How It Works
Fraudulent recruitment agents offer high-paying jobs abroad — in the Gulf, Southeast Asia, or elsewhere — promising visa and travel arrangements for a fee. Victims often discover upon arrival that the job doesn't exist, and in severe cases are trafficked into forced labor, including being coerced into running cyber scam operations themselves.
Real Example
Thousands of Indians were lured to Southeast Asian countries with fake high-salary IT or customer service job offers, only to be trafficked into forced labor in scam call centers, with many having to be rescued by Indian authorities.
Red Flags 🚩
- Recruiter demands a large upfront fee for visa/travel processing
- Job description is vague despite an unusually high salary
- Pressure to travel quickly, often with travel and documents arranged entirely by the agent
- Recruiter operates only through informal channels (WhatsApp, personal contacts), not a registered agency
Protection Steps 🛡️
- Verify the recruitment agency is registered with the Ministry of External Affairs / Protector of Emigrants.
- Independently verify the hiring company exists and the job offer is genuine.
- Be extremely cautious of unusually high salaries for vague job descriptions abroad.
- Never hand over your passport to a recruiter or agent before verifying everything.