Employment Scams in Nigeria : How to Detect and Avoid them

The rate of unemployment in Nigeria is rather on the high side. Consequently, some fellows maximize the situation by taking advantage of the teeming population of gullible job seekers in Nigeria. These fellows are called Scammers. They are everywhere.

An Employer scammer is someone or group of people who build a relationship with you, pretending to be a legitimate employer or recruitment agency then uses fraudulent claims to defraud you.

Scams succeed because of two things. 

Firstly, a scam looks like the real thing. It appears to meet your need or desire.

Secondly, scammers manipulate you by ‘pushing your buttons’ to produce the automatic response they want. It’s nothing to do with you personally, it’s to do with the way individuals(job seekers) in society are wired up emotionally and socially. It’s because the response is automatic that people fall for the scam. To stop scammers manipulating you into their traps, it can be useful to know how to prevent the automatic response they expect.

Almost everyday I hear stories about how job seekers are swindled by fake employers. Some lose as much as 50 to 100 thousand Naira to these scammers. It’s almost ridiculous.

Consequently, I have compiled a list of points to help you detect possible employment scams:

Sometimes, these fake employers don’t have websites
If they do, sometimes,  the websites would look tacky and quickly cooked up. (there are exceptions though)
The job vacancy requirements are usually wide and open to everyone (this is to enable them trap as many prey as possible)
The tests or interviews usually hold in make-shift locations which do not depict a real office like fast foods, hotels, restaurants etc
They would usually talk about Employment Forms or PIN
They will always talk about purchase of such forms or PINs or some other form of payment (this is the most important point to note) .
They will sound nice, show you love and sound like they would really like to help you with the job
After you have been scammed, you won’t hear from them again. Their phone numbers will go off, they won’t respond to your emails either.
Some tricky and seemingly authentic ones would set up a real office, invite people for tests/interviews/training from time to time, extort money from them and make them believe they will be called again in subsequent times. You won’t hear from them again.
Some will tell you to pay a certain amount to help them process and get a certain certificate (say NEBOSH) which will enable them place you in an oil & gas company. All Fallacy!
They have sweet tongue.

Some ways to avoid them:

Google their company name and hear what people have to say about them
Avoid tests/interviews that have been scheduled to hold in fast foods, restaurants and small hotels. Save yourself the time and stress of attending.
Employment forms and PINs. Forget them. They are a ploy to extort money from you.
Never pay for any employment offer, no matter how genuine it may seem. Authentic employers don’t need your money, they want to recruit you and pay you.
Finally, always trust your instincts. It’s God talking to you. The truth is, we all know these scams when they come, however, our emotions and dire need of a job will usually make us ignore our gut feelings.

Be cautious and careful.