Job rackets spread their tentacles in Kerala, loot money from aspirants

KOCHI: Anand, 23, an MBA holder from Palakkad, was desperately searching for a job as an accountant. Since he had updated his resume with all the well-known recruitment firms, including LinkedIn, he used to receive phone calls and the chance to attend online interviews. Three days back, Anand was pleasantly surprised when he got a call from a person who identified himself as an HR official of Tata Motors to attend an online interview for the post of financial manager. As he has sound knowledge of  GST, Tally and other accounting software, the interview resulted in him getting an offer letter. Anand was to start a two-month-long training programme at the city office of the company from April 1.

However, the young man’s elation at landing a job with a top company was short lived as he got another call from the same person asking him to remit Rs 21,500 to attend the training programme of the company. Since a secure job was inevitable for his family members and himself, the youngster with the support of his parents raised the required money from his relatives. 

He also received a payment receipt from Glassdoor, a well-known career website, for participating in the training programme of the company. However, Anand could discern a  change in the attitude of the person after he had paid up. After Anand got suspicious, he enquired with the city office of Tata Motors. Then he came to realise that he had been taken for a ride and that the company has no such vacancy. Though Anand made every effort to get the money back, the fraudster turned down his plea. Though TNIE contacted the company, they were unavailable for comment.

“When I realised that they are a fraud gang, I tried to convince them by saying my financial condition and how I got the money. But they are not ready to return the money. Even I can hear over the phone that these people are cheating other job aspirants at the same time,” said Anand. “We are getting numerous complaints about recruitment fraud and the number is going up each day. Unfortunately, many persons who lost money are not coming forward to lodge a complaint,” said Karthick K, District Police chief (Rural). 

According to the report prepared by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), the number of cheating cases has shown an upward trajectory.  Last year, 8,639 cheating cases were registered in the state compared to 5,606 in 2019. “We are getting such complaints even from companies as their reputation has been affected due the recruitment fraud. Since most of these fraudsters are based in Rajasthan and other northern states, jurisdiction poses a major challenge in launching an investigation. Moreover, the number of cases being reported everyday is going up and it will not be practical for the police to launch an investigation in each case. We will soon come out with an action plan to nab these job frauds,” said  ADGP and Cyberdome nodal officer Manoj Abraham.