Different tactics are used every day in several job scams. Unemployed persons, even persons searching for a change of job fall prey to job scams all over the world, especially in Nigeria.
It can be hard to tell the difference between a scam and a genuine offer. It is very important that you get adequate information about the company or the job before and after you apply, search for the address online, ask your family, friends or even your social media contacts.
In different states of Nigeria, insecurity has been reported. Iniubong Hiny Umoren went missing for three days, while searching for a job in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has been reportedly found dead. Hiny Umoren went missing on April 29, 2021 while responding to a job scam in Akwa Ibom.
The death of Hiny Umoren enraged Nigerians, who asked for proper justice for Hiny and her family, some Nigerians used this situation to advise other job seekers to be careful, to confirm the legitimacy of the job offers and to stay alert.
Others called for proper upbringing of the male child, to reduce the rate of gender-based violence and rape in the country.
A list of locations allegedly used for job scams have been released on social media by victims. They have been compiled and reproduced below:
- Plot 5, Voda Paint plc, University Press House, Fumec Bus stop off Adeniyi Jones Ogba Lagos
- 3rd floor, 8 Thomas Salako Street, Ogba Bus Stop, Ikeja Lagos
- No 2, Sunday Street, off Ikorodu, Palmgrove, Lagos
- 65c Opebi Road, Opposite glass house by salvation Bus stop, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos
- HYINSCO Office. No. 4, 2nd floor, upward Sanitas outlet, Alara street, off Commercial avenue, Onike, Sabo Yaba, Lagos
- Plot 5, university press building, along Industrial Road, Ogba, Lagos
- 4B, Ogungbeye street Oppt. African Shrine by Cadbury bus stop, Agidingbi Ikeja, Lagos
- Plot 14, Block A, Voda Paint, Surulere House, off Fumec bus stop, Surulre industrial road, Ogba, Lagos.
- 4b, Toyin Street, Ikeja. Lagos (After RCCG Church, Beside Inter Guide Academy)
- No 4, Ahl Ogungbeye Street off Amaraolu road, Opp Mega chicken bus stop by first gate, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.,l
- 1, Olabisi Close, Mende, Maryland (Lagos Resident only) HR 08074645567
- 32, Olufemi Road, off Ogunlana Drive, Surulere Lagos, YDNJI.
- Ajumobi Street, Off Acme Road, Mega Chicken bus stop, Ikeja, Lagos.
- 6, Deji Oyenuga Street, opp Kehinde Odusote Estate, Anthony Village.
- WESTCORP SERVICES LTD. 6, Deji Oyenuga Street, Opposite Kehinde Odusote Estate, Anthony bus stop, Lagos.
- SOAR GROUP, Suite 2, Ikosi Road, Oluyole bus stop, Oregun ikeja, Lagos.
- Boat House, 21, Ogunnusi Road axis bus stop, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos
- 8, Bisi Ogabi Street, Balogun Awolowo Way, Ikeja. HR 09053280994
- BSM premise, No 4, Kareem Ogungbeye Estate Agidingbi first gate bus stop.
- 9, Oremeji Street Isolo, Heathstream Alliance and Wellness Homes, Beside Sunrise Microfinance Bank, Gbagada.
- PSIS HR BOARD, L’monarch Towers, 65, Opebi road opp Glass House by Salvation Bus stop Ikeja, Lagos. 07010616106
- 6, Remilekun Street Off Falolu Road, by Akerele Road Surulere. HR Matrixglove 07080403158.
- 6, UBIAJA CRESCENT GARKI 2, ABUJA, 08159694497
- Global Resources, 19 Bode Thomas Road, Awoyokun/Onipanu bus stop.
- Dream Land Enterprises Limited, No 114, Ijiolu Close, Elekahia Road Portharcourt, River State. REF NO(GS/SD/70)
- Ground floor, No 2, Akin Osiyemi Street 0pp sterling bank bus stop, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos
- LS-RESOURCE, 3rd floor Crownet LPaza Idris Gidado Street Wuye, Abuja.
- 129, Okota Rd, Atinuke Plaza, beside Rainoil filling station, Cele bus stop, off Oshodi-Apapa Exp. Lagos. 08130902820
- Schleez Nigeria Limited, first floor, left wing, No 49, Olowu Street, Off Mobolaji Bank, Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos.
- 1st floor Xpress House, Beside Ostra Hotel and Halls off Otunba Jobifele way, Central Business District (CBD) Alausa Ikeja, Lagos.
- 13 Ajumobi Olorounje Street, off acme road, firstgate bus stop, Agidingbi Ikeja.
- 7, Obasa road, Chemline building, behind forte oil filling station, Oba Akran, Ikeja
- M.H.S, 4b Toyin Street, opposite victory Home School before unity b/stop, Ikeja, Lagos.
- 3rd Floor, 240 Herbert Macualay Street, beside Sweet Sensation, Alagomeji Bus stop, Yaba, Lagos
- 107, Ogudu road, opposite Ogudu GRA Pako Bus stop Ogudu Lagos
How to identify fake job offers
Unprofessional Emails
Some emails from scammers are professionally written but most often than not you will notice that they are poorly written with many grammatical mistakes. If you receive a job offer letter with capitalization problems, missing commas (or too many) and generally bad English it can indicate that the offer isn’t real. If you have also received an attachment, do not open this, it most likely contains malware that will infect your computer.
Grammatical Errors
Capitalization errors: “Human resources” should be “Human Resources” and “yahoo” should be “Yahoo.”
Punctuation errors: Commas, periods, and parentheses should be followed by a space.
Grammatical errors: “Human resources have reviewed” should be “Human Resources has reviewed…”
No Contact Information
Another warning sign is when you have received a letter with no contact information, including a telephone number or company address. The company logo will also look distorted or of lower quality. Bear in mind that any official job offer will be written on a company letterhead page which includes their logo and contact information.
Suspicious offer
Receiving a request for a job interview that you did not apply for is definitely suspicious. Do not attend to such invitations, ignore it, and block the sender and report as a spam. If you do not recognize the sender, please ignore.
Search Results Don’t Add up
Before agreeing to any interview, do your research. If it’s a verified company you will find information on their official website and should also notice how long the company has been listed for. Some scammers go to the extent of creating their own websites, but the more research you do the more it doesn’t add up.
Sent From a Personal Email
The biggest giveaway is the email address that the job offer has been sent from. If it’s been sent from a free e-mail account like ‘google.com or hotmail.com’ then you should know that it’s fake. Authentic job offers are sent from company registered e-mails. Some scammers create template emails that are similar to the companies but may include a hyphen that some people will not notice. If you are unsure, copy paste the email into a search engine with the word scam after it and look to see if someone else has reported the company.
Money
Legitimate companies do not ask for money. If you are told you need to purchase software or pay for services, beware.
