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International Transport Workers’ Federation warns about Nigerian scams |
| by globaltarget.com - 11/18/2006 |
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| "Global union the ITF today issued a warning to anyone looking for work on board ships and oil rigs that fraudsters have made Nigeria the new centre for scams offering non-existent jobs for money." |
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The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) reports that three known Nigerian criminal operations – including one purporting to be based in Redhill, Surrey, England – are currently trying to defraud innocent jobseekers worldwide. Their usual trick is to ask for 10 per cent of an applicant’s first month’s wages for a job on a fictional ship that just happens to be stopping at Port Harcourt, Nigeria, to where the money should be paid.
David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary, commented, “In the overcrowded field of money for jobs at sea scams Nigeria has rocketed to the top of the list of offenders. We repeat our warning that if you have to pay for a job in advance, it probably doesn’t exist. If the offer comes from Nigeria, then it definitely doesn’t. Charging seafarers for jobs is outlawed by ILO Convention 179 – to which Nigeria is a signatory.”
He continued, “The number of scams offering fake jobs on cruise and cargo ships and oilrigs continues to grow, and it has been years since anyone has been prosecuted for these crimes that often hit the world’s poorest people. So far the largest was the UAE based Al Najat scandal, whose Pakistani perpetrator escaped with millions of dollars because none of the governments who knowingly or otherwise cooperated with or hosted him would press charges. The longest running is Caledonian Offshore, supposedly based in Canada, but actually run from Panama. We’re glad to say that following lobbying and our meeting with that country’s Vice President some kind of an investigation is finally underway there. But the prize for the most prolific recent efforts goes to the fraudsters of Port Harcourt.”
According to the ITF fraudulent organizations offering jobs on non-existent ships in return for advance fees in the last six months include:
A fake operation calling itself ‘Swift Consulting UK, 1st Floor, Furness House, 53 Brighton Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 6PZ. Telephone +44 7040118143. Fax: +44 8716614073. Recruitment Officer Alan Smith.’ The ITF can confirm that there is no such company at the address.
Callers to West African-accented ‘Adam Smith’ are asked to send their seafarers’ certificates and promised jobs in return for a fee of US$350 (supposedly 10% of the first month’s wages to be earned). The money is to be paid via a Western Union or similar money transfer to Port Harcourt, made out to Mr Okechukwu Emeka, described as the accountant of Ideal Travel Agency, Inc of Nigeria. In the last week the ITF has been contacted by seafarers from Egypt, Poland and Russia inquiring about the company. All have received messages from ‘Swift Consulting UK’ offering them jobs on the non-existent ships SS Queen Ridge and MV Sea Goddess. The scamsters appear to have got their contact details after they left their CVs on what they believed were legitimate job search websites.
One of these inquirers was also approached with a near identical deal of work on the vessel ‘Lucy Frontier’, paying US$3,500 per month, in return for a 10% ‘agency fee’. The e-mail claimed to be from ‘Mike Obi, Manning Manager, Haddow Maritime Africa, 8th-10th Floor, Supabod Building, Azikiwe Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Tel: +23484480320’.
The names Mike Obi and Lucy Frontier also appear on another operation identified by the ITF as fraudulent: Agent Africa Nigeria, which uses the website www.agentafrica.xaper.com/index.html to defraud job seekers. The site gives the address of ‘# 3 Onne Road, G.R.A, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 50001 Nigeria Tell (sic): 08027609549, Fax:084237536, email aanig@xaper.com’. The ITF first issued a warning about Agent Africa Nigeria/Hado Maritime/Haddow Maritime Africa in September 2004. At that time they claimed to have vacancies on the container vessel Maria, which does exist but has no connection with Nigeria.
Cockroft concluded, “In the past and in the absence of any police action we have done our best to expose these hateful scams as quickly and widely as possible, by naming them and their methods. However, in the case of these Nigerian frauds it appears that the perpetrators are choosing to use multiple names and email addresses, rather than, like Al Najat, remain at one address under the benevolent eye of the UAE authorities or, like Caledonian Offshore, seek to hide their office through a web of post boxes and forwarding services. As a result we have little option but to warn anyone looking for a job or who has been contacted with a job offer that at any point asks for any kind of payment, even one from an apparently British company, to look for a Nigerian connection and then treat the offer with the contempt it deserves.” |
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