POEA: Be wary of illegal recruitment via online dating
THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) yesterday warned Filipino overseas jobseekers to disregard job offers from unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of online dating apps and websites for their illegal recruitment activities.
The POEA issued the warning after receiving reports from individuals who were offered supposed migration and employment in countries such as the United States and Canada via online dating apps and websites.
“The POEA advises job seekers to be cautious and ignore job offers from dating apps and refrain from paying any amount of money to their supposed ‘online romantic partners’ for overseas employment,” the agency said.
The scammers use fictitious cyber identity or catfishing to contact potential victims in dating apps who have a common interest or mutual connections. Once the scammers established an affinity with the victims, they would send an offer of migration, including promises of overseas jobs.
The unscrupulous individual would then send fake job contracts and company profiles and refer the unsuspecting victims to overseas visa consultancy firms.
While maintaining their supposed romantic interests, the scammer would then demand payments from the victims to release visa documents, including supposed airport clearances.
The POEA pointed out that a job offer that requires early fees through electronic transfer is a solid indication of a scam.
Overseas job seekers are advised to always verify overseas job offers through the POEA Verification System at the POEA website (www.poea.gov.ph) or email the POEA Information Center at [email protected].
The POEA also urged the public to be cautious and immediately report any suspicious recruitment activities to the Anti-Illegal Illegal Recruitment Branch’s Operations and Surveillance Division at [email protected].
