High rate of unemployment has compounded the vulnerability of job seekers as reports emerge that a huge chunk of them may have been conned millions of shillings by fraudsters purporting to be Public Service Commission (PSC) staff in the last two months.
Apart from being conned of cash they barely have it anyway or have to struggle to get, there is also potentially adverse exposure as the fraudsters are now in their possession personal, even confidential information, which they provide while applying for the positions.
Recently, fraudsters using a fake PSC letterhead advertised for more than 15,000 vacancies including community health officers (3,204 posts), environmental health officers (2,058 posts), assistant adult education officers (1,910 posts), field officers (1,850 posts) and assistant extension officers (1,649 posts).
The cartel, said to be operating from Nakuru, ensured that the advertisement was shared widely on the social media platforms.
Other positions advertised included those of office secretaries, clerical officers, assistant agricultural officers, assistant accountants, assistant land registrars, assistant human resource managers and development officers, and assistant engineers.
Personal information
After the advert went viral, some apprehensive people immediately warned that it was fake, but the warning came too late for the job-seekers and those feeling underemployed had already latched on to the advertisement with fraudsters rubbing their fingers in glee as part of their mission had been achieved.
Said a victim, who did not wish to be named: “To impress, we include a lot of details when applying for such jobs and now these people have crucial personal information and can easily impersonate us and commit identity fraud.”
Following the exposure of the incident, the PSC has written to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti to investigate the matter and dismantle the cartel. The fake advert read: “PSC is currently recruiting recent graduates countrywide in various Government Departments, 47 Huduma Centres, hospitals and parastatals.
The People Daily established that the PSC had earlier, on April 24, written to the DCI about the same cartel but decided to write again after reports indicated that they were still defrauding Kenyans.
“As a Commission, it is our concern that the cartel, using Nakuru either in reality or otherwise as their base, is operating with impunity in defrauding Kenyans who are desperately looking for employment,” the PSC acting chief executive Simon Rotich wrote. The applicants were advised to apply through[email protected], and to forward the same application to [email protected].
Investigations
Preliminary investigations showed that the fraudsters had a g-mail account, which they told the applicants to forward their applications to. They would then get the details of the applicants, call them and ask them to make payments that they list as meant for medical check-up, registration, and National Intelligence Service clearance, among others. The interviews facilitation fees ranges between Sh3,500 and Sh6,000.
This is the first time fraudsters, who normally work in the NGOs world have found their way to the heart of civil servants employer. With the rate of youth unemployment put at nearly 40 per cent, the presence of mind is understandably elusive as is the need for probity, hence the vulnerability among them.
Yesterday, Rotich expressed shock over the brazenness of the fraudsters’ operation.
“If these people can have that courage to con people using PSC, what else can they not do? The confidence with which these people conned unsuspecting job seekers is amazing and only leaves one in shock,” Rotich told the People Daily but regretted that the fraud could not be immediately flagged as most of the victims, even after learning that they had been conned, did not report to the police even as some who reported declined to give their details and particulars.
One of the victims who was conned of Sh6,250 told People Daily that he got a call from a man who introduced himself as Dr Moses Mbithi Ivita on May 23.
The man, who introduced himself as a human resource officer with PSC, told him that he was successful but he urgently needed some clearance documents.
Sounded genuine
“I had applied for a job with the PSC and since the man sounded genuine, I believed him. And what’s more, he seemed to know much about me, including my education and experience,” said the victim who, however, requested to be given time since it was already late but the man said he knew someone at Huduma Centre, who could process the documents on his behalf.
He was then told to send Sh6, 250. “I was referred to a Mr Kimani Mungai who claimed to be based at the Nairobi Huduma Centre. Strange enough, that PSC website was down that day,” he said.
However, when the People Daily reached ‘Dr Mbithi’ through his mobile phone, he declined to comment and said he would call later. He never did.
Another applicant said she received an SMS message informing her of the offer. The text message read: “I am glad to inform you that you have pre qualified to work for the PSC based on your impressive academic credentials following your application.
Recruitment
This year’s recruitment purposes to fill various government departments 47 Huduma Centres, hospitals and parastatals across the country. You will be required to choose your work place of preference in terms of County and constituency in the form below this text.
It continued; Our Human Resource Department had reviewed your application and accorded you a conditional offer to serve as one of our new employees based purely on your impressive academic profile pending your results in the aptitude test that will be sent to you once you fill and submit the form below. In the form, you will indicate your name, phone number, email address, position applied for and your preferred work place among other things.”
To tame the menace, the National Police Service spokesman Charles Owino yesterday advised job seekers to always conduct thorough background checks on prospective employers or any job opportunity forwarded to them, especially through the social media forums.
“What people should know is that the government does not ask for money during recruitment,” Owino said, adding: “As job opportunities get scarcer, fraudsters have taken advantage of this, to defraud desperate and gullible Kenyan jobseekers.”
Another suspect under investigation by the DCI is Mr NC of telephone number 0708****80 who is reported to have received Sh3,500 from one of the applicants purportedly for a medical check-up at a Nairobi hospital as a prerequisite, before being recruited.
Some applicants, however, contacted the PSC before they made the payments. Esther Wairimu, for example, went to the PSC on April 29 to confirm before paying the money asked for, in respect of Huduma Namba jobs. She learnt that it was fake and never paid.
Another victim, Eunice Achieng Mboya had also on April 25 reported to the PSC that she had been defrauded and the matter is also being investigated by the DCI.
