“DEPRESSING news” was how an editor of a website that posts job hiring within Northern Mindanao area described the recent incident that linked said site to an alleged online scam.
“It is regretful and deplorable that my website has been misused in this manner,” said Ninah, who requested that her full name not be revealed for security reasons, the editor and senior writer of misorjobs.com (MisOr Jobs).
The said website recently been used by someone who posted an employment opportunity that led to the theft of an applicant’s electronic gadget last week.
“What is sad about this...is that Misorjobs.com is a free website intended only to be of service to the public and now those who have relied on it will have to do without it. I do not receive compensation for maintaining it, nor do I accept fees from employers for their posts,” Ninah said in her email to Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
The suspect, identified by the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG)-Northern Mindanao as Jaysone Delfin Fabre, was arrested by authorities when he allegedly conned Desei Jean Vale into believing the job hiring she applied for was legitimate.
Fabre, who posed as an employee of IDC Manpower Services Inc., contacted Vale and during the meet-up “borrowed” her cellphone and was never seen again.
Inspector Janice Peniola, ACG-Northern Mindanao deputy chief, said Fabre had also allegedly victimized a handful of individuals using a variety of methods, including pretending to be a buyer of electronic devices.
When Ninah got wind of this incident through an email sent to her by Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, she said it was “an absolute shock” to her, adding that she exercises screening procedures for job advertisements.
Vigilance and careful screening aside, she said there are times that she finds it hard to distinguish bogus job postings from the authentic ones.
“I have done the best I possibly can to screen ads and my disclaimers are all in place, but scam posts are difficult to spot sometimes,” Ninah explained in her email to Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
Some well-known online sites like jobstreet.com, she added, are not spared by individuals who are bent on swindling employment seekers.
“Even Jobstreet, which is the biggest job portal in the country, is not immune to scammers by their own admission,” she added.
“Be careful of scam job advertisements. They appear occasionally on job sites, posted by dishonest people out to make quick money from unsuspecting job seekers. While Jobstreet.com always tries to ensure the job advertisements on our site are for real job opportunities, such scam advertisements do sometimes get posted,” a statement from Jobstreet said.
“When we see such scams that violate our Advertisement Policy, we quickly remove them,” it added.
According to Jobstreet, among the signs that job hunters may be defrauded is when applicants are asked to pay for processing and training, misuse a person’s résumé to sell him products such as insurance, or make offers not connected to the job advertised.
The site also warned of bogus employers using web-based public email addresses (like Yahoo or Gmail) instead of company-owned e-mail addresses.
For its part, MisOr Jobs has made it known through its “Terms of Use” page that applicants must see to it that the hiring being posted is legitimate.
“To ensure the safety of all job seekers, MisOr Jobs reserves the right to decline requests to post jobs when there are no clear evidences of actual job vacancies. Evidences of actual job vacancies include actual physical posts located in office or online addresses and official office contact information that can be used to verify vacancies,” it said.
Although MisOr Jobs will take pains to properly screen every job advertisement posted, “the responsibility for each post shall remain with the original owners of the advertisement.”
MisOr Jobs added that “it will not be held responsible for the consequences stemming from misleading or false advertisement.”
When Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro checked Thursday evening, MisOr Jobs is still operating and has posted fresh hiring.
Among the job ads posted as of August 21 are griller and service crew of a restaurant; human resource supervisor, civil engineers, and accountants of a meat company; administrative supervisor of a car dealer; sourcing specialist of a cooperative; and call center agents. Most of the jobs posted are based in Cagayan de Oro.