First text: “This is from _ Corporation. We have received your application from ___ on-line. We are processing your application. Please be available for interview at 10:00 a.m. today. Our HR Manager will be interviewing you over the phone.”
Dodong of Negros received this text and was happy that finally his application for this sought after company was moving. He prepared himself for an interview and was called. The man on the other line introduced himself as Mr. A of __Corporation. He was articulate and sounded dignified. The question and answer was composed of questions from personal to technical within the area of the position applied for. There seemed no apparent indication of anything contrived. The interviewer then said the applicant will get another call from the department manager who will be making the final decision. True enough, a day after, Dodong gets another call.
This time Dodong gets a call from the supposed Vice President; a Mr. So and So who Dodong earlier researched was really part of the organization he applied for. After a few technical questions, the VP tells Dodong to process his documents. He further tells the applicant that he has to wait for HR to call so he can be given the hiring requirements. The HR manager calls after a few hours. He briefs Dodong on the other hiring requisites and continues to ask the applicant if there are any questions.
Dodong proceeds to ask about what he is expected to do. His job coverage and his compensation package. He is given a brief rundown of his compensation and benefits and since the company is known, the applicant believed what the manager is saying was true.
“You have to pay for your physical exam before you can be scheduled to take this final hurdle.” The voice continues to give an amount and an address and assures Dodong that he is more or less accepted. “Just send your money through a pera padala center. Text me the PIN so I can forward the amount to our medical.”
When the money is sent; the voices and the money disappear.
The rampancy of incidents of this nature has compelled me to write about this once again. With the upcoming graduation, many new applicants will flood the different job placement sites online. This is a fertile ground for picking up the scam victim.
Many companies have been receiving “surprise employees”. Both the young and mature have been prone to this form of job –on-line search engine. People report to an office expecting a job and would-be employers get the surprise of their lives for having a new “manager”, “supervisor” or ‘secretary” they did not hire, or search for.
It would be prudent to be careful in applying for a job. With the presence of Facebook and other social media outlets, it is easy to generate information about a person or a company. Corporate heads have profiles listed in their roster and even in business organizations whose annual reports may have information about important people.
If you are an applicant make sure you are able to verify the identity of the person giving you a call. Never pay anything especially if the amounts to be transmitted through a money transfer facility aside from a bank. Legitimate cash transactions are usually done through banks, which are traceable and credible accounts.
Remember that big corporations DO NOT ASK CASH for applications. NOT EVEN FOR MEDICAL EXAMS without seeing the applicant. They also do not interview through the phone and neither do they skip processes.
So beware of the URGENT NEED. Because you may soon find out you were just among the palliatives to a scammers’ urgent need.