Job scams on the rise as layoffs and hiring slow down

In a case last March, scammers impersonated representatives of a well-known recruitment agency and advertised multiple job openings at a reputable IT services firm based in Singapore.

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They created a fraudulent website featuring the company logo and even established a fake office in Kochi. These scammers conducted two rounds of interviews and issued appointment letters on counterfeit letterheads, demanding Rs 3 lakh as agency fees, visa applications, and participation in a cultural assimilation program. However, after receiving the payments, the scammers vanished without a trace. With a slowdown in hiring and significant downsizing in certain sectors, employment scams exploiting fabricated job opportunities and deceptive onboarding procedures have been on the rise.

The Kochi scam came to light when the candidates had a meeting with senior executives of the real recruitment company and discovered that they had no link with the fake agency