To avoid illegal recruiters, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reminds applicants to be extra cautious of fake overseas jobs that are offered though the net.

According to the POEA administrator, Jennifer Manalili, the reports she received said that these scammers lure applicants by pretending to represent big companies abroad. They also post non-existent job vacancies in legal job sites and send employment contracts through email.

One example is Emirate Recruitment Inc. that claims to be based in the United Kingdom and represent the International Airline of United Arab Emirates (the Emirates). They post bogus job vacancies at www.naukri.com, an online job search company based in the Gulf Region and India.

The vice president for Recruitment of the Emirates Airline, Rick Helliwel, said through the Industrial Personnel And Management Services, Inc. (IPAMS), its official agent in the Philippines, that they are not in any way connected with Emirate Recruitment Inc.

To be safe, Manalili advise applicants to fist check with POEA the legitimacy of a job offer before sending money to a recruiter.