According to the advisory, scammers use email to bait their victims by promising jobs in big hospitals and health centers located in countries like Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Switzerland. Those running the con then instruct people who respond to the emails to pay registration fees amounting to Php3,750. This amount will supposedly cover a "mandatory orientation seminar".
According to Hans Leo J. Cacdac, the Administrator of POEA, scammers use the names of licensed placement agencies in the Philippines to create the impression that their recruitment activities are real. They also put the names of existing hospitals in their emails where the applicants will supposedly be deployed after paying the registration fees.
However, POEA found out that the agencies as well as the hospitals mentioned in the emails aren't involved in recruiting nurses in the Philippines. POEA added that the foreign health care facilities cited in the emails don't recruit through email and that they don't ask applicants to undergo orientation seminars for a fee.
Aside from the nursing jobs, the scammers also offer other perks like food allowance, free accommodation, and non-payment of processing and placement fees.
It's not that difficult to spot a fake job offer sent via email. The main tactic of the scammers is to send an email telling the recipient that he or she has been selected for a nursing position in a foreign hospital although the recipient can't recall sending in an application. If you haven't sent an application and you receive such an email, know that it's a scam.
You also have to verify the information contained in the email messages. Look at the email address used. If it looks suspicious and unprofessional, chances are it's fake. Go to the websites of the agencies and hospitals mentioned in the message to see if the job offer checks out. And if you think someone is trying to scam you, report it immediately to concerned agencies.
The POEA also warned the public about jobs being offered in social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Cacdac advised job seekers to use instead the POEA website to search for available job orders. The agency also has an application for tablets and smartphones.
