I browse many different online job sites daily. And there is not a single day that goes by that I do not spot one or more blatantly obvious job scams being posted on these job boards. Most of these scams are so obvious, that if you have read my article on Job Scam warning signs you would immediately just pass these adverts and continue your search. However, every once in awhile, I come across a post that I suspect is a scam, but I am not 100% sure. So what do I do? I apply for the job of course!
Now before you start to wonder if I have lost the plot, what I mean by “apply” is I send an application from a fake Gmail account under a completely different name. My application is usually so dreadful that the only person who would actually respond to me is a scammer. In this article, I want to expose 3 potential scams that I recently came across. I will give my reasons for suspecting them to be scams, however, you are free to make up your own mind.
3 possible job scams?
Right, so before we jump right in I want to make one thing very clear. I am human and obviously I can get things wrong. If you have any evidence to contradict my suspicions on the possible scams below, PLEASE share it with me. Either via E-Mail or using the comments below.
I will humbly admit that I have made a mistake and publicly correct myself! But, I don’t think that is going to happen.
Possible Job Scam #1
Ok, so into scam number 1.
I came across a number of job posts being advertised by “Simunye Staffing Solutions.” A few of the vacancies seemed very similar, despite being advertised in different parts of the country. I found this suspicious, so I decided to apply for an “Admin Assistant” vacancy in Pinetown, KZN.
Not long after sending my application through I received the following E-Mail:
Good day,
Herewith please find more information regarding the admin opportunity you have expressed interest in:
As an Administrator, the following criteria applies and needs to be met in order to apply for this opportunity:
§ A computer or access to one (whether it is your own computer or at work during quiet times or even the Internet café – as long as you have one)
§ Internet Access – you will also be working online
§ A valid E-mail account
§ A South African bank account (in order for you to receive payment)
§ Microsoft Office Software (Excel, Word, etc.)
§ In addition to the above requirements, you must be able to follow instructions closely and completely
All contact will be via email – you will not be required to call anyone at any time. The point behind the virtual industry is to cut down on office overheads after all. This allows you to work whichever hours are most convenient to you (days, nights, or weekends).
You will need a word processing program in order to perform some tasks successfully (Microsoft Word or Open Office etc.) Once you have received the training materials, you can start working from home today, or wherever you choose to conduct business. Whether you are employed or unemployed you can still apply for this. You can do it part time in the evenings or over weekends or full time. Whatever is convenient to your schedule. To the unemployed this can be something you might consider doing while you are looking for something permanent should you then decide to take a permanent position. I spend around 6 hours a day 5 days a week and make enough to provide well for my family. I am a parent as well and I am at home with them, comfortable and earning an income at the same time. Please note that this is not employment or a job and we are not a recruitment agency. This is part time admin work and what you pay for is purely the materials that will explain to you in detail how the system works and how to set yourself up.
The Work – You will be processing email applications, typing, as well as filling out forms in specific company databases (this tends to be tedious at times so please be sure that you have the patience to do so before proceeding). This is why you will need to have basic Internet knowledge, though the training provided will give you step-by-step instructions on how to perform these tasks properly. You will not be required to recruit people or send out chain emails. This is actual admin work. There are no down times with this opportunity however you are able to take on as much or as little work as you wish. The amount of income you make each week is entirely up to you and how much time and effort you are willing to put in with this opportunity. The average person makes R 2500 – R 3500 per week for approx. 4-5 hours spent online per day. I cannot stress this enough – No one can stand behind you and force you to work so we cannot estimate or guarantee what you will earn.
As stated above if you are not employed this could be a stepping stone to do part time while you search for something permanent or you can put in a little more effort and do it full time which is what I did. So there is no hidden agenda, no scam, no recruiting more people – purely admin work from home.
The Income – You will receive your pay through EFTs or direct deposit. When an application/task is completed successfully R180.00 will be paid to you. An application/task is not complete until you have received payment in other words. Please do not wait for a pay check at the end of the month – this is not going to happen. You will be paid per task/application when and if it is completed. The money trickles into your account all throughout the month.
