Gulf News

Conmen dupe overseas job-seekers

Fake appointmen­t letters used to get people to remit money for employment in ‘Al Kaka Hospital’ |

- DUBAI BY MAZHAR FAROOQUI Staff Writer

ASpanish doctor has become the latest victim of a well-knit recruitmen­t scam targeting health profession­als and other jobseekers based abroad.

Dr Z.E., who works at a hospital in Spain, said he paid Dh9,860 towards visa processing fee and other charges for a Dh38,500 per month job at Al Kaka Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Intriguing­ly, Al Kaka Hospital which lists integrity and honesty among its core values, doesn’t exist anywhere in the world other than the internet.

Its website is a merely a cut copy paste job created to dupe unsuspecti­ng job-seekers.

Of late, the bogus hospital, with a purported Abu Dhabi address, has shot of scores of fake appointmen­t letters to job aspirants worldwide, offering them huge salaries and perks including monthly entertainm­ent and recreation allowances.

Among the recipients are Nigerians Nskikan Hilda Udo and Olachi Lilian Osug.

Despite little work experience, they have been offered Dh15,500 monthly plus Dh1,000 weekly as pocket allowance for an assistant accountant and bio chemist’s position.

Similarly, Dr A. Singh has been promised a radiologis­t’s position position at a basic salary of Dh37,500, besides

Dh12,500 annually towards furnishing­s and Dh1,200 weekly for pocket money.

Other perks include free housing in a three-bedroom apartment and a raft of other monthly benefits including Dh1,200 for car maintenanc­e, Dh2,500 for entertainm­ent and Dh2,500 for travel.

Fees and charges

To clinch these dream jobs, the candidates have to remit Dh9,860 to a purported travel firm’s bank account so that their visa and employment papers could be processed and they could start work.

The offer letters which bear forged stamps of the ministry of interior, assure candidates that all expenses made towards visa and work permit costs will be reimbursed once they land in the UAE.

Dr Z.E. who fell for the bait and wired Dh9,860 to the bogus

travel agency said he suspected foul play when he was asked to fork out Dh16,000 additional­ly towards health insurance. Victims of other scams modelled on similar lines said they never hear from the purported hospital or travel firm once they have remitted the money.

People who got the bogus offer letter reckon the scamsters picked their email from job hunting websites where they had uploaded their CV.

Investigat­ions show the bogus Al Kaka Hospital website www.alkakahosp­ital.com was barely two months ago and all its content was stolen from Muscat Private Hospital in Oman. Following an alert by Gulf News, Muscat Private Hospital has put up a notice on its website about the misuse of its logo and website and also urged people to be cautious about fraudulent job offers.

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