Fake jobs come in various forms but they all have one thing in common; they all carry an end product of deceit and disappointment.
In 2015, Vanguard newspaper reported that 80% of online jobs in Nigeria are fake jobs.
In this article, we will share some of the fastest ways to identify fake jobs and scam jobs in Nigeria. We will also share samples of messaging templates used to promote fake jobs in Nigeria.
Types of Fake Jobs and Scam Jobs

There are usually three kinds of scam jobs as mentioned earlier.

 

(1). Deliberately misleading job openings

These are fake jobs that lure job seekers into overly different agenda. For instance, these are the types that would invite you for an interview that turns out to be a multi-level marketing seminar.

 

(2). False representation with intent to defraud

This is where you find fake jobs from scam recruiting companies who take advantage of desperate job seekers and eventually strive to exploit their desperation by asking them to pay for a job slot.

 

(3). Impersonators

The extreme kinds of fake job scams are those that claim to be an existing company by impersonating them. Here the individuals set up fake social media accounts and claim to be hiring in a bid to get unsuspecting candidates to pay for job opportunities that do not exist. Fastest Ways to Identify Scam Jobs in Nigeria

As job seekers continue to get smarter and spot loopholes in fake jobs, the brains behind these schemes have also upgraded their parameters of deceit.

The implication is that the forms that fake jobs and scam jobs take are consistently being improved upon by the devious minds involved. We have, therefore, taken it upon ourselves to also expose fake jobs as seen in the sample templates and tips we will share in subsequent lines.

Below are some of the fastest ways to spot fake jobs and scam jobs:

 

(1). Company has no credible online presence
(2). They eventually ask for money
(3). The messaging template
(4). Job interview versus job briefing
(5). Venue of the interview
(6). No specific title
No Credible Online Presence

Companies that are involved in fake jobs and scam jobs usually will not have any credible online presence. This means that for instance, they will not have a website, blog or any online presence that can be verified.

In this digital age where you would expect any organisation with a legitimate organisational setup to have an accessible online presence, companies that promote fake jobs and scam jobs fail woefully on this scorecard.

They Eventually Ask For Money

Don’t pay to get a job. It’s that simple. At some point, the fraudulent promoters of fake jobs and scam jobs eventually ask for some form of payment to get the candidates jobs. In this case, they have various names for the fees they eventually request from candidates. Some of these names include processing fee, registration fee or even consultancy fee.

No genuine organisation should ask for money from candidates to help them get jobs.

The Messaging Template

If you find yourself being invited for a job interview or job assessment exercise in a company for a job role that you do not recall applying for, it becomes imperative for you to carry out a research into the company.
A Nigeria-based HR professional, Isiakpona Nwabueze, while speaking to Jobberman on ways to spot a fake job, shared some insights.

“Unlike what has become prevalent today, an ideal job invitation should come via three channels; a phone call, an email and a text message. Text messages do not work in isolation.

The company hiring would call, send an email and then follow up with a text message. Sending an SMS only is a sign that it is most likely a fake job or scam job.

Job Interview Versus Job Briefing
While hunting for a job, you must be wary of job interview invitations and how they are drafted. In a lot of scam job interview invitations, the flaw sometimes appears in the sloppy use of terms.

When hiring, a job interview should precede a job briefing. This is the point where we define what a ‘job interview’ is as well as what a job briefing is.

A job interview is a conversation between a representative of an organisation and a potential employee to assess his/her suitability for a particular job.

A ‘job briefing’ on the other hand, is the process of outlining clearly the full description of tasks and responsibilities of an employee to him/her.
Venue of the Interview: Not all interviews are conducted within the office space of the recruiting company. This is evidenced by Skype interviews, career fair interviews, telephone interviews, lunch/dinner interviews and a few others.

However, if an interview is to be conducted in an office by the recruiting company, then you should pay attention to the venue.

In a situation where you are invited to an interview and asked to sit outside a building without any recognisable official representation, you should be worried. In Nigeria, we have had candidates invited to interviews and had to sit outside unconventional and sometimes suspicious-looking structures.

“Some people invite candidates for a job or job assessment as if an interview has already taken place. That is not a real job. Some even go as far as saying they have assessed your credentials, which you never sent in.

Another way to spot a fake job is the company name. Some company names sound funny and this is the point where you want to do your research on the company,” a recruitment consultant based in Lagos, Michael Ogunbanwo told Jobberman.

No Specific Title

All genuine jobs would have specific titles but for fake jobs, this is missing. Ogunbanwo had a few insights to share on this.

“A fake job would not have a specific job title. They just talk about having openings in XYZ location. A real job has a specific job title> It could read ‘Looking for a Content Manager, Operations Head and the likes.’ Fake jobs never have descriptions of the company. Thirdly, they must have specific locations.”

