Austrians victimized by Pinoy recruiters

Now it’s foreigners’ turn to be duped by fake job offers in the Philippines.

Call it a twist of fate, but after thousands of Filipinos have been routinely duped by false promises of high-paying jobs in other countries, Austrian job seekers have also reportedly fallen prey to fraudulent advertisements published in Vienna newspapers about job opportunities in the Philippines.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine Embassy in Austria had issued a warning to jobseekers not to entertain advertisements for
job openings in the Philippines where, ironically,
unemployment is one of the biggest problems of the government.

In a report to the DFA, Ambassador to Austria Victor Garcia III said that fake recruiters invite applicants to respond to job advertisements through e-mail.

He said Austrians were asked to visit Manila for job interviews and were instructed to transfer funds in advance to cover airfare and the cost of processing their travel papers.

However, since the companies are non-existent and are merely masquerading as legitimate operations, Garcia said no air tickets were ever issued to the applicants and the funds were never recovered by the victims.

It is not known how many job seekers were fooled by the fake job ads.

Garcia urged Austrians to "carefully check the background of the companies and organizations placing the advertisements before transacting any business with them." He also urged caution against job opportunities advertised on Internet sites or circulated through e-mail.

DFA spokesman Gilberto Asuque said the illegal recruiter, whose office is located in Parañaque City, advertised for job openings at beach resorts in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.

The Philippine Embassy in Austria has alerted authorities in Manila to the scam so that appropriate measures could be undertaken to arrest the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the DFA also warned Filipinos of a recruitment scam by an agency in Manila reportedly recruiting Filipinos to work as waitresses at the Palasia Hotel in Palau and charging an exorbitant placement fee of P45,000.

Ambassador to Koror, Palau Leoncio Parungao Jr. issued the warning after receiving a letter from Palasia Hotel Palau general manager Andy Yang seeking the embassy’s assistance in investigating the case and to inform the public of the fraudulent scheme.

Yang clarified that Palasia Hotel is not recruiting any worker in the Philippines and is not offering employment for $600 per month.

Two Palauans — Haruo Esang and Harry Besebes — were allegedly part of the advertising scheme, according to Yang. The two, however, have denied any involvement in the scam. - With AFP