Training & Materials – We require a fee of R345.00 for the training. For two reasons (1) it safeguards us from those applicants who really just want to waste our time by allowing us to set them up, train them and then they conveniently do not do any work. (2) It covers our admin costs and registration fees. The fee is non-refundable. This line of work is not for everyone so please think carefully before you proceed with your application as we would hate for you to feel out of pocket or done in. You have to be willing to put in the hours to earn the money. By proceeding with the registration you agree to the terms stated in this email and meet the criteria in order to register.
Upon completion of your registration and receipt of payment your profile is forwarded to the training department where they begin the setup process with you.
Keep in mind the sooner you go through the training materials the sooner you will start earning. It takes the average applicant a day or so to work through the training manual after which they can start working immediately. I can be contacted via E-mail at any time after you have received your training materials to help you or answer any questions you may have.
Should you consider yourself an appropriate candidate, meet all the requirements and are responsible enough to work independently then please contact me via E-mail on sycraia.admin@*********.co.za or sycraia-admin@********.co.za and I will send you the relevant registration form so you can get started.
I wrote back to the sender that I was confused as I had applied for an Admin Assistant position, yet was receiving a freelance administrator offer which I needed to purchase! The writer responded that I had obviously made a mistake and they would discard my details.
I must be honest, even I started to wonder if I had made a mistake. So decided to apply for an “Office Admin” vacancy also with Simunye Staffing through a different E-Mail address. Sure enough, I received the exact same reply.
It seems that this person simply places fake job adverts in the hopes that desperate job seekers will pay for the freelance administration work training. I obviously did not pay the requested amount so I can not comment on whether or not the training is legit or not. Either way, posting fake job adverts is quite dodgy if you ask me!
Possible Job Scam #2
This is a common scam that most job seekers will have come across. You apply for a vacancy and are asked to make a payment for a police clearance certificate or a credit check.
I found a few vacancies being advertised by FSK Engineering. I became suspicious about the legitimacy of their vacancies. So what do you think I did? I applied of course!
I did not receive an immediate reply, however, after a couple of days I did get the following reply:
Thank you for sending us your CV and applying for our Vacancy
Please kindly complete our application form fully and accurately as possible, attach all necessary documentation
Please note that there’s no fee you have to pay if you have CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE from SAPS (Clearance Certificate)
Is the certificate that states whether you have a criminal record or not.
Make sure all attached forms are sent back to the FSK Group
Email address: fsk.applicationform@******.com
Please note the latest we can give you until we start with the interviews is the
4th JUNE 2020 latest 18:00pm
Any applications after this date and time will be automatically rejected.
Kind regards
FSK Group team
This was a weird reply because I had not even sent a CV with my application. It became even stranger when I opened the attached “application form.” I was immediately informed at the top of the form that only shortlisted candidates had received this form. Lucky me! However I had to wonder how strict their recruitment process was to shortlist a candidate who had not even bothered to submit a CV.
I had seen from the Email that they wanted payment for a clearance certificate. I checked the bottom of the application form and the amount being requested was mentioned. They wanted R450.00 for the necessary checks to be done, and they needed R850 for accommodation at the company during the training week! Possibly this R850 is to catch anyone who actually does have a valid clearance certificate already.
Please never ever make a payment for criminal checks or credit checks. There is not a reputable company in the country who will ask for this upfront. There are companies that do require these clearances, however, what they will usually do is conduct interviews and then select a candidate. Once they have selected a candidate they will pay for the candidate to have all the necessary checks done.
Possible Job Scam #3
This is a very frustrating one because I am not sure which advert I applied to. I suspect that these guys only reply to applications a month or more after receiving the application, but I can’t be sure. There are a number of possibilities for why they might only reply so much later:
- It makes it very difficult to remember which jobs you have applied to.
