Be wary of recruitment scams
SRUTHI KRISHNAN
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There have been instances of IT job aspirants being duped
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Candidates seeking employment in IT companies have to be wary of recruitment scams, says B. Ravishankar, senior vice-president & head-talent management group, HCL Technologies.
There are instances of candidates scouting for jobs being duped by scamsters promising jobs in IT majors and asking candidates to deposit money. People from poor background, rural areas and colleges where there is no campus placement seem to be targe
ted, he adds.
Awareness helps
Satya Krishnan, director, Saaki and Argus Consulting, an HR management and consulting firm, says there is no sure way of knowing who is a bogus recruiter as there is no legal body with which the recruitment agency has to register. But no IT major charges any money for an interview for recruitment, she says, adding that what could help is awareness on the part of candidates and colleges.
Mr. Ravishankar gives an example of a candidate who was sent an e-mail from a company with a name that sounded similar to HCL Technologies informing the candidate that he had been selected based on his resume in a job portal.
Apart from HCL Technologies, names sounding similar to other IT majors are also being used, he says.
Job portal information
“The information from online job portals is being used,” says Mr. Ravishankar, adding that people seem to be targeted through mass mailing.
In the e-mail, the candidate is asked to deposit money for airfare, and the bank account details of a private individual are provided.
The money is supposed to cover airfare for the candidate.
“No professional company gets into a commercial transaction during recruitment,” says Mr. Ravishankar. “The interview is always free of cost.”
HCL Technologies cannot file a complaint with the police as only the victim can do so. Some banks respond by closing down the accounts mentioned in such e-mails. But the scamsters seem to switch banks and accounts. Also, the money seems to have been withdrawn as soon as the deposit is made, he says.
Indicators
There are some indications to figure out whether an e-mail promising a job offer is spurious, says Mr. Ravishankar. For starters, the e-mail id is not that of a company but of a common e-mail service provider, such as Yahoo or Gmail. Even if a company charges any money from the candidate, the bank account details would be that of a company, not that of an individual, he says.
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