Police issue more warnings over online job scams

(CNS): An online job scam, which police believe is being run from Jamaica and targeting expat workers, has expanded is con base from the hospitality to the health sector. The RCIPS Financial Crime Unit is warning people not to send money or engage with these con artists and contact the police if they have fallen victim or have any information about the culprits. The scam is similar to those the FCU investigated last year but the scammers are now targeting nurses as well as hospitality staff.

The FCU said that job seekers are still responding to these false advertisements on social media, which solicit resumes for the non-existent jobs, promising assistance with plane fare but asking people to send cash towards the processing cost of the work permits.

The scam is believed to be based in Jamaica, with people here in Cayman receiving the funds and forwarding the money to individuals in Jamaica. The scammers use social network sites, such as Facebook, Tagged, Tango and Badoo, to engage people under false pretexts and ask them to use their bank account to facilitate the transaction or attend Western Union or other remittance services, the FCU explained.

The individual running the scam has used the names Odiki Mandalay as well as Carlos Chung (as the purported owner of Hotel Grand Cayman, which does not exist). He or she may be using other names as well, so the FCU asks social network users not to engage in conversations with or do “favours” for people they have never met and whose identity they cannot vouch for.

Anyone who may have fallen victim to this scam or unknowingly participated in the movement of funds as part of this scam should contact the RCIPS FCU at 949-8797 or Crime Stoppers at 800-8477(TIPS).