Picotex oil and gas scam

belsouthafrica wrote:

And yet another scam. After receiving my letter of appointment l googled every phone number and name on it...and lone behold, a scam. I must admit l think it is disgusting that these idiots are preying on people like me that is looking for job. Where on earth does find a legit recruitment agency for uae?

How you got this offer? Have you applied for the position ? Have you undergone any interviews either by phone or Skype? Please be understood, None of the companies will offer you a job without a proper interview. Sometimes, the recruiters may contact you by considering your profile through linkedin, but still, you have to undergo interview. Besides, the contact details and designation of the signatory  should be clearly mentioned in offer letter and it's a universal law. If any of them are not fulfilled, definitely it will be a scam.

Thank you for your response. I got a call from them and then received the offer. What made me start investigating was they had the start date as 30th Feb...these scamsters really make it look legitimate so people must look at the detail before parting with any money...luckily l never parted with money. Coming from South Africa we get approached with scams all the time so we are vigilant when it comes to these things.

The first indication that it is a scam is that they ask for money.

No real offer ever ask for money from the candidate. No matter what !

This one didnt. It really looked legit. Thank goodness l really did my homework first. So didnt part with any money. Thanks for the response

belsouthafrica wrote:

This one didnt. It really looked legit. Thank goodness l really did my homework first. So didnt part with any money. Thanks for the response

If you really want to work here, the best option is to come for a visit and try. The advantage is, you can stay away from those scammers since you can have face to face interviews within the company premises and that will be legit. Besides, most of the companies do prefer easily and immediately available candidates. Best of luck

Thank you. I think you are right....

hi everyone,
i've been lately contacted through www.jobat.be by picotex gas company. i was told theyr found my resume interesting and would like to send me a questionnaire, upon which a decision should be made concerning my application. i indeed filled the questionnaire and submitted it to the contact person of picotex, early january. i've just received this morning an email from them, saying that my interview was successful and all. they also sent me a job letter and contract, with the start date of 13 march, explaining as well that their recruitment procedures are as so, that they select candidates depending on the way they answer to the questionnaire and that the selected ones are directly admitted to training after signing the contract. as far as i'm concerned, i did not suspect any scam in this... but it looked a bit weird that my future employer has not yet contacted me by phone....
though i googled their website which seemed to be functional, i ran into this post that made me a bit reluctant regarding this company.
i think i'm in the same situation as you belsouthafrica. they didn't request any money, on the contrary i was told to be refunded the whole expenses regarding my visa procedure etc....
i also didn't try to call this guy called james brown, HR director... i don't know if you did?
i guess i'm another victim of these kinds of scams.
they really made me in a good mood when i got this email, i thought it finally happened... unfortunately, not

A questionnaire is not a method of selecting the candidates as it can be filled by anyone. Don't ever go for any offers  unless there is a proper interview.

I believe it is not either😑. It s really disgusting how these people can take advantage of others looking for jobs!  I experienced these kinds of scams in visa lotteries, travel agencies etc... but never came to my mind i would encounter that in the employment market. Anyway, hopefully i did the right researches to figure out what it is. Thank you shanafashyana for your response.

By sharing your experience, you are doing a great job as you are educating the readers. I really appreciate both of you

I hope it will be useful for others and that our experience can raise awareness. Nowadays, these online stuffs are becoming really scary...

Hello everyone,

I have been a victim of this scam. please avoid doing the following, or you will lose money as well.

1. Never ever call on the ph numbers provided on the email or their website. These are premium rate numbers. Dont ask me how I know........... obviously I had a phone bill of £130 for just making two calls and on the other end there was a recording saying " hello ....yes ....please speak loudly .....yes .....can't hear you properly ........line is not very clear ..........please call again. " and I called again ....ha ha . I clocked it because I found same distortion, same words and same pause between the sentence, so I disconnected. Called my mobile service provider and gave them the number I called, They confirmed that it was a premium rate number.

2. Never trust their details. These people hack the websites of the real companies and put their own details in (contact us) page. Due to my connections in Dubai with natives, I wanted them to teach them a lesson, so ask one of my contacts to go to the address mentioned on the web site and make sure you recover my money and make your day as well. But this address was also fake. I contacted the original company via email. The replied me back that They are not responsible for any happenings.

3. Fake contracts and offer letter; No company in the world will send you a job offer letter without having a good conversation with you after your interview. It is not easy in UAE to employ an expat and process his work visa from the Government. If some one asks for your passport copy and bank details, never reveal them.

UAE is a good place to work but it is a mine field.