In the thick of the job hunt, one would expect that unemployed job seekers on their last twenty Naira note would be spared the agony of exploitation but that it seems is a far fetched fantasy in Nigeria. The exact opposite is the reality on ground and recruitment job scams are becoming common place in Nigeria, especially here in Abuja.

Nigerian scams are no longer limited to 'Romance' and 'Get-Rich-Quick' schemes. Scams have now found their way into the vulnerable job market full of desperate job seekers and more worrying the Civil service, the emblem of secure employment, is not spared. As one civil servant remarked, "these days the Nigerian Civil Service is becoming a cult where a few powerful individuals decide who gets what job, quite unlike what we had in the military era where although there was corruption, the situation is even worse under a democratic dispensation."

Below we take a look at some Notable Abuja Job Scams you should be wary of;

Pay to get a Job Scam

One of the variations of the Abuja Job scam is the requirement of job seekers to pay cash to secure a job. It is a variation of Advance Fee fraud which is punishable under the laws of the nigerian constitution. Some weeks ago, the Senate was asked to investigate an allegation that jobs are being sold to the highest bidder in the civil service. This investigation request came on the heels of the arrest of a Personal Aide to the DG of a well known security agency by operatives of the EFCC.

The Personal Aide was caught with stamped and signed appointment letters in a Hotel room allegedly to distribute to their owners – people who had paid N300’000 each for placement into the agency. Surprised? You shouldn't be as this practice is rampant in many Ministries in the FCT. Cases have been widely reported where people pay as much as N700’000 to secure lucrative civil service jobs here in Abuja.

Fake Recruitment Agencies

There's no better way to describe the proliferation of Recruitment Agencies that have popped up overnight in Abuja than in the following phrase, “Those who make the most money in a gold rush are those who sell tools to miners”. The "gold rush" is the high unemployment rate and the competitiveness and desperation of job seekers. There is no doubt that it is increasingly becoming harder for unemployed people to secure well paying jobs. Those "selling the tools" are the recruitment agencies. However within these recruitment agencies there are many fake agencies that post vacancies for none existent jobs.

Some of these fake agencies operate from gardens and parks and post photocopy notices about various job positions in strategic locations such as bus stops, on trees and walls along busy pedestrian walkways so that their target, the teeming desperate mass of unemployed people will catch the bait. Fake agencies can be identified by how easily it is to be invited over for an interview after which you’re congratulated swiftly, usually by SMS for scaling the interview process. Next they invite you to come and pay for registration and processing and an offer letter. Your offer letter will just simply be an invitation to attend a job interview somewhere from a vacancy they saw in the newspaper or on job websites. What they’ve done is to simply collect your details and apply for a job on your behalf and you’ve paid them for doing that.

Online Job Scams

In the digital era, job scams have evolved online. Online job scams are carried out by a scammer pretending to be agents of reputable oil and gas, banking or telecoms companies. They know that these jobs are highly sought after by unemployed people so they post vacancies and set requirements for employment some of which include paying for registration and training. They often times do not represent anybody and there are no jobs on offer, just their 'Ghost' training programs.

Fake Contract Job Scams

These scams are usually directed at NYSC Corps members that have just completed their program and gained their certificate. Imagine you’ve just finished the mandatory 12 month service and you’ve started applying for jobs. Out of the blue you receive a phone call claiming that you’ve been offered a job at a multi national oil company. The scammer knows your name, what you studied, where you studied and even has details of your previous work experience.

How on earth did he obtain such information? Scammers can get this information from your NYSC year book, every batch has one and all your details are contained in the year book. Job Scammer can also do a little investigation on Facebook to track down your details. They sound so confident when they speak to you that you actually might begin to doubt your own self. Many job seekers have fallen for this scam because they sound professional and credible.

Another variation of this is the contract to supply scam where the scammer pretends he or she has products to supply and needs you to stand in as is agent to deliver the products. Where all this is leading to is for you to part with money to pay for the goods and when you do, you can kiss your money goodbye...forever!

Watch out for these scams. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, don’t let scammers make your bad situation any worse. Here are some rules to help you learn how to deal with Job Scammers;

#Rule 1

As a rule, never pay for a job you’re not sure of getting except if it’s a Government establishment that requires you to pay for formal registration. Even here you have to be careful not to pay money to corrupt civil servants who promise you jobs from within.

#Rule 2

Always take great pains to locate the physical address of any employment agency. If they don’t have a physical office address or are operating from a temporary accommodation, just move on and forget about them.

#Rule 3

Always ask questions till you’re satisfied and cleared of all doubts. Scammers hate answering questions that might expose them, any hostility towards you for enquiring about them should be seen as a red flag.

#Rule 4

Always get second and third opinions about suspicious job offers. If you’re still in doubt, then forget about the offer altogether.

http://www.abujafood.com/news-digest/bite/1043-the-world-of-abuja-job-scams.html