Sharjah: A new recruitment scam in the name of an Indian school in the UAE has been exposed after unscrupulous agents were discovered seeking money for visas through WhatsApp messages.
The Indian Association Sharjah (IAS), which operates the Sharjah Indian School (SIS), has issued a fake job scam alert after finding the circulation of messages soliciting CVs from potential candidates on its behalf.
The messages advertised job vacancies for teaching and non-teaching staff members at SIS. They were sent from UAE mobile numbers, mainly targeting Indians, especially those from the south Indian state of Kerala, Nisar Thalangara, president of IAS told Gulf News.
“The culprits promised direct recruitment to our school and sought over Dh4,000 as fees for arranging visa, air ticket, insurance and medical fitness test,” he explained.
The scam was exposed after the association received calls enquiring about the job openings.
“These scammers use UAE numbers that are active only on WhatsApp and frequently change them. They exploit WhatsApp groups for job vacancies to cheat people. We are aware of multiple WhatsApp groups and platforms falsely soliciting CVs on our behalf.”
Thalangara warned potential candidates to refrain from falling prey to such scams. “We have never authorised any agency or individual to recruit teaching or non-teaching staff for our institutions, nor have we solicited funds from anyone for such purposes.”
He said teaching faculty are interviewed after receiving their CVs through the website of the school. “For non-teaching staff, we have a database with referrals and we recruit them after face to face interviews.”
Thalangara said the matter has been reported to the authorities to take legal action.
Registration fee scam
Meanwhile, he said, another mode of recruitment scam also happened this week.
“The other day three people came to the association and said they were asked to come in front of the association and hand over Dh300 as recruitment application registration fee,” he added.
When the staff members at the IAS noted the trio, they enquired about the purpose of their visit and realised that they were being cheated.
“The fake recruiters asked the candidates to come to the association to make them believe that they were part of the association. When our staff called them, they developed cold feet and didn’t turn up. Their numbers also got deactivated.”
Thalangara said people should be wary of recruitment agencies or individuals seeking registration fees for job interviews. “This is not allowed as per the UAE laws. Nobody can even take a Dh10 fee. But some scammers collect registration fees and make money illegally,” he added.
