Overcoming Job Scam in Ghana and Recruitment Fraud in your job search 2024

Job Scam in Ghana

Job searching online has witnessed a dramatic increase over the years. This trend has brought a number of benefits to job seekers and employers, such as cost reduction, increased transparency, and access to reliable and timely information on jobs and recruitment opportunities. However, the problem of online scams and recruitment fraud continues to prey on helpless and unsuspecting job seekers, resulting in financial extortion and vital information requests for identity theft. In this post, sobiaonline shares some useful suggestions to improve your knowledge of online job scams to help you navigate your job search with ease in Ghana and elsewhere. What is a job scam? A scam is basically a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. Based on this definition and from experience at Sobiaonline, a job scam entails the fraudulent or deceptive use of job advertisements and other career offers (both online and offline) to lure job seekers with the sole purpose of defrauding them financially or soliciting sensitive information such as personal details, credit card information, and related stuff. Based on our encounters and existing background information on this topic, we have classified job fraud into three main forms: The first form of job recruitment fraud occurs online through the internet. One way this form of scam occurs is through poor regulation by job boards. Job boards put in their best efforts to prevent fraudulent job listings, but some smart fraudsters can still manage to publish their listings unnoticed. Another form of online scam has been on the rise on social media, where scammers take advantage of unsuspecting job seekers through which they extort money and other vital information. Thirdly, there has been an increase in email recruitment fraud targeting job seekers. The other growing form of online job scam is work-from-home job scams, which have been on the increase. The second form of recruitment fraud is offline job scams. Offline job scams take the form of physical contact with fake employers. These scams are very well organized and have received little attention as compared to the online scams. The third form of online scam occurs as a legitimate job scam. These days we have legitimate companies taking advantage of job seekers by extorting money from them. This third criteria is not quite a scam as legitimate jobs are involved, but the recruitment process is shrouded in secrecy and fraud. To give you a scenario model:

lets say company A has a job vacancy for a secretary. They advertised the opening and received 1, 000 job applications. All thousand applicants are then invited to interview where they will be tasked to pay GHC 50 per applicant in the name of processing fees. Then, all 1, 000 applicants are called back again in the name of an aptitude test and are made to pay an additional GHC 50. The procedure goes on and on until just one candidate is picked. In a scenario like this the company can make several thousands of Ghana Cedis from the recruitment of just one staff. This is a legitimate job vacancy but the recruitment process is fraudulent (Disclaimer: This is just for illustration)

Why did we take the time to discuss these types of recruitment fraud? By understanding the medium in which you can be potentially scammed and the motive behind job scams, you will be in the best position to fight it. Please read below the two main motives of job scammers: Access to Sensitive Information Fake advertisements are used to obtain sensitive information from people. These types of jobs request very personal information, including bank details, insurance numbers personal information, bank statements, passport details, and driving licenses. Once a job is requesting such sensitive information at the initial application stage, you need to take caution. For monitory compensation Fraudsters ask for advancement without a cogent explanation of what the money is going to be used for. We have, for instance, received numerous reports in Ghana where fraudsters are requesting money for CV upgrades as a precondition for employment. You can use this link to find out how Sobiaonline can help spice up your CV to increase your interview calls. Other reports revealed medical examinations, aptitude test fees, and processing fees as some of the reasons for payments often explained by corn artists.

With this in mind, the best way to avoid job scam is to avoid making financial commitment and sharing of very sensitive information with prospective recruiters.

How to Avoid Job Scamming

  • The companies used in most cases will be genuine, but the job will be a scam! Always contact the company if you see something suspicious about the job.
  • Don’t accept a job offer without an application, interview, or discussion with the employer.
  • You are promised high pay for not much work. Do not accept such offers.
  • You are told you have to pay for training? Do further digging and ask more questions.
  • Do  not provide personal details on your social media profiles.
  • Do not pay money for background checks and processing fees.
  • Do not pay for a job. Your employer should pay you for your expertise and not the other way round.
  • The interviewer should call you if it is a remote interview and not the other way round.
  • Don’t share sensitive information or money until you are sure the company is genuine.
  • Avoid job descriptions that are vague, ambitious with limited specific information about the company.
  • Trust your instincts. If you have the feeling that the job is not genuine, chances are that it is not genuine. You will need to do more research.
  • Leave what you are not certain of and follow what you are certain of.
  • Make sure the email address is associated with the company.

What to Do if You Are Scammed Already? Contact the company and ask for your money back. You can alert relevant agencies if the company refuses to. Make sure you provide reviews of the company on online websites as much as possible to warn other job seekers who might fall victim. Report the matter to the police immediately, with copies of all correspondence, contact details of the fake organisation, and bank or credit card statements if you suspect that your identity may have been stolen for illegal activities. Change your bank details if you shared your bank details with the fraudster Report the company and the job details to the job board where this occurred to help them improve upon their listing.

We thank all job seekers who entrusted us with their information and advice on fraudulent job offers over the years. It has helped us to continuously improve our services. We hope to continue to learn and share with you

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