Verifying Job Advertisements and Roles
The Labour Department reminds job seekers not to readily trust recruitment advertisements that claim “no experience or academic qualifications required” yet offer “high pay and good benefits”, and to consider whether the salary and requirements of the vacancy are realistic and in line with market levels.
During online job hunting, if personal data needs to be provided, job seekers should consider whether the employer’s request is reasonable, and whether there is a risk of excessive collection of personal data.
Beware of Unreasonable Charges and Training Requirements
Some fraudsters use recruitment as a pretext to impose unreasonable fees on job seekers under various guises and names, such as registration fees, data processing fees, administrative fees and work permit fees. Legitimate companies generally do not ask employees to bear any costs.
If, when job seeking, you are told you lack the entry requirements for the vacancy and must pay for your own training courses or other classes to upgrade your skills before being hired, you should stay alert — this is very likely a fake recruitment scheme intended to defraud you of money.
Protecting Personal Data and Interview Safety
Some fraudsters use recruitment as a pretext to obtain important personal data from job seekers, such as identity card, bank account and credit card details. Fraudsters may steal job seekers’ belongings or harvest their personal data during interviews, and then drain their bank savings, or use the obtained information to carry out unlawful activities.
Fraudsters may also claim to be recruiting for online part-time work, promising job seekers that they can earn service fees or commissions by purchasing online game top-up cards on behalf of others. Once the job seeker provides the serial number and password of the top-up card, the fraudster sells the credit and disappears, causing the job seeker financial loss.
When going to an interview, always keep personal safety in mind, avoid attending interviews alone at unusually remote locations, and watch out for whether the interview process is excessively careless. If an employer makes unreasonable demands, refuse outright, and never perform illegal work for the employer.
Refusing Pyramid Selling
If job seekers find that the work involves commission at each level (known as pyramid selling), and the goods sold are more expensive than those on the open market; or if they are asked to pay a large membership fee; and are persuaded to recruit members (including relatives, friends and classmates) to become their downline staff in order to earn profits, rather than focusing on product sales — they should refuse the job.