Job scams in UAE and how to avoid them?

Job Scams in UAE

“Where there is money, there are people looking to make a quick buck!”

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, UAE have become a rich hunting ground for job hunters. And assisting in the job hunting process are the employment agencies or placement agencies. There are some really reputed recruitment agencies in UAE. However, I have been reported that there are employment agencies who run the scam operations.

Case Study

Rajesh, an MBA Finance graduate was job hunting in Dubai from the past 3 weeks having arrived here on tourist visa. It was getting desperate because if he did not secure a placement withing 2 months of arriving here, he may have to go back to his country. This will waste 2 months of his time plus he will not be able to get into UAE for another month to search for a job.

However, one fine day, Rajesh gets a call from a “recruitment agency” claiming they have a perfect position for him and that he must visit their branch in Sharjah.
Without much delay, Rajesh takes copies of his CV and heads to the address mentioned. What he finds there affirms his belief!

There were more than a dozen of candidates waiting for their turn to be interviewed. The sheer waiting time makes Rajesh believe that the set up is genuine!

After waiting for an hour, Rajesh is called into the room where the recruitment agent mentions him that there is an urgent requirement for Finance Executive in a company in Sharjah and his CV suited the most for the position.

However, right at end the Recruitment Executive mentions that Rajesh must pay a registration fees of AED 300 to process his application.

This raises the red flags for Rajesh! But due to the desperation and urgency he loosens his strings and makes the payment of AED 300 and goes back home happily thinking that he has secured a job.

Now comes the long wait for Rajesh, who kept following up with the agency on his application. When there was no call from the Recruitment Agency for the next 2 weeks, Rajesh realised that he was cheated! Not only did he lose his money he also lost a lot of peace of mind!

This is a typical example of how some rogue recruitment agencies take advantage of the desperation of the job seekers in Dubai Abu Dhabi UAE. When a well qualified guy like Rajesh fell into this trap, how about people with less knowledge and education?

Online and Offline recruitment agencies:

With the advent of the internet and technology and online payments, scammers saw an opportunity online to dupe unsuspecting job seekers. There are at least 15 websites operating outside UAE who provide placement opportunities in UAE for a fee. When you are online there is a higher risk of tracking as they may not have physical presence in any country or place. This makes it even more complicated for candidates looking for jobs.

How to read signs of a job scam and safeguard yourself ?

When you are deperate and gullible, this is a perfect opportunity for rogue recruiters.

Here are the basic points that you need to consider before creating your profile online or meeting recruiters:

1. If a recruiter asks for money for any purpose, just say THANK YOU and walk away. This is the biggest red flag! Recruitment agencies make money by placing people in companies. And companies pay them healthy commission for the placements they do.

2. If the recruiter mentions that the opening is URGENT, beware!

3. Few online job sites make a convincing pitch by adding FAKE job openings, fake testimonials, photos of people who have been recruited. Easiest thing is to do a GOOGLE search on the recruitment agency themselves by adding words like “scam”, “fraud”. This may bring up some vital information on the recruitment agency and other scams. And if more than one person talks negatively about a particular agency in an online forum, then it most probably is true. Doing Google Image Search on the photos will tell you that the photos are taken from other websites!!

4. Before committing to any company do a thorough due diligence on the company. Search in Google for company information, Managers and so on.

5. Check about the company in LinkedIn.com which has a database of most companies around the world. In this age of connected lives, it will be a shame if you fall prey to the online scams.

6. It will also be good to lodge a complain with the Police Department on any organisation, person, site that is conducting scam. I believe the authorities will take right action.

7. Go through local online forums. Here are LINKS: Fraudwatchers, Dubai Forum, Desert Speak,  Complaints Board. Go through these links and educate yourself. Do not fall prey to any scam.

8. USE Common sense!

Below are few screenshots of a site that is a sure Online Scam in UAE:

FAKE TESTIMONIALS-JOB SCAMS IN UAE

It is always useful to keep updated yourself from the Job scams in UAE, be it online or offline.