Filipino job seekers applying for cruise ship positions have been warned of the recurrence of a scam targeting applicants for employment aboard cruise ships after a scam of such nature has been detected.
The fraudulent operation begins with an e-mail from someone claiming to represent a major company such as Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, P&O Cruises, etc. The recruiter guarantees the target person a job with a cruise ship, in exchange for paying a fee upfront. After receiving payment from the victim, the scammer vanishes with the supposed job offer.
One of the most important things to remember when looking for employment in a cruise ship is that you should never pay any fee, including recruitment and placement fees. Legitimate manning agencies and cruise lines are not allowed to charge administrative fees from seafarers.
Cruise ship job scams tend to feature the following:
- Jobs are advertised on free websites and social media. Scammers would not pay advertisement for jobs that do not exist
- Emails are sent from free email accounts such as Yahoo and Gmail.
- The correspondence is in poor English and very informal
- Scammers are reportedly operating from countries such as Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, etc.
- The job offers are usually very generous (high salaries, short working hours, long paid holidays, etc.)
- No thorough interviews with candidates
- The job offer is for free, but asks payment for visa, training, or lawyer fee
- Expected payment is requested through MoneyGram or Western Union
Once applicants are offered jobs that appear too good to be true, they should stay away at once.
