A scam involving a company which offers people jobs in Jersey that don't exist - and then asks those people to send money to pay for a work visa - is currently operating.
How can I spot a fake job offer?
Fake locations / incorrect facility names
The company carrying out this scam has a poor knowledge of Jersey, and it refers to wrongly-named facilities and even facilities in other islands. Fake job offers have referred to the following locations:
- German Underground Hospital
- Overdale Medical Centre
- Elizabeth Princess Hospital (which is in Guernsey)
- Bon Sante Medical Centre
Bad spelling and grammar / false contact details
The emails and letters sent by the company often contain spelling and grammar mistakes. The telephone contact details for managers or lawyers are usually false.
No interview offer
If you're offered a genuine role with the States of Jersey, you'll always go through a recruitment process, which includes an interview.
What is the fake job offer scam?
The scam works as follows:
- the victim has posted his / her CV on a job website, usually Monster.com
- the scammers select the victim from the website and offer the victim a job in Jersey. The job offer email / letter goes into a lot of detail and includes information about:
- salary
- holidays
- sick leave
- accommodation
- the scammers tell the victim that they will need a visa known as a ‘Family Common Travel Area Certification’ (‘FCTAC’*) to be able to take the job
- the victim is told that an advocate at a local law firm can prepare the FCTAC for them for a set price. The victim is asked to pay for this visa by MoneyGram or Western Union Transfer
- once payment is made to MoneyGram or Western Union the scammers collect the money and disappear
*The FCTAC visa does not exist and is therefore not a requirement for someone who wants to travel to Jersey.
Download job offer letter example 1 (size 50kb)
Download job offer letter example 2 (size 3kb)
Download law firm letter example (size 26kb)
What should I do if I’ve received a fake job offer?
If you’ve received an email / letter like this, you should report it immediately to the States of Jersey police.
You should not send any money to anyone. A genuine employer with a job offer would never ask you to do this.
States of Jersey Police website