- They are catching job seekers who might be getting desperate because their job search is taking time. These are the people who might be feeling just desperate enough to try anything.
This seems to be the FAX scam I discuss in my first article on Job Scams. What has happened is that at some stage I must have applied for a position that I suspected was a scam. I did not receive a reply, and because my applications are so dreadful not receiving a reply is generally a good thing. However, they have now decided to reply to me. But it is not one mail, or two or three. No, I have received 21 emails, from 12 different “companies” in the last 4 days.
The E-Mails are all very similar so it is quite obvious they are related. Below is an example of an E-Mail I received:
Good day to you,
This email serves as a response to a recent email we have received from you relating to a vacant position that was advertised online.
We appreciate your interest in this vacancy.
For you to progress in the application process please take special notice of the information in this letter.
To advance to the next stage in the application process we need you to act swiftly and forward the following documentation to our application department:
Your full detailed CV, your photo, a cover / introduction letter, and any other documentation that will support your application.
Please mark this for attention: Vanessa, our compliance officer.
You can send everything, for her attention, to Fax: 086525****
On receipt of this information we will again make contact with you to explain the rest of the stages in the application process.
Please ensure that we receive your information within the next 24 hours.
Kind regards
Eloise
There are no phone numbers and all the email addresses are “no-reply@.” In other words, there is no way to contact any of these people, other than by sending the required documents via fax. I’m sorry but no recruiting company in the world operates like this. But hey, as I said earlier, if I am mistaken please do not hesitate to let me know.
I want to make sure you are all well informed about the “companies” sending these emails so I have listed the ones that sent emails to me below.
- Workmart
- TopJobs
- Exquisite Vacancies
- Workit
- Bestjobsite
- Careerportal
- Careerpaths
- Careerlife
- Staffnet
- Careerworld
- Humanresourcespro
- Hire Dynamics
Conclusion
I suspect that we will be seeing an increase in job scams being posted. Especially as more and more people lose their jobs thanks to the governments’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Job seekers are going to become more and more desperate and this is when the scammers will pounce.
As a general rule, never ever pay for anything upfront. No training material, no recruiting fees, no clearance certificates! Rather err on the side of caution, and if you even suspect for a moment that you are dealing with a scammer please feel free to pop me a mail or leave me a comment below, and we can have a look at it together.
Related posts:
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September 5, 2021
I have been seeking employment and also received an email stating I must fax my resume, photographs,documentation, etc.
It made me suspicious, as I was wondering what kind of company insists on fax rather than email and besides, email was so vague and did not mention the exact vacancy I had initially applied for.
I then did a search on Google and found your article on such scams.
Thank you for alerting everyone and your interesting article.
June 25, 2021
Good Morning ,well I have received these emails can you please assist in finding out if they are legit
May 22, 2021
Your article literally just saved me 2min ago!!
Thank you,
And shame on you “Eloise” haha! I actually had the good sense to search Workmart on google and came across your article. Again thank you, as carry on the good job hunting fight.
May 27, 2021
Great news! Glad to hear that you were not a victim.
April 29, 2021
Recently received the same type of fax scam emails from staffnet, hire dynamics, career paths, exquisite vacancies and workmart, all within the last 24 to 48 hrs…. Definitely had my suspicions but it’s my first time coming across theses fax scam emails, lucky they decided to just bombard me with such scam emails so it wasn’t difficult to make me think twice, Thank you Peter Breedveld for helping the us out, seriously appreciate it 🙏🏻💯🔥
May 5, 2021
Thank you for this super comment. I am very glad that you did not fall for it, unfortunately, many people do and that is why they carry on. If you can please share the article on social media, lets try spread awareness on the issue and save as many people as possible.
September 16, 2021
What do these scammers do with peoples documents once they’ve faxed them?
