson84@mail.org…
british.immigration@mail.org is a fake email and not really the right
email address of the british immigration. and forth i did not finish
college and im only third year and you are telling me that they hire
me as Senior Cutomer Service Manager dammit, a “third year college
student be hire as a customer service “MANAGER” what the f**k are you
talking about????? im not that stupid as you guys… F***CK OFFFF
B***S***T!!!!!
___________________________
Dont trust those posted jobs without the consent of our poea or youll be sorry for your money..
April 16th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Just would like to inquire from the POEA if THE PREMIER UK TRAVELS AGENCY is a ligitimate and safe to transact. The said agency is a UK-Based agency. Please advise ASAP. Thank you
Vange
April 16th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Michael Nelson, thanks for sharing that. I hope a lot of people will learn that “job opportunities” that operate as such are really scams. No one should easily trust a person or employment company especially if a “processing fee” is required. People should always double-check with the proper agencies if the persons or organizations they are dealing with are really genuine.
Vange, try contacting POEA through their website: http://poea.gov.ph/. Or use the POEA SMS service to verify the agencies. Just text POEA to 2765 and follow the instructions afterwards. Good luck. Make sure you won’t be scammed.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Labor department warns OFWs vs bogus London jobs
By Jerome Aning
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — It’s a scam.
The high-paying jobs being offered to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by a London hotel were found to be spurious, said the Department of Labor and Employment on Monday.
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in London, United Kingdom, identified the spurious hotel as “Crystal Spring Hotel UK,†which had e-mailed a licensed recruitment agency in the Philippines offering to become a “prospective employer†of OFWs.
Crystal Spring said it needed receptionists, cashiers, waiters and waitresses.
“We strongly warn unwary OFWs and would-be OFWs, as well as the legitimate OFW recruitment industry in the Philippines, against being enticed and victimized by this and similar scams currently proliferating in the World Wide Web,†Brion said in a statement.
Labor Attaché to UK and Polo-London chief Jainal Rasul Jr. said that upon examination by his office, the “hotel’s†scanned documents including certificate of registration, special power of attorney, and demand letter, indicated a “patent scam†to dupe OFWs and the legitimate recruitment industry.
Rasul cited a licensed recruitment agency in the Philippines, Worldview International Services, Inc., for linking up with the Polo to ascertain the “hotel’s†authenticity, and in the process, helped prevent victimizing OFWs and legitimate recruitment agencies.
It was not immediately known if those behind the Internet scam had already victimized Filipinos.
Meanwhile, another DoLE agency, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, also warned the public against applying for nursing jobs in Norway.
According to POEA chief Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, the Philippine Embassy in Sweden, which is also in charge of Norway, has reported that at present, there is no demand for professional nurses, both foreign and local, in Norway.
Baldoz said the Professional Staffing Management AS, a firm registered in the Norwegian capital Oslo, tried to secure accreditation with Reliable Recruitment Corp., a Philippine-based agency, for the supposed recruitment and supply of Filipino nurses.
POEA subsequently denied the request for accreditation after Director Per Hagum of the Norwegian Registration Authority for Health Personnel told the embassy that he was not aware of any demand for nurses in his country.
Hagum also reported that the Professional Staffing Management AS was a five-month-old company owned by only one person. It listed Trygve Amundsen as the only member on the board of directors with Rosita Sabido, a Filipino living in Canada, as a substitute member.
Last March 19, Brion issued a warning to Filipino workers and licensed recruitment agencies against fraudulent recruitment schemes enticing job seekers with non-existent overseas jobs through the Internet.
He advised workers to verify the authenticity of Internet job offers not only with the POLO but also with the POEA.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm
There is a Latin saying known to many people in the field of Law. Its “Caveat Emptor” or “Buyer Beware.”
Crooks have various creative ways of pulling a con/scam on vulnerable people. Desperate people are commonly an easy target.
In order to not fall victim into such modus, let us check out first the person/entity giving the offer, just as Mr. Michael Nelson did. I’m not saying that we should let such offers pass us by, there are also some opportunities out there that are legit, in fairness to them. However, let us admit that it is very to tell which ones are fraudulent, those only after the victim’s money, and which are truly giving employment opportunity.
If a work overseas is offered to us, express your intention of interest in the job but proceed with caution.
If such tragedy already happened to you, then you should learn so as not to repeat the same mistake. Charge it all to experience. Experience is the best teacher but also oftentimes the most expensive and the most painful.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
to theodora:
What’s the name of your agency and where is it located? did you pursue applying for uk student visa?
i am searching for consultancy thatcan realy help me.
Anyone whoknows?I appreciate any advice. tnx
May 31st, 2008 at 11:11 am
hello! good day! i have been applying as a nanny in UK. by this time i haven’t yet done any process but once i process it, i will pay 220 for the processing fee. In the beginning, my employeer, Mr. Gino George, said that 200 pounds will be my processing fee but refundable (but now 220) to have an assurance that i will not run after him. The agency AIRLINK TRAVELS, 425 High Street North, East Ham
London, E12 6TL, #: +44 70457 95831, website: http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1301/59678.php, email: consolidated.tv@live.com, and contact person: Mark Adams. You think that i can trust with this persons?… I’ve seen the website of this agency but the telephone number there is different from the number they gave to me. what should i do?…
June 30th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
amy, that is an obvious scam. i got that email too and it stinks of !@#
June 30th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
to may were in the same situation actually i got the same email too. and also the same agency of yours, i already send my passport but i never pay untill now cause its too obvious that they are fake. thats why i investigate if its ok, the agency is real but the telephone number of the agency he included in his email is the not same too. I suggest that he semd me their pictures and he already sent it i will post here and look their picture.
Hello,
I am Mr Gino George, a widower for 4 yrs. I have 2
kids. I am seeking for the servcies of a nanny to come
and work for me in the U.K,I am willing to offer 800
pounds sterling per week and will provide monthly
shopping allowances as well as accomodation.
If interested please get back to me
Thanks
Mr Gino George
please email me if its really a fake one
thanks