TAIPEI: About 30 percent of recent job seekers complain they have been swindled and subjected to other forms of fraud in their search for employment, a poll by the 104 Job Bank shows. Among those who said they had been victimized, 40.5 percent said they lost money to scam artists. Some even incurred heavy debt in the process.

The Job Bank surveyed job seekers, questioning them about their experiences during a poll between June 18-22. The poll received 5,023 valid replies. The margin of error was plus/minus 1.38 percent.

Among those polled, 28.8 percent said they had been defrauded during their search.

Among those who said they had been cheated, 27.6 percent said they had been victims of outright swindles. Other common complaints among job seekers were being compelled either to buy products, or to help sell products. Some complained of receiving no pay for work performed.

Job seekers may suffer losses even when they are not cheated for money directly. Handing over personal documents makes them vulnerable in scams in which they are used as proxies in other illicit transactions.

The victims are often told to give bank cards or identity papers on the pretext that the documents are necessary in order to arrange payment of salaries. The documents then can be used to set up accounts to launder money or carry out other illegal enterprises.

Up to 72 percent of the respondents said they were worried about being duped while seeking jobs, especially serving as unwitting proxies for crooks.

Most of those who were cheated did nothing to seek restitution, with 73.1 percent saying they simply chalked up their losses to bad luck.

Only 12.3 percent said they had reported their cases to police.

When asked to give reasons why they believed they let themselves be conned, 42.6 percent said they had been sucked in by highly attractive offers put forward by predators.

About 27 percent said they were too timid to reject sugar-coated demands; 25 percent said they failed to get enough details on the positions offered; and 23 percent said the salary offered was too attractive to reject.

Executives of the 104 Job Bank proposed five rules for job seekers - never pay a fee, never buy products, never apply for credit cards, never allow yourself to be rushed into signing a contract, never surrender identity cards or certificates.

It's not difficult to spot the fraudulent recruitment listings, said the 104 Job Bank.

Bank counselors caution those seeking employment to beware, if the salary offered is much higher than usual, if the advertisers claim the jobs require no hard work and no qualifications, if only a mobile phone number is listed and no address is provided, if the job titles sound "too grand" and if the advertisement offers assistance in securing loans. All of these tactics are signs of scams, the job bank warned.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 07/09/2009 page2)