April 12, 2021
hi there
thank you so very much for telling us about those scams , I have come across all of them and I have sent some faxes given to me by best jobs so far I have not received any response. thank you so much for the heads up
June 11, 2021
Same to me I’ve wasted my money faxing documents to these bloody scammers. But am glad I finally came across this article. If anyone knows what they do with our documents.
March 18, 2021
your view: LEGIT or SCAM?
Good morning,
We received your application regarding the Office Administrator Position
and we would like to inform you that your application has been approved
via our recruitment Program.
This full time position is available within a telecommunications company
and you will receive a monthly salary of R11500 plus benefits and
bonuses. (Company name cannot be disclosed at this time due to company
policy)
However before we finalize the entire process, the employers require a
full & recent (not older than one month) background check and screening
on your profile as this is now compulsory prior to the final job offer.
Kindly note that as an agency, we do not provide this service and we
would recommend Crystal Clear Checks South Africa to assist you as they
have proven to be loyal, fast, professionals and reliable.
If you want them to assist you, please send an email to:
reception@crystalclearchecks.co.za or crystalclearchecks@gmail.com
requesting full information regarding the background Checks and
Screening Process.
Kindly note that a service for the above mentioned process applies and
according to our T&Cs, the service fee has to be covered by you (The
applicant) and cannot be deducted from any of your salaries whatsoever.
Once we receive your background checks and screening results / outcomes
report, we will then finalized the entire application process and you
will be joining the company within the last week of March 2021.
Alternatively if you already have one, please email the certificate /
report to: admin@recruitmentprogram.co.za on or before Friday 19th March
2021.
N.B: A police clearance does not work as proof of your background checks
for employment purposes as it does not include your education,
employment history & references checks.
KINDLY NOTE THAT WE’RE OPERATING REMOTELY DUE TO COVID 19 & WE HAVE
LIMITED COMMUNICATION.
ANY OTHER INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR NEW ROLE WILL BE PROVIDED AFTER
RECEIVING YOUR BACKGROUND CHECKS AND SCREENING REPORT / CERTIFICATE.
Congratulations and we look forward to having you as an employee.
Thank you and please stay safe!
Kind Regards
Maria Clara Mulder
Clerical / Administrative Department
The Recruitment Program SA
March 19, 2021
Good day,
Thank you very much for sending this Email. It certainly does appear to be a scam.
1) Offering you the position without an interview
2) Unwilling to disclose the company name
3) A payment is needed to proceed
Do not fall for these scams, rather just move on for something legitimate.
March 24, 2021
Thank you for responding to the person who originally asked, as I had received the same email, and it just does not add up. Since most companies will not expect payment, as well as most companies does their own checks, as well as if not they will not expect it (the check now) to be done in such short notice.
As well as most companies has contact details and company logo/slogan/badge or whatever attached to the email for it to be legit, and in the case of one wanting to do your own check before just accepting an offer from em
I am glad I did, my research, however where can we report such activity – its sad that people can toy with people livelihoods and desperation for work given the current circumstances we all are in after Covid and all
March 30, 2021
I am so glad that blog is being found by everyone.
When I originally started writing on job scams I said I just wanted to save one person from being scammed. I felt that even if I saved only one person I had made a difference in someone’s life which is an amazing feeling. But judging by the comments here it appears that I have prevented more than just one person from being scammed.
Thank you everyone for your comments! You truly do not realize how grateful I am to have you on my website and reading my work.
If you can I would love it if you would share my work on social media with your friends and family. Please stay safe and PLEASE come back to my site from time to time. I post new and interesting articles as often as possible.
July 19, 2021
HEY! I got the e-mail from WORKMART telling me that I’ve been chosen on the shortlist of candidates who are looking for work/job.
But it doesn’t seem to tell me which job or which website I’ve applied it too and I also they sent me their pre-interview questionnaire that i haven’t done cause of their suspicious act on my emails.
They came back again to tell me that i haven’t sent my pre-interview questionnaire and I’ve got only one day to submit.