According to Ogunbanwo, another way to spot a fake job is that the ranges of the level of experience required are too wide.

“When you see a company that puts up a job opening saying it needs people with 2-15 years of experience, that raises a straight red flag. Simple logic shows that 2 years and 15 years are not the same. In fact, they are too far apart. A real job would either want a senior person or someone with minimal work experience. It is desperation that makes candidates fall into the traps of fake jobs and scam jobs.” The birds are learning how to fly without perching, so the hunters should start learning to shoot without missing

. Scam is everywhere, received a mail from diamond bank that my account was accessed from an unknown location that i should review my account, i just laughed cos i dont even have a diamond account, even the email address they used to send the the message is fake. Let us b vigilant.



I made FTC cos catarrh no allow me sleep.

I mistakenly booked this space.
Sorry!

Good one though!

Thanks.

Thanks

I blame Buhaari and APC for this.

Fastest way is to check nairaland

Once you see Fadeyi on the address, run for your life !

the last sentence got me thinking can Nigeria ever progress same jobberman whose job postings are 70% scam. oh phuleeeeeease

Job scammers everywhere

Desperation breeds regrettable mistakes

Once it starts with... A reputable company is looking for...

Don't bother reading on

The urgency for Buhari to receive sense is on the increase.

Imagine that the job of some is now to wear white native, and stand on the road, bless you with their juju and collect money.

Others will circulate one small paper like that about one job opening.

Interesting country and mentality of the "other room".


it is well.

So this is where Naija has gotten to?

Scamming is now an industry on its own in this country. And as far as opportunities continue to shrink in this country, that industry will continue to expand.

One way to spot them is their bad grammar. Seldom will an established or genuine company put out information in the public space without taking it through serious vetting or editing.

That's one way i ve been able to assist my siblings that have asked me to help them see if the opening is genuine.

It also helps when you are buying products in the market. But then, being able to spot them is a talent on its own. Just be careful. Many have been deceived, many more will be deceived!

OK

Nigerians are getting wiser. Thanks for the reiteration OP.

It is well

Lol,
Nawa,

Also, whenever you receive text messages (not even emails sef) inviting u for a "chat ", along ikorodu road, omo, na fake o. Lol

The funny part is, one doesn't know how they get one's digits,

volgatanker met all these criteria yet it was fake, na God go help Nigerian graduates

Scam everywhere
.
.
.
I smell Scam Around
Country looks like Scam too

thanks for this enlightenment. scammers everywhere.

Scammers everywhere... Chinese, Biko nyere umu gi aka.

Great tips.
Good for new graduate's.

They are so many out there


Especially GNLD


And scammers

Dem full jobberman die

Different companies with the same address. They're either GNLD or all those multi level marketing guys.

The real employers will call you most of the time, and they'll always specify the position you're applying for in the sms or email they send to you. They also use their real company address too.

*EDITED*
To add this, One of the most effective way to know if the company is real is their website/online presence (Just like the OP mentioned). If the company is so poor and invisible that you cant find them through google or vconnect or any other social network for that matter , then its a scam.

ALAYORMII:
They are so many out there


Especially GNLD


And scammers

Lolz, GNLD nearly got me back in 2007 Counting on, I have been blocked for over 20 times, nine years later! These guys are like Premier League defenders They seem to already know what is going through your mind, and so, know how to block and attack like LaLiga attackers

seunoni34:
Dem full jobberman die

Different companies with the same address. They're either GNLD or all those multi level marketing guys.

The real employers will call you most of the time, and they'll always specify the position you're applying for in the sms or email they send to you. They also use their real company address too.

No be only Ondo Street, what of Ogun Street even de street name na scam But guy go charge your fone nah, nepa don bring light

Nope

All these doesn't work as you quoted in Naija.
I remember attending CBN interview which I and many other interviewed could not even remember how we applied in the first place.

TuCloz:

No Credible Online Presence

Companies that are involved in fake jobs and scam jobs usually will not have any credible online presence. This means that for instance, they will not have a website, blog or any online presence that can be verified.

In this digital age where you would expect any organisation with a legitimate organisational setup to have an accessible online presence, companies that promote fake jobs and scam jobs fail woefully on this scorecard.

You are wrong with this, because there are so many companies in Nigeria without any of this especially in the health sector. My former employer has no website till I got there.

The company hiring would call, send an email and then follow up with a text message. Sending an SMS only is a sign that it is most likely a fake job or scam job.

As explained above many companies in Nigeria hardly follow this, either they send SMS or an email but hardly both. Or in some cases call before sending the SMS.

Or many government parastatals hardly send any sef, they expect you to be checking their notice board on a daily basis for information