Warning against new recruitment scam offering jobs with Dh5,000 salary in UAE

One of the candidates, who received the fake letter, is a male nurse working as a staff nurse at a private hospital in a south Indian state. Expecting better opportunities abroad, he had approached an agent in his state. The agent promised a job in the UAE, saying Abu Dhabi-based RPM is recruiting nurses. After that, there was a virtual interview and the candidate received the contract on WhatsApp.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been several vacancies in the health-care sector abroad and I was trying to get a good job in any of the Gulf countries. I have three years of experience as a staff nurse in India. The person who promised me a job in the UAE said all arrangements for online interview had been made,” the male nurse who wished to be identified only as ‘M’ said. He added that an online interview was conducted and after a week, an employment contract was sent to him on WhatsApp.

“As per the contract, they promised me Dh5,000 salary and accommodation. I tried to verify the offer, but many health-care workers may fall into the trap without checking the genuineness of the contract and the claims made by the agents,” said M.

COVID-19 job scams

The new job scam comes close on the heels of another recruitment scam involving nurses from India who were offered jobs at COVID-19 vaccination and testing centres in the UAE, which led hundreds of Indian nurses, mainly from the state of Kerala, to be stranded here.

VPS is one of the healthcare groups in the UAE that came forward to offer jobs to the stranded Indian nurses following reports about them in the media including Gulf News. A VPS spokesperson told Gulf News on Tuesday that the group had hired as many as 110 stranded Indian nurses and they were in the process of securing practicing licences in the UAE.

In its warning against the fresh scam, the group noted that there has been a surge in the number of people being ensnared in online job frauds since the beginning of the pandemic. The group has cautioned the public to stay vigilant about fabricated advertisements that are being circulated by individuals or agencies falsely claiming to be representatives or affiliates of VPS Healthcare or its subsidiaries. The group also stated that it neither authorises any third party to issue job offers on its behalf nor does it collect any payment or fees from applicants.

Major Tom Louis, CEO of RPM, said: “There was a massive nurses’ recruitment scam recently. Taking advantage of the pandemic, these agents were approaching the candidates, suggesting there were job opportunities available abroad. Jobseekers must use proper channels and should be careful not to fall into such traps.”

The group has cautioned the public not to fall prey to email correspondences from such fraudsters using free email services such as Gmail, Rediffmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail etc. and clarified that it only corresponds with applicants through its official email IDs registered on its domain.

Legal action

It has warned that anyone corresponding with such fraudulent individuals or agencies would be doing so at their own risk. VPS Healthcare has also stated that it would not accept liability for any losses suffered by jobseekers in response to such fake offers.

Sanjai Kumar, chief human resources officer at VPS Healthcare, said: “Please note that we shall not assume any responsibility for jobseekers acting on employment offers not made directly by VPS Healthcare. We, at VPS Healthcare,

follow a formal recruitment process through our Human Resources Department and do not solicit any payment from applicants as a pre-employment requirement. VPS Healthcare reserves the right to take legal action, including criminal action, against such fraudulent individuals or entities.”

“If you may have inadvertently disclosed your personal information or have received any suspicious offer, please notify immediately at info@vpshealth.com or contactus@rpm.ae,” the group added in its statement.