I tried to return to them by their e-mail which is written like “No-reply” …but I just don’t know whether it’s really a scam or what but when I just read your story just now, I’m quite relieved that it is really a scam.
July 22, 2021
Thank you very much for the comment. Yes Workmart is quite well known and you are 100% correct. If there is a no-reply email address you can be sure that you are not dealing with a legitimate recruiter. It is important for potential applicants to be able to contact the recruiter is they have any questions.
March 24, 2021
Hey
I just got this same email, and it does seem fishy, TG I did and am doing my research
March 24, 2021
Also I checked the contact details for those companies they recommended we used to get our check, and because I have True Caller, it was labeled as job scammers – so my advice to you would be to install True Caller as it will really make life a lot easier for you in terms of future scams
Good luck with work
I wish us all the best moving forward and that justice are brought upon these scammers
March 30, 2021
Great advice! True Caller can be a great help in identifying scams.
March 2, 2021
Where is Workmart location? They are scammers!
March 12, 2021
Unfortunately I am unaware of the workmart location.
February 20, 2021
I received an email today
This attachment is 37 pages and it has to be faxed.
Hello again Jobseeker
Today we have the privileged to bring you some good news!
You were chosen as a Shortlist 1 Candidate.
This means that you are one of a selected and privilege few that were chosen for inclusion in a list of candidates that are in the running for this vacancy.
You are now just one step short of a personal interview.
However, before the interview stage is reached a few of the Shortlist 1 Candidates will be eliminated.
The next step before an interview can take place is the Pre-Interview Questionnaire. Your answers to this Questionnaire will determine if you will be chosen for an interview.
Therefore please find attached to this email, the Shortlist 1 Questionnaire that you need to complete and return to us, as soon as possible.
Please ensure that we receive your filled in questionnaire within the next 48 hours, otherwise you will not be considered for an interview.
Please ensure that you forward the completed questionnaire as soon as possible. If you do not send it within the next 2 days you will lose the opportunity to be interviewed.
We now await your prompt response.
(You will find further information and return instructions on the attached questionnaire.)
Successful candidates will be informed within 7 business days. If you are successful you will receive your interview instructions via a follow-up email within the above mentioned 7 days.
Kind regards
Eloise
Workmart
June 11, 2021
I’ve received the same article buddy run away🏃🏃🏃
July 19, 2021
Definitely THIS ONE!!! this is the one that I received.
THANK You so much for helping!!!
February 14, 2021
hi thank youfor this article i also recived an email from workmart what stood out for me was the tym i got the email it was at 01:00 am and why do they want full body pictures anyways thank you for confirming my suspicions.
February 10, 2021
Thank you so much for this article it was what I needed to make a decision, I have been receiving a lot of the fax scams and I have no idea which job post I applied for,and they keep changing their donotrebly address…but I just had a feeling they are actually related, the worst part as you mentioned the are no telephone numbers on their email, I thought that is very suspicious, the latest one I received was from Workmart saying I have been shortlisted for a pre-interview,and they sent a 37 page long questionnaire I have to aswer and send within 2days…by Fax.
Thank you so much
February 5, 2021
Just received from exquisite vacancies and career portal Emil to fax my cv and full Pic and supporting docs that is why I went digging and came across this article. Will report them.
February 8, 2021
I am glad you realized before it was too late
January 28, 2021
Hi
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I also received the same email from scam number 3.I didn’t send any of the documents they requested for since I couldn’t wrap my head around the fax part. To my surprise, I received another email today saying Iv been shortlisted for an interview and I must fill some 30 page questionnaire in order for me to go to the next step, when I opened it that was the last nail on the coffin for me to realise that this is really scam.
December 4, 2020
My word.
Thank you for the above information.
I received the exactly same emails and strange enough they were all received with 2 days from each other with the exact same wording and to fax all my documentation to a 086 number.
