Job offer from EMARAT LIMA PETROLEUM ? is this a real / scam ???

I am not sure whether I applied to this company, I had it checked and it's for real, the offer is good the perks are excellent, I am a former expat to other countries. I called the UAE embassy, they were skeptical of how this has been handled. The lady at the embassy told me that the work visa and the residency permit are issued only by them. The MOI (Ministry of the Interior) were all the fees are paid to, handle visas and permits when one is already there. They told me not to send money. The airline ticket, business class from where I am at, will cost $7500.00, the visa and the residency permit around $800.00, would anyone send $8300.00 to some travel agency without any real proof of employment other than a scanned contract? I tried to call them what I got is a weird parrot like recording , on both lines Emarat and the travel agency.
My son who's a manager of an offshore company said to me that when they hire expats they pay for everything, true! That's how it should be.
I reply to them saying that if they want me to work for them they should pay for everything upfront and I am not about to dish all that money to unknown people.

IF ANYONE RECEIVED A JOB OFFER FROM EMARAT LIMA PETROLEUM COMPANY, BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SEND MONEY, I PERSONALLY THINK IT'S A SCAM.

How were you given the job offer? Did you make first contact or apply for the job, if so where?

Have you been in direct contact with anyone from the company?

The website of the "real" company is www.emarat.ae/  so if you've corresponded with anyone from the real company by e-mail then their e-mail address will be something like john.doe@emarat.ae

If the correspondence was through any other domain name or a free e-mail provider like gmail, hotmail, outlook, yahoo or anything else then it's a scam.

I'd suggest you visit the official website for the Emarat Lima Oil Company (not Emarat Lima Petroleum) and use the "Contacts" link and "Feedback Form" to express your concerns about the possibility that you're being scammed. If the job offer is legitimate they will surely be willing to confirm it. If you're being scammed then they'll be very happy to find out that someone is running a scam using their company name and reputation.

In almost every case I've ever heard of when somebody asks for money up front for any job offer it's guaranteed to be a scam. Reputable companies pay all the expenses for prospective new employees they want to hire.

Cheers,
James
Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi James,
like I said in my blog, I don't remember applying, but then again I have sent hundreds of resumes, I know that the company is real I am not sure of the contacts. Anyway if  they want me to work for them, they have to pay all the expenses upfront, I told them and their reply was that it was against company policy...sure....anyway I won't send any money, that's it.

Nick

Hi Nick,

The question is not whether the company is real or not, but rather if the job offer, contacts, etc., is real or a scam.

Scammers won't use a name of an unknown company that their vicitims won't fall for. They always use the name of (or variation of) a well known and respected company. The fact that the OP has used the name Emarat LIma Petroleum concerns me. The real company is Emarat Lima Oil Company.

Many scammers, especially the more sophisticated ones, even go so far as to clone the real company's website using a domain name that is almost exactly the same and likely not to catch the attention of their victims. These cloned sites are virtually identical in every aspect, with only the most minor and imperceptible differences that even experts have difficulty in distinguishing the fake sites from the real ones.

Anyone concerned about a job offer, should always investigate it fully. It's not really that hard to do. In most cases a simple Google search is enough to catch the frauds. Searching things like "Emarate Lima Petroleum scam" will likely produce results.

One should never hesitate to contact the real company in some fashion, best through the official website to verify everything.

It's extremely difficult to weed out all the fakes from the genuine article sometimes. Doing one's homework and investigating thoroughly can't eliminate all of the risks of being victimized, but it sure helps to reduce them to the bare minimum.

Cheers,
James
Expat-blog Experts Team