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Foreign job scams: People falling prey to fraudsters despite warnings, says SLBFE
Going about it the right way: People seeking jobs abroad queue up to get documents authenticated at the SLBFE office . Pic by Nilan Maligaspe
Despite repeated warnings by authorities, many people continue to fall prey to fraudsters running fake foreign job scams. While dozens of arrests have been made, it remains an uphill battle.
Earlier this month, police sought public assistance to arrest an alleged fraudster accused of defrauding over Rs. 17.5 million from individuals in various parts of the island by promising them foreign employment opportunities in countries such as the United Kingdom and Poland. The fake job agency operated from a Janajaya City Hall, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, police said. The suspect remains at large. This week, officials from the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) arrested a woman in Gampola accused of defrauding people by promising them jobs in West Asian countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. SLBFE officials said the woman had seven complaints lodged against her and that based on these, it is suspected that she had defrauded over Rs. 4 million from her victims.
With more people trying desperately to leave for employment abroad owing to the prevailing economic crisis, fraudsters running foreign job scams have an ample supply of potential victims. Social media has also been a boon for such scams, with fraudsters moving online to lure people.
Authorities however, point out that many continue to fall victim to these scams because they don’t take even basic steps like trying to verify whether those who claim to be operating a foreign employment agency are registered with the government.
In answering a question on the subject raised by MP B.Y.G. Rathnasekara, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara pointed out in Parliament on Wednesday (19) that as per the SLBFE Act that was passed as far back as 1985, any person who goes abroad for employment must register with the government. He further noted that people can only go abroad for employment either through the government or through registered employment agencies. The minister added that “not knowing the law cannot be deemed as an excuse” for those who give money to various individuals in the hope of going abroad for employment and then end up as victims of fraud.
Mr. Nanayakkara said the SLBFE had been educating the public since 1985 about foreign employment scams. “Even now, the Bureau is educating the public through social media, mainstream media and through Development Officers at village level. We have also established migrant worker committees in villages to educate those who are hoping to go abroad,” he told the House.
The minister claimed that the main problem is that people are more inclined to believe “liars” who claim they can provide overseas jobs rather than going through the government or government approved agencies.
According to the SLBFE, its special investigation unit had received 1371 complaints concerning foreign job scams within the first four months of this year. The complaints include people being recruited for foreign employment without the necessary license from the SLBFE, collecting money without a valid job offer, and sending people overseas for employment on tourist visas. A total of 495 complaints had been resolved while investigation officers had been able to return more than Rs. 53 million to the complainants. During these four months, the SLBFE had arrested and produced in court 28 suspects over foreign job scams while eight agencies which had recruited persons for foreign jobs without a valid job offer had been raided.
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