The recent layoffs in the IT industry are making job-seekers fall prey to fraudsters who cheat people by delivering fake employment offer letters to them, even from companies as well known as IBM or Wipro. In June alone, six cases of job fraud were registered in Bengaluru's cyber crime branch.
As many as 25 similar cases have been registered since March, reported the Times of India. According to estimates, swindlers have made nearly Rs 2 crore out of this scam. The biggest case registered so far has been about a youth giving Rs 24 lakh for a job in the well-known auto company, Tesla.
Strategy
These swindlers register themselves on employment portals as employers or consultants and collect all details, including email addresses and resumes, of job seekers. They contact them and then offer tempting career opportunities with renowned companies. However, instead of getting them a direct HR interview or placement test with the company, they lure them into paying money, which the seekers are asked to send to a specified account.
People often fall prey to the fancy job offers posted via social media platforms and SMS. Further, those aspiring to go abroad are often duped by fake visa and job offer letter with the victim's name on it.
Fake offer letter
Sumesh Kumar, a resident of Ashok Nagar who worked at a travel agency, turned up at the cyber crime branch in Bengaluru on June 20 to lodge a complaint after his brother was deported when he landed in Turkey, where he had got a job as a marine engineer, the newspaper reported.
Kumar explained that back in May they had come across an advertisement on Facebook calling for marine engineers for a Europe-based vessel. When he called on the given number, he ended up talking to an agent in Lucknow who asked Kumar to send his brother's passport copy and other documents.
He also deposited Rs 1.9 lakh in four instalments in a bank account given by the agent, following which Kumar's brother received the bogus visa and offer letter. However, when Kumar's brother reached Istanbul, he was notified that the visa was not valid and he was deported to India.
