MUMBAI: A 40-year-old man was duped by unknown scamster who posed as manager of the Coco-Cola Company and took his online interview and made him deposit a refundable security amount of Rs 8,740 by NEFT to Punjab National Bank.
The victim, Ayub Rashid Sayed, also received a job offer letter as manager of sales & marketing. However, Sayed learnt that it was a fake when he verified the details of the offer letter. The cyber police at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) on Thursday issued a warning and advisory to people searching for a job not to fall victim to such fraud offer after they received a complaint from Sayed a week ago.
Sayed has fallen victim after he received a call from the scamster after he applied for a job in the online job portal. “We have managed to recover the money that Sayed has lost. During the investigation, we came to know that many across India are falling victim to the fake online job interview fraud that is posted using the name of Coca-Cola Company. One should understand that no company will take any fees to give offer letter. It is learnt that cases have been registered in Bengaluru and Gurgaon for similar job frauds committed in the name of Coca-Cola Company," deputy commissioner of police (Cyber-Mumbai) Rashmi Karandikar told TOI.
Cyber police said people should not fall victim to the fake online job interview for recruiting as sales & marketing, HR, logistics and operations and various departments in Coca Cola Company. The victims are asked to deposit a refundable security amount of Rs8,740 by NEFT to Punjab National Bank. “The offer letter also mentions that the refundable security amount is just the security amount to ensure that if the company is providing you the tickets candidate should be present at the time of interview. The fake job offers shows salary offered for the above posts varies between Rs39,700 to Rs6.2 lakhs monthly (HRA+DA & other benefits),” said the cyber police officer.
Cyber experts said these fake job interviews are posts across India and globally.
The company has already issued a disclaimer on its website: the fake job offers are been circulated by certain unscrupulous individuals/entities claiming that they represent The Coca-Cola Company and/or Coca-Cola India Pvt. Ltd (Coca-Cola India). These fraudulent job scams use online services such as websites and/or e-mails carrying the name “Coca-Cola” or “Coca-Cola India” or “Coca-Cola Jobs” to confuse and mislead the public into believing that the job openings are genuine. Thereafter, such unscrupulous individuals/entities demand payments as part of their fake recruiting process from applicants under the garb of “Fee”, “Security Deposit” or “Travel Cost”.
How do we avoid job frauds?
--Research the company to ensure they are authentic.
--Always use keywords like Fake, Fraud & Scam after the company name.
--While searching on the internet for ensuring that the company is not involved in any negative activities where any of the citizens have reported some similar scam.
--No real company hires you without a face to face interview/video conference.
--Always try to analyze the company email via visiting their respective website and cross-check the email that organization utilizes which is used for communication. Maximum time scammers purchase similar-looking domain & send mail through it.
--An email or telephone interview is always the sign of a scam! Unless there is any legitimate source of communication is utilized.
--No real company charges any money for a job or visa or work permit.
--Be cautious when dealing with individuals outside of your own country.
--Regularly report cybercrime incidents at cybercrime.gov.in.