How to avoid becoming a victim of an employment scam
Scammers target job seekers because they easily fall prey as the modus looks and sounds like legitimate job offers.
So, how can you tell if job offers are fake or meant to trick you into “paying” scammers money with the promise of employment?
Job openings posted in unofficial pages on social media. Scammers pretending to be HR representatives of a bank post job openings on Facebook groups. When you express your interest, they send you a private message to ask for your contact details.
Going through a fake “hiring process.” The fake HR representative sends a text message or email inviting the victim for an interview conducted via a video call. The victim is then offered the job. Often, scammers even make the victim submit other relevant documents, such as medical and education certificates to keep the fraud going.
A fee is required from the victim. The recruiter tells the victim that a fee of sorts is needed, such as an “equipment bond.” This is for tools, like laptops and cellphones, that the company would be providing to the victim who can work from home. The bond is asked to be deposited to the scammers’ digital wallets.
Victim is told to report on their first day at a branch. The scammers email the victims their contract of employment with details of where and when they should be reporting for their first day on the job. It is only when they show up at the branch that victims find out that the hiring process was fake.
You can fight fraud and protect yourself from these employment scams by doing the following:
- Filter. Submit your applications only on our website’s career page, LinkedIn, or JobStreet.
- Verify. Check if the sender address is legit before sending your pre-employment requirements.
- Reject. Don’t pay any fee or give out your bank account details for the promise of a job.
Metrobank only uses the sender address @metrobank.com.ph to contact you. We never post job vacancies on Facebook groups. We never ask candidates for fees during any period in the hiring process.
