You risk being scammed and cheated by recruiters who lack moral principles and engage in unethical business practices.
The bad news? Job scams are out there
1.Be it recruitment firms or individuals who pretend to represent a client they don’t have.
They convince candidates to share their resumes for an interesting job opportunity.
However, since there was never a real client or a genuine job, the resume is circulated in the market with the statement that “their” candidate is actively seeking a new opportunity.
2.Presenting one or two impressive resumes to a hiring company that are completely fabricated by the recruiter to impress the employer.
These fake “candidates” suddenly withdraw or lose interest altogether.
But in the meantime, the recruiter has signed up the client and is now in business.
3.A recruitment firm posing as a client (a hiring company) emails another recruitment firm to request a detailed quotation.
Done to solicit confidential business terms from a competing recruiter.
4.Recruitment firms that post 0-star or 1-star reviews on other recruitment firms’ websites, job boards, and Google, alleging poor experience with inadequate customer service.
This is all just a sham to discredit another company.
5.Recruitment firms create fake LinkedIn profiles to establish a network of connections (read: potential candidates).
The LinkedIn profile will feature a Western name (foreigner) and a photo sourced from a stock image website.
This practice is usually employed by an agency or firm that has only Thai or Asian employees.
The good news for candidates
You can identify them before they get to you – of course, only if you know what to look for.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a recruiter, definitely take the time to listen and engage in conversation.
If the recruiter asks for your resume, provide your personal email address, but ask them to first email you their contact details, including the company name, address, mobile number, and website. Then, you can reply to that email.
Just because someone claims to be calling from a reputable recruitment firm doesn’t mean they actually are. Many mention a company name without revealing their own.
They may provide only their mobile number instead of the company’s phone number. This should raise a red flag.
A LinkedIn profile that lacks a photograph, or perhaps displays a logo or other image, might suggest it is fake.
If it’s a photo or image, you can right-click on it, select “Search Google for Image,” and check for visually similar images (e.g., stock images).
The good news for hiring companies
If you find a recruiter’s approach impressive or enjoy the candidate profiles you receive, then request to “meet” on a video conference call.
It goes without saying, but you should request that communication be moved to emails so you can conduct due diligence on the recruitment firm and the individual.
If you are unfamiliar with the recruiter or their firm, request a signed letter from the candidate designating the recruiter as their agent and representative.
The good news for recruitment firms
If the email is not from a company domain but instead originates from Gmail or similar, and the sender claims to represent a hiring company, inform the sender that it is company policy to present your services, fees, and terms exclusively to company email addresses.
Verify with Google whether the company domain ending is accurate; the email might be from .co instead of the correct .com used by the company.
Sometimes, I notice the fake sender using co.th, even though the genuine company operates with .com for its business in Thailand.
How my network NPAworldwide has been scammed
We have recently learned of another job scam in which the name and online sites of NPAworldwide are being used to deceive job seekers, recruiters, and employers.
The NPAworldwide website is www.npaworldwide.com. Note the .com ending.
Websites with NPAworldwide that end in .asia, .co, or .ai are all fakes, no doubt about it.
There are fraudulent posts on job sites like Shine.com that aim to trick unsuspecting users into sharing banking information, sensitive personal details, and money.
If anyone approaches you claiming to be from npaworldwide.asia please proceed with extreme caution.
- Do not share bank details or passport/ID photos or respond to any requests for cash.
- Do not engage on WhatsApp or other social channels.
