Cosmas Odoemena
A lawyer relative of mine got a short message service, sms, recently inviting her for a job aptitude test somewhere in Yaba, Lagos. But she could not remember sending an application to such a place. She told me about it, and I told her to call one of the phone numbers in the sms sent to her, which she did. But a gruff voice answered her. The fellow could not say who they were, or what the organisation was about and sounded unintelligent. Later, the person turned round to say he was only “a clerk” who did “not know much.” I told my relative to disregard it, that it was a scam. Then, a thought came into my mind to google that address on the net. It turned out to be one of those job scammers, just like I figured.
A few days after that one, she received another job invitation through sms, this time in one eatery at Mushin! Needless to say that when we googled, it was still some other job scammers. I am pretty sure other people have received this sort of unsolicited sms.
The unemployment situation in the country has driven people to use devilish ways to survive, among the usual ones being armed robbery and kidnapping; now, enter job scamming.
Job scammers fleece unwary and desperate job hunters of the little money they have, with the ploy of offering them non-existent jobs. Perhaps, they hack into the database of big organisations, including that of government to get the phone numbers of job applicants. Another way again is through some of those so-called job websites that you send your Curriculum Vitae, CVs to.
A University of Exeter study on why people easily fall victims of scams concluded that a “lack of emotional control” by the victim could make them impulsive - a degree of isolation, either by living alone or by not sharing their decision with others, (which suggests that they are partly aware that the offer is fundamentally suspect), a history of being scammed (some 10% to 20 % of the population is deemed vulnerable to scams because they are serial victims), being vulnerable to certain psychological triggers such as the building of relationships, usually through phone calls, with apparently obliging people (who end up being scammers).
The study also stated that people with a resistance to such frauds “often discard scams virtually unread”. In contrast, victims can pour over the offer, feeling uneasy but not acting on those hunches that tell them to walk away.
Now, there are certain things that will warn you that your dream job is a scam: When they quickly reply your email enquiry telling you they have received your resume when you didn’t even send it; when they fail to list a specific location for the job, in other words, you cannot find where the job is; when they list a salary that is too good to be true; when the post is a government job, be even more wary. You will also find the postings written in bad English or misspellings. Fake jobs usually have no job contact information.
A real job with quality will tell you who to contact by e-mail with a website. Be wary of a job link that directs you to another site. Be equally wary of a job membership site that asks you to register.
When you get to the so-called job interview venues, they ask you to pay at least N1000 as “processing fee”. Consider that amount for all the people who will be there. And they organise it almost every Saturday!
But you don’t really have to be a victim of this scam if you answer no to the question: Did you apply to this organisation? If you are not sure, find out about the organisation. If curiosity then leads you to the place, when they ask you for money, they have given themselves away. Don’t just say anything. At worst, excuse yourself to the loo. Just go back home, quietly.
At least the lesson would have been learnt in not-too-hard way. Remember, you have wasted your transport fare, which, based on your situation, you may not have. Though they have not robbed you of your money, they have robbed you of something equally precious: Time. And time they say is money. (You might have stayed home to watch the English Premier League!)
Usually, when they are through with the “job test” they tell you they will get back to you in due course “if you are successful”. You will never hear from them again. They cannot get back to you, or anyone else, because they can’t give what they don’t have. They don’t even have a job themselves!
This is how Nigerians show wickedness to fellow Nigerians. But it is a crying shame that even government, lately, through the Nigeria Immigration Service, is also into this kind of scam!
Dr Cosmas Odoemena
Cosmas Odoemena
A lawyer relative of mine got a short message service, sms, recently inviting her for a job aptitude test somewhere in Yaba, Lagos. But she could not remember sending an application to such a place. She told me about it, and I told her to call one of the phone numbers in the sms sent to her, which she did. But a gruff voice answered her. The fellow could not say who they were, or what the organisation was about and sounded unintelligent. Later, the person turned round to say he was only “a clerk” who did “not know much.” I told my relative to disregard it, that it was a scam. Then, a thought came into my mind to google that address on the net. It turned out to be one of those job scammers, just like I figured.
A few days after that one, she received another job invitation through sms, this time in one eatery at Mushin! Needless to say that when we googled, it was still some other job scammers. I am pretty sure other people have received this sort of unsolicited sms.
The unemployment situation in the country has driven people to use devilish ways to survive, among the usual ones being armed robbery and kidnapping; now, enter job scamming.
Job scammers fleece unwary and desperate job hunters of the little money they have, with the ploy of offering them non-existent jobs. Perhaps, they hack into the database of big organisations, including that of government to get the phone numbers of job applicants. Another way again is through some of those so-called job websites that you send your Curriculum Vitae, CVs to.
A University of Exeter study on why people easily fall victims of scams concluded that a “lack of emotional control” by the victim could make them impulsive - a degree of isolation, either by living alone or by not sharing their decision with others, (which suggests that they are partly aware that the offer is fundamentally suspect), a history of being scammed (some 10% to 20 % of the population is deemed vulnerable to scams because they are serial victims), being vulnerable to certain psychological triggers such as the building of relationships, usually through phone calls, with apparently obliging people (who end up being scammers).
The study also stated that people with a resistance to such frauds “often discard scams virtually unread”. In contrast, victims can pour over the offer, feeling uneasy but not acting on those hunches that tell them to walk away.
Now, there are certain things that will warn you that your dream job is a scam: When they quickly reply your email enquiry telling you they have received your resume when you didn’t even send it; when they fail to list a specific location for the job, in other words, you cannot find where the job is; when they list a salary that is too good to be true; when the post is a government job, be even more wary. You will also find the postings written in bad English or misspellings. Fake jobs usually have no job contact information.
A real job with quality will tell you who to contact by e-mail with a website. Be wary of a job link that directs you to another site. Be equally wary of a job membership site that asks you to register.
When you get to the so-called job interview venues, they ask you to pay at least N1000 as “processing fee”. Consider that amount for all the people who will be there. And they organise it almost every Saturday!
But you don’t really have to be a victim of this scam if you answer no to the question: Did you apply to this organisation? If you are not sure, find out about the organisation. If curiosity then leads you to the place, when they ask you for money, they have given themselves away. Don’t just say anything. At worst, excuse yourself to the loo. Just go back home, quietly.
At least the lesson would have been learnt in not-too-hard way. Remember, you have wasted your transport fare, which, based on your situation, you may not have. Though they have not robbed you of your money, they have robbed you of something equally precious: Time. And time they say is money. (You might have stayed home to watch the English Premier League!)
Usually, when they are through with the “job test” they tell you they will get back to you in due course “if you are successful”. You will never hear from them again. They cannot get back to you, or anyone else, because they can’t give what they don’t have. They don’t even have a job themselves!
This is how Nigerians show wickedness to fellow Nigerians. But it is a crying shame that even government, lately, through the Nigeria Immigration Service, is also into this kind of scam!
Dr Cosmas Odoemena
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