Date Posted: 3/28/2017 3:24:25 AM
Posted By: WHITE SEA Membership Level: Silver Total Points: 737
Scammers are getting smarter with the advancement of technology hence the need to be wary at all times.These conmen target everyone from all backgrounds; all age groups, income earners, professionals and all.Not only the gullible or naive but anyone can fall victim of their luring schemes. And they are unrelenting.I am one such unlucky fellow who got carried away by excitement of landing a United Nations job. Imagine a UN job with a basic salary of Ksh. 54,000 exempted from taxes and daily allowances of Ksh. 250 just for being a mere office data clerk in Eldoret. It sounded so real considering the terms of employment. I forgot to think twice about the too"good" offer.The requirements were also simple and opportunities for students were presented.The job post was advertised online on the star classifieds. I had subscribed to job sites that link you to potential employers like the brightermonday, fuzu, monster, the star classifieds etc. The star classifieds got me my first two jobs and I didn't bother to question this one. Assumptions are costly. Never assume.If you think all ads are legit, you have a reason to worry. Anybody can post an ad. After every ad posted there is a space provided for the reader to post an ad. This chance is up for grabs by fraudsters with guts to siphon from fellow Kenyans. They put their contacts, ad ID, and funny names like Luyo UN. If you mpesa the number you actually see the name. Don't trust the caller ID.Talking of mpesa kindly don't pay anything upfront for a promise of a job. They tell you such and such amount needed as processing fee. What do they process but to peruse your documents? You spot their big lie because they insist on payment first to be made via mpesa and NOT pay bill number.They even say it is "once off refundable". Then I ask, how sure are you that they will repay?The documents they ask you to email them are just another way of studying you so you can become a target in another way. They will come as impostors in social media platforms and offer you a virgin spotless deal that will draw you gracefully to a bottomless pit. Ignore suspicious texts, pop up windows or emails. Delete them. Or verify through an independent source such as a phone book or online search.Know who you are dealing with. The devil is in the details. If unsure of the legitimacy of the business do a background search. Do image search or go to internet to read " reviews", "complaints" and "scam". Slow down because their power rests in hurrying you to make a decision before a deadline closing fast. Talk to someone- an expert, or a friend. I will tell you how these cheats are so good at being bad. They give you a job that is not there. Go to the website of the said company, find out if it exists, what the company is about, see the available vacancies (open, closed, cancelled vacancies) and see if there is a mismatch of contact information. Make some calls to confirm everything. Others use the available organization logo and information only to change the emails and telephone numbers. If they don't pick calls then leave it and flee. If they do receive a call ensure it is not a robocall. Hang up on robocalls and don't take any subsequent calls...otherwise you are in danger of buying their pitches.In conclusion, let us protect ourselves from scams by spotting impostors, conducting researches, going slow, being mindful of how we pay if at all we should pay, keeping our personal details secure and finding out from others who have interacted with the people or companies in question. Be the smartest.
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