The challenges of unemployment and underemployment has encouraged the springing of fake recruitment agencies across the continent of Africa. Unfortunately, gullible and vulnerable job seekers fall prey to these agencies who milk them of their financial resources and time. They are desperate and will go to any length to short-changed their victims.

Moreover, due to increased population which invariably leads to contest for the few available jobs coupled with increased in transportation, food and rent, more and more people are jostling for any kind of jobs they could lay their hands on if only it could feed their families and cater for their basic needs. Unfortunately, recruitment agencies have taken advantage of job seekers’ desperate need to get jobs even if it means compromising their moral and religious tenets.

From Lagos to Johannesburg, from Kenya to Egypt and from Rwanda to Cameroon, the story of recruitment scammers has left bitter taste in the mouth of job seekers; sad and dejected. These fake agencies are all over the place especially in major cities whose preys are readily available. But why are these job seekers scammed easily knowing fully well that they are in a better position to decipher wrong from right due to their level of education.

Questions need to be asked as to why this trend is unbecoming of desperate recruitment agencies in the hunt for vulnerable job seekers.

• Why are the relevant security agencies too docile to arrest these recruitment scammers?

• What can these job seekers do to prevent being short-changed?

• What other alternatives do job seekers have aside recruitment agencies to increase their chances of getting jobs?

• Should the Senate and House of Representatives initiate stiffer measures like initiating Bills to frustrate these criminal agencies?

• Can the state and federal government arrest the joblessness in their countries by creating jobs and encouraging small and medium scale
businesses and even creating the enabling environment for businesses to flourish?

• Are there collaborators (with these recruitment agencies) profiting from these recruitment scam?

• Who are those frustrating security agencies from arresting these fake agencies?

These are just simple questions that can help us to understand the gimmicks of these agencies?

Now, what are the signs that are visible in these recruitment agencies?

1. They ask for money before attending to you

Most of these fake recruitment agencies ask you for a fee before processing your application. This is wrong because the process is supposed to be free. Some ask as low as #2500 (two thousand naira) and as much as #5000 (five thousand naira). Please, don’t look back when they ask you for money: flee.

2. Their office environment looks unkempt both inwardly and outwardly

Check their office environment and you will be surprised at what you will discover. The environment is nothing to write home about as it pertains to a proper office environment: dirty stir-cases, garbage everywhere, dusty furniture, cobweb at the ceiling and across the walls, etc. This is just one sign that they are recruitment scammers.

Please, leave when you discover the office is unkempt.

3. The staffers are not smart looking; dress-wise

Majority of the staffers are improperly dressed. They look dirty as well. They look like people from the public market place. Their shoes are not polished and their attires are not iron as well. They sweat a lot in hot offices with no ventilation in place.

4. They have poor communication skills
The most glaring of detecting them is that they lack good communication skills. They cannot communicate properly and they have low self-esteem. You begin to wonder if they are really serious about what they are doing.

5. They keep postponing and dodging potential companies job seekers are supposed to visit

They are in the habit of dodging potential companies that they referred job seekers to. When the companies called, they would not respond. Again, when they issue you receipt when “no refund” is a sign that you will not get your money when you asked for it.

6. They connive with potential companies to frustrate prospective employees

They connive with potential companies to frustrate job seekers. When they referred you to these companies, they keep pushing you back and forth. Unfortunately, these fake recruitment agencies are reluctant to participate but due to greed from these scammers, they unwilling participate.

7. The potential companies are fraudulent in nature by using the new employees referred by these recruiters and not paying them their wage and salaries

Even if these job seekers get these jobs, the employers do not pay them salaries for months. These are tricks they use to scam job seekers. When the job seekers are frustrated, they resign and these companies go back to the labor market to fish for vulnerable job seekers to scam using these fake recruitment agencies.

8. They do not use well-known recruitment sites to advertise vacancies to avoid being spotted security agencies and authorities

Due to the fact that they have been discovered to be scammers, they do not use well-known sites to advertise for recruitment. They would rather use unknown sites, thereby deceiving desperate job seekers.

9. Majority are not learned; their write-ups are full of typographical errors

Most of them are illiterates and cannot write simple sentences. Their write-ups are full of typographical errors. This is just one sign that it may be a fake recruitment agency.

10. They are always tensed; their body language gives them away: either shifting in their seats or sweating profusely

Their body languages always give them away. They are not comfortable when addressing people in the office; shifting in their seats. Again, they sweat profusely due to fear of not being discovered as fraudsters.

11. They are diabolical, using charms to influence their victims.

This part is controversial and debatable but people believe it happens

I hope you have learnt a lot from this article. Please, visit my blog for more interesting articles at: http://securitymattersafrica.com

Yes... Thanks so much for the information. Most of us here especially out going corps members are desperate for job and they are mainly the victims of this scammers . Thanks, am sure this info will save souls.