UNEMPLOYED TARGETED
Fake website preys on Albertans
Albertans seeking employment in the province’s struggling oilpatch are being warned about bogus websites offering jobs for an upfront fee following the discovery of an online pitch that swiped the identities of several Calgary energy company executives.
Service Alberta said the sites — which appear to promote legitimate oil and gas corporations — prey on desperate job seekers with postings for non-existent energy sector jobs.
The scam came to light after the province’s temporary foreign workers’ advisory office was contacted about a firm identified as Daglo Oil and Gas Co.
A subsequent investigation determined the website — dagloagency.com — was based in the United States while its owner was linked to an IP address in Gambia, West Africa.
“Although the website looks intricate, it would be easy to put together since the scammers copied and pasted everything from a legitimate Calgary firm,” said Service Alberta spokesman Yonathan Sumamo. “It’s just a rip off.” The website’s contact page describes Daglo as a “Calgary-based exploration, development and production company active in the production and sale of bitumen.”
It lists the management team of Connacher Oil & Gas as executives of Daglo; complete with portraits and resumes.
Greg Pollard, Connacher’s chief financial officer, said the company is a victim of corporate identity theft.
“They have cut and pasted our management profile,” he told The Canadian Press. “We have no relationship. We have never heard of them. This is a pure scam.
“We as Connacher, as a good corporate citizen, want to make sure that people are not being taken advantage of.”
Sumamo said the province is working to shut down Daglo, but noted other bogus companies have tried similar scams using the Internet. “They are getting victims from all over the world, inside Alberta and out,” he said.
A closer examination of the fake company’s site shows a photo of an office tower with a palm tree out front. An included application form lists the most lucrative vacancy — for senior civil/structural engineers — as paying an annual salary of $18,030.
When contacted, the listed phone numbers go directly to voice mail.
In exchange for a cash advance, Daglo claims to provide work visas, cover travel expenses, and assist applicants in pre-screening for jobs in Alberta’s energy industry.
Thousands of workers in Alberta’s oilpatch have been laid off in recent months due to the plunging price of oil. Statistics Canada estimates 7,000 positions were cut in Alberta’s natural resources sector in February alone.
Sumamo recommends job seekers remain diligent in watching out for fraudulent employers.
“Never accept a job offer via e-mail if you have never had a telephone or face-to-face interview,” Sumamo said. “Reputable companies won’t likely offer employment without first interviewing candidates.”