State government warns against fake overseas job offers

Non Resident Tamils’ Welfare Department warns against fake job offers overseas, urging caution and verification before accepting employment.

Non Resident Tamils’ Welfare Department has flagged the issue of fake job offers overseas and warned of strict legal action through police against agents/agencies in Tamil Nadu sending people abroad for work without being registered with the Union Government. 

Tamils are increasingly migrating to foreign countries for various employment opportunities. It has been reported that they have been taken to Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar on tourist visas under the pretense of IT jobs and are pressured to engage in illegal online activities, the department said in a statement.

Those who refuse are subjected to electric shocks and physical abuse. So far, the Department has rescued 83 Tamils from these countries, it said.

It is recently reported that Indian nationals are being lured for employment through Thailand in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) — also known as Laos. These fake jobs are for posts such as of Digital Sales and Marketing Executives or Customer Support Service by dubious companies involved in call centre scams and crypto currency fraud in Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos, the Department said.

Agents in places such as Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and India associated with these firms are recruiting Indian Nationals by taking simple interviews and the typing test and are offering high salaries, hotel bookings along with return air tickets and visa facilitation, it added.

Victims are illegally taken across the border into Laos from Thailand and held captive to work in Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos under harsh and restrictive conditions. At times, they are taken hostages by criminal syndicates indulging in illegal activities and forced to work in strenuous conditions under constant physical and mental torture, the department said.

Visa on Arrival in Thailand or Laos does not permit employment and the Lao authorities do not issue work permits to Indian nationals coming to Laos on such visas. It may be noted that tourist visa is to be used only for the purpose of tourism, it noted.