Fraudsters dupe applicants into paying for fake jobs

A network of fraudsters is currently offering fake job placements into the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to desperate and unsuspecting job seekers.

Our correspondent gathered that the applicants were initially required to fill an online application form after which they got confirmation that the corporation had shortlisted them among “successful” applicants.

The letter of confirmation read in part, “Dear applicant, we wish to inform you that your resume application has been observed, processed and approved. You have been stated for listing and recruitment.

“Contact our Human Resource Manager on +2348138375214 for directives, information, interview details and the purchase of recruitment application form and deadline for submission.

“Any form of indiscipline is not allowed in this recruitment process. Also, management will not be held responsible for disapproval of application due to inability to relocate or change residence to Abuja. An agreement will be signed in your recruitment form when purchased for licensed authority.”

It was further learnt that the unwary applicants were later told to pay a sum of N7,500 into an account with the United Bank for Africa for an application form which upon completion should be returned via a specified email address within 24 hours before an interview date.

Details to be filled in the form by the applicant include name, address, sex, state of origin, phone number, date of birth, email and qualification. Each of the forms was purportedly signed by the corporation’s chief engineer (evaluation unit) and the director-general.

The account number is 2078728969, while the account name is Odiase James presented as the NNPC recruitment accountant.

One of the applicants, who did not want his name in print, said some of the job seekers had paid into the account before realising that they were scammed.

He said, “The form and process format look too good for any applicant to resist. I actually filled the application form online and later received an email that I had been shortlisted.

“It was during the process of payment that I discovered that it was a ruse. I refused to pay despite several calls from one of the fraudsters that my position would be given to another applicant.’’

When contacted, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, said the corporation was not recruiting at the moment.

He said, “They are fraudsters. We will expose them once we have their details. We will soon put out a disclaimer.”