The labor department has warned Filipinos looking for work abroad to be wary of job offers they find on the internet, particularly if they promise higher-than-expected salaries that are “too good to be true.”
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued the warning after the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Madrid, Spain, received a request to verify an online job offer for a fruit farm cashier position with a salary of 3,000 to 6,000 euros, or P175,000 to P350,000, according to a statement released on Sunday.
POLO Madrid Labor Attaché Joan Lourdes Lavilla cautioned job searchers to be wary of such employment prospects overseas since they are most likely frauds.
“We advise jobseekers to be very cautious. Scammers use names of legitimate companies and when you look at the job offer, it is usually too good to be true. They also give mobile numbers only. One tip is to check their given address using Google maps because sometimes there is no actual structure or company,” Lavilla said in a virtual briefing on October 29.
Another indication of a scam is when an applicant is required to send money through a remittance center, Lavilla said.
“What our kababayan (compatriot) did was right. She checked with us first before grabbing the job opportunity,” she said in the news release.
Overseas job seekers may visit the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s (POEA) website poea.gov.ph to verify the legitimacy of job offers.
Lavilla also informed of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in Spain, thus allowing more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to go back or seek employment.
She said Spaniards prefer Filipinos because they can speak and understand the English language.
OFWs in POLO Madrid’s jurisdiction, which includes Spain, Andorra, France, Portugal, and Monaco, are composed of household service workers, hotel and restaurant staff, and professionals like information technology personnel, researchers, managers, and nurses.
