DOLE to Malaysia-bound jobseekers: Beware of online scam

Filipinos seeking jobs in Malaysia should beware of an online recruitment scam, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Friday.

DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the scam involves a supposed "email" from the Malaysian immigration department seeking visa processing fees.

“Such notices are a hoax and prospective workers for Malaysia should be very wary about answering these hoax emails," Baldoz warned, citing a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Kuala Lumpur.

Baldoz said the email claims to be a notice from the immigration authority, informing a prospective applicant of a pending appointment letter from a certain "Mobil Oil Company."

The email then allegedly requests for the processing of the applicant’s documents — and a processing fee.

Labor attaché to Kuala Lumpur Hassan Gabra Jumdain cited a sample email received by a prospective applicant, with the email seeking processing fees for a visa or residence work permit.

Such fees would cost the worker a total of $670 (P29,938) that the applicant should send through Western Union to an account name with a government office address in Kuala Lumpur.

“The email also indicates that the cost of pre-paid flight tickets will be shouldered by the host employer, in this case Mobil Oil Company," Jumdain reported.

Baldoz enjoined prospective overseas Filipino workers to strictly observe precautionary measures when applying for overseas employment in Malaysia.

“They should only deal with licensed recruitment agencies posted at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration website or visit the POEA for advice. They should not be lured by sweet words from fixers and agents promising overseas jobs for a fee. Better still, they should immediately report illegal recruiters to government authorities," she said.

She also warned illegal recruiters to stop plying their nefarious trade because the law will eventually catch up with them.—JMA/JV, GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more