New Job Scam Alert! Data Entry Clerk at the Ministry of Education
Dear job seekers,
We’d like to call your attention to a new job scam where cons are masquerading as officials from the Ministry of Education. The scam begins with an email to your inbox where you are congratulated for getting selected as a Data Entry Clerk. The email is sent from an address reading ministryofeducation0011@gmail.com and uses the name Perminus Wainaina to dupe job seekers.
Below, take a look at the sample email being sent to job seekers. This has been copied and pasted as received.
“EDUCATION MINISTR<ministryofeducation0011@gmail.com>
May 24 (2 days ago) to me
Hello, I am pleased to inform you that your application as data entry clerk at the Ministry of Education has been approved. Please note that our data entry staff are not permanent employees and are paid weekly at the rate of Ksh.300 per hour.
You will be required to report for work at least five days a week in the evening from 6 PM to 11 PM. Your supervisor who you will meet during training will coordinate with you regarding your free days once your semester comes to end in case you are currently in session.
All our data entry staff are required to report to work in Uniform so urgently contact Mr. Felix Adala of Stitch Experts through his email stitchexpertske@gmail.com to acquire our Data Entry Staff Uniform.
You have to do this immediately before the end of this week so we can include you in our training schedule which will last three days next week. Once you have get the Uniform please let me know so I can schedule you for training.
If I do not hear from you by Monday next week this offer shall be deemed forfeited. I look forward to working with you in the near future to improve service delivery at the Ministry. Congratulations.
—Kind Regards,
Perminus Wainaina,
Ministry Of Education (ICT-Dept)
Inline image 1 “
What Happens Next
When job seekers contact “Mr. Felix Adala” as asked in the email, they are requested to pay a fee of KSh 2,000 for the uniform. The ask you to pay KSh 1, 000 as a deposit to have the uniforms made and give you a guideline to take your own measurements and send.
Please note that Perminus Wainaina, the Head of Recruitment and Managing Partner at Corporate Staffing Services does not work with the Ministry of Education in any part of the recruiting process. Also, the Head of ICT Department at the Ministry of Education does not go by this name.
If you have received such an email, be warned and avoid falling prey to the scam. Please don’t be duped.
Signs the Email Above is a Job Scam
1. The Email Address Used – The Ministry of Education would never use a gmail.com account to contact job seekers. In fact, all emails for the staff at the ministry or other government institutions end with .go.ke
2. The Name Perminus Wainaina – The head of ICT department at the Ministry of Education does not go by this name. This is a clear sign that the cons used a name job seekers would be familiar with as it is shared by someone in the career scene.
(Perminus Wainaina is a Certified HR Consultant and the Head of Recruitment and Managing Partner at Corporate Staffing Services)
3. Third Party Dealings – At no particular moment would a government body ask you to get your own uniforms from a third party, pay for it and take your own measurements. Government institutions are procedural and will never ask you to pay for uniforms to use on the job.
4. Email tone, grammatical errors, and Ultimatum – The email above features grammatical errors and does not use official tone. Also, anyone offering you a job will not give you an ultimatum. They will provide you with directions and instructions and wait for you to show up. If you do not, then they reach out or hire the next person in line.
5. All government emails and letters feature a letterhead – As you can see from the copy-pasted email above, there is no use of an official letterhead from the Ministry of Education. All job offers, letters, and emails from government institutions must have a letterhead.
Be Vigilant
As the number of people looking for jobs increase, more job scams are coming up as cons look for ways to make money. Avoid falling prey to such scams by confirming the emails you receive, phone calls and promises for jobs. You can confirm by calling the hiring company or organizations involved. They will let you know if the position exists or not.
Read more here on the signs to look out for to identify a job scam.
For questions on job scams or career related issues, email clientservice@corporatestaffing.co.ke