WITH thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) expected to come home for the holidays, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Toronto is warning them against scammers offering to process their overseas employment certificates (OECs).

In a public advisory, Polo-Toronto said OFWs should not fall for such bogus services offered online as OECs are only processed by the Polo or the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

"The public is warned of such claims for processing of OECs, as this document is only issued by and through the Polo at post or the DMW in the Philippines," said Polo-Toronto.

"Polo-Toronto continues to remind the public to remain vigilant. If you or someone you know have been contacted by this Facebook group/individual, we urge you to ignore such advertisements," it added.

The Polo in Canada issued the advisory after receiving several complaints regarding alleged scams by several Facebook pages named "Balik Manggagawa OEC."

It added how the unscrupulous individuals supposedly offer to process the OECs, passport appointment bookings, NBI clearances, among others.

In turn, Polo said the suspects demand a corresponding processing fee from potential victims.

An OEC is required for all OFWs when departing for, or returning to their work abroad. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)