Pinoy jobseekers warned vs fake recruitment firms
By Madel R. Sabater
January 10, 2010


The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Sunday warned 
Filipino jobseekers anew against fictitious recruitment 
firms following the discovery of a new recruitment scam 
by the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, Germany.

DFA disclosed that the Philippine Embassy in Berlin asked 
for assistance in bringing the matter to the attention of 
government authorities such as the Department of Labor 
and Employment, Department of Justice, and Philippine 
National Police.

Based on a report by the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, two 
Filipino women could have been victimized by a non-
existent recruitment firm had they not checked with the 
embassy for the authenticity of the company, the Markel-
Power International, allegedly located in Bremen, Germany.

The company was reportedly asking to pay 70 euros 
through Western Union to an employment company based 
in Monza, Italy to complete the recruitment procedures.

The embassy claimed it had discovered that Markel-Power 
International is non-existent, is not registered with the 
Bremen Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has a 
fictitious address, has no telephone and fax numbers, and 
is using a host in the United States for its English website.

The embassy is convinced that this recruitment scheme is 
another variation of the Nigerian 4-1-9 advanced fee scam 
designed to victimize innocent Filipino jobseekers, Charg 
dAffaires a.i. Christine Queenie C. Mangunay said.

The Nigerian 4-1-9 scam, also known as the Nigerian 
Advance Fee scheme, is a worldwide scam which 
involves the receipt of an unsolicited letter allegedly from a 
Nigerian Central Bank employee or from the Nigerian 
government.It is named after the section of the Nigerian 
penal code which addresses fraudulent schemes.

The DFA earlier warned Overseas Filipino Workers and 
Filipino migrants abroad of lottery or raffle text scams 
which circulated in Vienna, Austria. The scam had also 
required money transfer from winners prior to receiving 
their so-called prizes.