If it looks too good to be true it probably is
There are various types of cruise fraud, but they almost all depend on the offer of jobs that require no qualifications or training, but which will pay high wages or attract large tips.
The main type involves a promise of work in return for a bribe or payment. This may be disguised as an agency or registration fee or, increasingly, as payment for a medical examination, visa, passport processing or bank transfer that is only asked for when you think you’re on the point of getting the job.
It may be made to look like something you have to pay a government department, clinic or bank, or you may be asked for money for airfares to join a ship and promised you’ll get the money back when you’re arrive. YOU WILL NOT
How do I spot a recruitment fraud on Facebook?
- Facebook profile will contain irrelevant posts or photos that do not relate to the person. Ask yourself this question; why would a cruise ship company use this person and Facebook to recruit people?
- The email address to contact is NOT a company email address. Authentic email addresses will have the company name as part of it, for example ???@princess.com and will not have numbers are part of it, for example princesscruises123@gmail.com, and will NOT be a Gmail or yahoo address.
- The international dialling code does not look right and is for a country that have does not traditionally have cruise enterprises based there. Look up the international dialling code and ask yourself this question; why would a major cruise vessel company use someone in this country to recruit new staff?
- Once you have accepted the fake job offer, they will ask for a one-off payment, possibly towards the cost of transport to the ship, or a visa fee administrative cost. Do not pay anything because if you do, they will keep coming back for more, promising each time is the last time and warning that if you don’t make one final contribution you will lose what you have already paid. They will not stop until they have taken everything.
- Requesting advance payments for work on ships is prohibited under Maritime Labour Convention 2006, (MLC), so you should not be asked for one.
How do they get away with it?
By using believable Facebook profiles with high quality photographs from cruise vessels they appear to be credible and legitimate. Profile photos on these accounts can look like someone working on a cruise vessel, but they have been taken from someone
If you have any questions or concerns regarding a job or job offer, you can contact us via email at jobscam@itf.org.uk
Who should I avoid?
We could give a list of the companies, websites and individuals we have exposed but it would quickly become out of date. It’s important to remember that the criminals who run them are easily able to change their company names from one week to the next. They can also use a name that is close to, or the same as, a legitimate enterprise (but with a different address or bank or Western Union transfer details.) As long as governments leave them un-checked they’ll keep trying to take money from honest seafarers.
How do I know who to trust?
Remember the golden rule – if the job looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is
The major cruise ship companies do not use individuals or companies to advertise job vacancies on Facebook. Most of them have dedicated pages on their websites, which list the vacancies or directs you to an authorised crewing agency.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding a job or job offer, you can contact us via email at jobscam@itf.org.uk