Beware of Scammers / Human Traffickers II: How I nearly fell into the trap of kidnappers online. (Moyagabo Motshekga. Midrand, South Africa)

"A few days ago, I saw a very interesting job post online and I thought it wise, and did applied for it. Since it was close to my hometown in Limpopo, I called my dad and asked him to go help me submit my application in person and so he did. 

This morning, my dad went there to submit my application as agreed. But when he got to this company, he was informed that they do not have such a position advertised online or anywhere, and that they were not also responsible for whoever posted the vacancy online. Shocked, he didn’t hesitate to quickly inform me of this surprising turn of event, and I immediately went back online to see and confirm if this was indeed true.

When I got back to the site where I had earlier seen the posted job position, I got another shocker! The post which I had seen earlier had been removed from the website with no trace."

P.S: I found this ad on “bizcommunity” and I thought it was legit, but guess I was wrong. As I type this now, I await a dodgy call for an interview from whoever may have posted that supposed “vacancy” online. These set of persons could’ve been rapists, scammers or even human traffickers, lurking behind their keypads, waiting for their next unwary victims. Thank goodness, my dad had to help me check the company out in person. I just needed to share this. Please be safe. 

RECEIVED ON 8TH JUNE, 2017

Blogger’s Comment

It is really so sad that these evil perpetrators are not only found in Nigeria, but everywhere and they usually operate using similar methods to lure unsuspecting job seekers into their traps.

I think the first article which I had written earlier had dealt with being security conscious when going for a job interview and all the safety tips to keep before applying for a job and what to be done before going at all.

However reading Moyagabo’s story, I see yet another glaring precaution, which is a must that I must share with all job seekers out there to take note of when applying for a job post online:

These evil perpetrators post job positions from a well-known and established Company online without the Company’s knowledge or authority.

This heinous tactic is used by the most intrepid of them all. These ones, judging from the way they operate, are not scammers; not interested in cash. These are the real die-hard criminals; rapists, ritualists and human traffickers, all rolled in one. They, most of the time, choose a very well-known company and post a job position relating to this organization to public online domains. However, they cunningly give a wrong unknown address different from the Company’s known location, where they lie in wait for unsuspecting job seekers to come for the interview after selecting their “lucky” candidates, and then be trapped.

Their evil plots can be best avoided by actually doing either or both of these following calculated steps:

1. Visit the company’s verified website immediately you come across any job position relating to them online and see if indeed the said seen vacancy on another domain is posted there. This has been really explained in my last piece on applying, but please always check the verified sites of these companies to see if they are currently recruiting for the position, it is very important.

2. Go to the company in person and inquire (if the organization is accessible), or try contacting an employee in the company to know if they are recruiting or not. These simple little acts will indeed help safe and remove you out of a potential kidnappers’ traps

No matter what you do, make sure you are certain of where you are applying to and where you are going for the interview. Please be safe.