PETALING JAYA: Many job seekers put up their resumes on recruitment websites in the hope of getting offers from companies. However, this has also made some of them vulnerable to job scammers who make fake offers through messaging apps.
In a series of tweets, Nabil Hussein shared his experience of speaking to one such scammer via WhatsApp. He said he received a message from an individual by the name of “Alyssa”, who claimed to work for a delivery company.
“She claimed to have seen my resume on a job portal called ‘A Job Thing’. Alyssa showed me the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM ) certificate and offered me a job with a high salary.
“She said her company had an online job that pays up to RM10,000 a month. The job was simple and just required me to follow a few celebrities’ TikTok accounts.
“Alyssa said the hours were flexible and would not interfere with my daily activities. She even promised payment through the Touch n Go E-Wallet. I did the job and received payment. However, it was just RM12 and not the few hundred ringgit that I was expecting,” he said in a post on Twitter.
Nabil said Alyssa then forwarded him a link to download her company’s software to accept the job. It was then that he realised he was being scammed.
“I realised that if I had downloaded the app, Alyssa would have immediate access to my mobile phone and could use my e-wallet or banking apps to make illegal transactions.”
A Job Thing founder Ray Teng said scammers were attacking bona fide recruitment portals for access to potential employees’ information.
He said scammers used the name of genuine job portals, accessed public-listed companies’ CCM certificates and used the same modus operandi as genuine employers, especially by contacting them through WhatsApp.
“The public cannot access a potential employee’s resume on my company’s website unless they are genuine companies registered with us.
“But I am unsure of other recruitment companies as such access depends on their policies.
“Usually, employers who are our clients will have to register with us, provide their contact numbers, legitimate CCM certificate, other relevant details, and go through a verification process first. However, scammers today are smart, they can forge any document they want.”
Teng said it was important for the public to be educated and remain vigilant of any suspicious offers made by scammers.
“If the offer, and especially the salary, is too good to be true, then one must be extremely careful.
“Do not download any unauthorised apps shared by unknown and unverified parties. Ask questions and learn more about the offers even if you have the slightest doubt, and make a video call with them to know who you are talking with. Usually, scammers will want to remain anonymous and not take video calls.”
He said if any potential employee notice suspicious companies offering jobs, report the matter to the police. If a scammer is using a genuine recruitment company’s name, inform the company so that the scammer can be blocked.
Asia Recruit consulting team lead Azrin Jamal said job recruitment is moving quickly these days, with millions of candidates eager to find work and recover from unemployment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“But the public must remember that it is critical to be cautious because job fraud is on the rise.
“Scammers will take advantage of candidates by making unbelievable offers just to obtain personal, private and financial information. So one has to be very cautious of this,” he said.