December 11, 2020
I am glad you were able to spot the scam before it was to late! Keep safe
November 21, 2020
Hi there
I have received the exact same email from Eloise from Workmart yesterday. The others are Careersportal and HumanResourcespro. This is so frustrating as to how these scammers get a hold of one’s personal information. I reported this Eloise to the reportads@Career24.com.
November 25, 2020
I am glad you were able to spot the scam before it was to late.
November 25, 2020
I am glad you were able to spot the scam before it was too late.
October 20, 2020
And also global staffing and training which is situated at 21 village road Johannesburg opposite to standard bank parking bay. And then they will send you a link to complete an online assessment which you have to get 65%in order to go to the next level. If there is any one who passed that assessment please let me know.
October 1, 2020
I received such reply after going to an “interview”. I must come tomorrow to sign employment contract and meet hr…remember to bring R525 for uniform.
But this is the agency not the actual company
Located at Old JSE, corner Pritchard and Diagonal, 8th floor. Office 822
October 6, 2020
Yip that does sound strange. An agency would never for the company, they should only source potential candidates. If you have not been to the actual company for an interview alarm bells should be ringing! Stay safe!
September 11, 2020
Thank you very, I experienced this yesterday they sent me an email and pre interview shortlist 1 candidate to print out and fill in
July 9, 2020
Hi there,
Other scammers are
White knight
Ahmedia? Ahmedia
1forall recruiters
July 13, 2020
Hi Zelda, thank you very much for sharing!
July 7, 2020
Thank you for your warning related to job scams.
I am registered with:
● BESTJOBSITE
● STAFFNET
● HIRE DYNAMICS
● CAREERS 24
How can I unsubscribe from these sites?
Many Thanks
July 13, 2020
These emails have stopped, fortunately for me.
If you are receiving emails from a site like careers 24 (which is a legitimate site) you will find an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. If the site is a scam they probably do not have an unsubscribe link. They will stop sending mails eventually. But if they dont you may need to consider blocking the email addresses from your inbox.
July 7, 2020
Thank you so much about the insight on job scams. I was a victim as recent as last week.
As usual, they invited me for an interview on Monday. They asked me to bring R260 for clearance. As soon as I heard about the money issue, I became suspicious so never bothered to attend the interview.
You are quite correct to mention that there are too many scams because people are desperate for a job.
Can you also find out for me whether Jobvine Freelance is genuine. They ask for payment from freelancers to fasttrack applications.
July 13, 2020
Thanks for sharing your experience!
July 7, 2020
Thank for your very informative information!
I came across a few myself.
If only the government wld start paying UIF to those who paid for the benefit (whites included!!) thing would get better, but they probably stolen that money too. How they expect people to continue surviving beats me. Very disappointed in our government!!!!!!
July 7, 2020
Thank you so much for this information, I once came across with that kind of emails where I was asked to fax my documents in order for my application to be attended to. Another scam that I also came across with was the post I saw from a Facebook group where they give you an option to apply on their Facebook page after applying they will inbox you a number of a person to call for more details on the job, so I took the number and phoned the guy…on my surprise, the guy sounded like a Nigerian guy with a Zulu surname and he asked me to pay R800 as a bribe for the job and I asked him where am I going to get such money because I am a job seeker which means I don’t have any money. He even suggested that if I don’t have all the money I can pay 50% of the amount and I said I will have to confirm from the company that advertised the job and comes back to you.
Well, I didn’t really call the company because I knew that it was a scam already, I phoned the guy and his voice changed completely he sounded like someone who didn’t know me or remember anything about the job because I promised to go to the police station if he was scamming me. These things are really happening and these people do not stop scamming people.
July 13, 2020
Thank you for sharing your experience! Hopefully, others are able to recognize these scams before it is to late.
July 7, 2020
Here is another scam where people are recruited to work on a Hotel in Canada. U are promised free flight tickets, free accommodation basic medical aid. Their e-mail addres is rosewoodhotels@worker.com. Later they need your information and encourage you to apply for a Visa via email ww.cic.gc.ca@torontomail.com