BOGUS local and overseas jobs offers now abound online as unscrupulous individuals create multiple fake accounts of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its attached agencies.
In a statement on Sunday, DOLE warned the public against the said social media accounts and pages set up to illegally recruit, scam, and extort money from job seekers.
It said people behind the said fake accounts of DOLE and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) use these to offer non-existent job vacancies and orders.
“The public, particularly jobseekers, are encouraged to visit the official website of DOLE at www.dole.gov.ph, the PhilJobNet – www.philjobnet.gov.ph for local job posting, and of the POEA – www.poea.gov.ph for overseas job orders, and verify licensed and accredited recruitment agencies in the country,” the Information and Publication Service (IPS) of DOLE said.
The IPS has recently started going after the said fake sites after a victim named “Mary” sought it assistance.
“Mary” said a certain Arthur Villena, who allegedly works at the labor department, contacted her through a ‘DOLE Job Assistance-Local and Abroad’ Facebook page.
The page featured job vacancies to Canada, Australia, Singapore, London, and local jobs for Calabarzon and Mimaropa as nurses, caregiver, managers, restaurant staff, and others.
After she paid Villena a P1,000 fee to secure a slot in the job vacancy through mobile money transfer, she no longer heard anything from him.
This prompted “Mary” to report the incident to the IPS, which later found out that there was no Arthur Villena working in DOLE.
IPS reported the incident to Facebook to ask it to shut down the account.