Job Discussion Forums

[Geronimo]

Regular visitors to this forum will be aware that scamsters have conjured up more than one new school
in the U.A.E. during the last year or so. New travel agencies have suddenly appeared along with these schools to collect the fees from hoodwinked teachers based abroad.

One of the more convincing additions to these new schools appeared last month. It was called 'Howard International' and was supposed to be located in Abu Dhabi...

'The red flag was raised by other teachers in the following days asking WSF and ADEC to verify the authenticity of the job offers.
"I was asked to pay $1,250 to the account number 3381041338 in the name of Mr. Hinoto Yeptho in Dimapur Central Bank of India,” wrote another teacher.
Nigerian Nassiba Charcharia told XPRESS she got a job offer via email from Dr. Adolph Carlson who identified himself as the school’s HR manager although she had never applied for a job there. “I was asked to contact Arabian Travel and Tours based in Abu Dhabi and make the payment,” Charcharia recalled.
XPRESS tried contacting Dr Adolph Carlson on the mobile number listed on the website but there was no response.
A call made to the cellphone number supposedly belonging to the Abu Dhabi-based Arabian Tours and Travels was answered by a man who spoke with an African accent and identified himself as Abdul Mohammad.
He dodged questions about the travel agency’s office location but said he has processed work permits for several teachers recruited by Howard school.
“We have been working with Howard for the last seven to eight months. We have already processed visas for 16 teachers. I cannot give our office address as we are relocating to JLT in Dubai,” he said. A job aspirant said he suspected the travel agency was part of the racket...'
http://gulfnews.com/xpress/abu-dhabi/news/beware-teachers-this-school-doesn-t-exist-1.1523051

The real school was initially unaware that its website's content was being replicated; but its administration is now considering legal action...
http://gulfnews.com/xpress/dubai/news/dubai-school-mulls-action-over-stolen-content-1.1523061

One option, for those not sure if their job offer is from a real school
or an imaginary one, is to visit http://whichschooladvisor.com/
and try to track it down.

Geronimo

[veiledsentiments]

As far as I know, there is no legitimate school that has you sending money for visas... in particular to some travel agency???

That should be considered an immediate red flag if money is requested.

VS

[Geronimo]

Evidently a much bigger scam in this region than the fake school one, is the "fake university degree certificate" one...

'“My degree is genuine and attested by all relevant agencies. What’s your problem?” demanded H.N.

The problem is that H.N’s fellow alumni (sic) is a dog. The year H.N. got his degree, Rochville also awarded an MBA to a canine.
This happened when a Singapore-based journalist enrolled his pup, Chester, for the university’s online MBA programme.'
[Surely it should read..."H.N.'s fellow alumnus is a dog, shouldn't it?]
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/education/online-fake-degrees-xpress-investigates-1.1342936#

Whilst Chester won't be securing a management position any time soon, (as he's still only a pup),
people with fake degrees have been successful in securing management positions...

"Ahmad has an MBA from Ashford University (UK), Rogers, a degree in computer networking from Rochville University, and Sam, a doctorate from Midtown University.
None of these universities exist. Yet Ahmad, Rogers and Sam, like many other UAE residents, have secured high-paying jobs on the strength of worthless certificates issued by these bogus institutes.
Don’t believe this? Go to Google and type the name of any of these colleges + Dubai + manager/CEO/executive..."

A Dubai-based teacher, having paid out $70,000, is also facing the threat of jail time as a result of her dealings with Axact...

http://gulfnews.com/xpress/abu-dhabi/news/dubai-teacher-faces-jail-over-diploma-scam-1.1533056

And, an Emirati has been conned out of Dh. 250,000 by the Axact fraudsters...
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/crime/man-spends-dh250-000-on-fake-degree-1.1537884

An Axact whistle-blower, now in Dubai, has claimed that over 200,000 fake degrees were sold by Axact to customers in the Middle East during the last 4 years...
"In a damning report on 17 May, the New York Times revealed what it called "a vast education empire" of hundreds of American universities and schools offering online degrees in various disciplines.
The strange thing about it was that all the "glossy and assured" websites of these institutions - at least 370 in number - existed only "as stock photos on computer servers", the report claimed..."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32910734

The "New York Times" investigation has made a partial listing of these 100's of websites available at:-
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/world/asia/tracking-axacts-websites.html?_r=0

The recent strengthening of the attestation requirements process for applicants to positions in the U.A.E. may be viewed as one of the consequences of this highly lucrative fraud operation.

Geronimo

[Geronimo]

Yet another new school has appeared and vanished this month in the U.A.E..
This latest one was called the "Abu Dhabi High College".

http://gulfnews.com/xpress/abu-dhabi/news/another-school-job-scam-in-abu-dhabi-1.1532917

This time the scamsters tried to hook victims in using an online questionnaire.

Geronimo