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Consumer Alert : Employment Agency Scam PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Monday, 14 September 2009 11:24

I'm writing regarding the recruitment / advertisement that some companies place in the newspaper. They claim that they are looking for candidates for data entry jobs that allow people to work from home. I only find out later that actually these are considered 'job scams' that trick gullible people in paying an amount of money or being pursued to invest their money in these companies. There is actually no data entry assignments at all that the 'successful candidates' can earn money from.

I have actually called up three such companies and attended their interviews in early September this year. In the first interview, I was asked to pay 'documentation & processing fee' of RM165 (last for a year) upon signing a contract with them. They verbally guaranteed that I would get my assignment and paid in cash by my 'employer' directly. I actually suggested why not they deducted the fee from my first pay when I received it from my employer.

The lady who spoke to me then sounded impatient and told me it's her company policy that all 'qualified' candidates must pay first. When I kept asking her, she just asked me whether I'm still interested or not. If not, then 'tak apalah, just cakap sahaja. I tak paksa you'. So, that's the end of my first 'job-scam' experience.

Then a week later, I went for another two interviews. Both companies were located in conducive office environment and both say they dealt with Forex (foreign exchange). They needed people to key in their customers' data, so they claimed. And the candidates were not required to pay a single sen. I would be paid between RM 250 to RM 500 in cash per assignment. In their application forms, they asked for my family members' details and their respective salary.

Two days later, one of the companies called me and asked me to attend a 30-min training the following week. As I couldn't make it so the lady would call me again on the schedule. The funny thing was when I asked how often do they conduct such trainings and how long after the training that I would get my first assignment, the lady had no idea at all. I thought if the company had done this often, there must be some record somehow. The lady never calls me again after that. As for the third company, I receive no news from them at all since the interview. Unfortunately I do not have the contact numbers anymore to provide NCCC for further investigation.

On 17th Sept 2007, in The Star, an article on home-based job scam by Chong Sheau Ching highlighted this topic. She quoted that she's received an email from a reader who's gone through similar experience. Unfortunately, the lady has paid a fee RM110 for her case and heard nothing at all from the agency after that. As for the companies that deal with Forex, what the company is interested in is actually to get her to invest in the Forex through the company. There's no assignment for data entry at all as when she kept calling and asking, the company kept saying that's none available yet.

I still see similar advertisements being placed in The Star everyday. I am not sure how many people have falled for the scam, since when the operators started such thing and how long they have been using such strategies and whether NCCC or other government bodies receive any formal reports on this.

I hope NCCC can highlight such scams in the mainstream media and encourage victims to lodge report if they have been taken for a ride. And of course, what the public wish to see soon is that the relevant government body can take stern action against these operators to avoid others from falling prey to such scams.

Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Name Withheld by NCCC