Dubai: Scam artists targeting health professionals with bogus job offers have become more brazen.
In the latest incident, they plagiarised the website of Dubai’s popular Cedars Jebel International Hospital (www.cedars-jaih.com) to lure people into “high-paying jobs” at the fictitious Chiron Hospital (chironhp.com), supposedly located in Jumeirah Lake Towers.
As it turns out, there is no Chiron Hospital in Dubai or for that matter anywhere in the world. The only place Chiron Hospital exists is online.
On Thursday, Gulf News reported about a similar scam where con men stole contents from a private hospital in Oman, and created a website for the non-existent Al Kaka Hospital with a purported Abu Dhabi address, to scam jobseekers.
Several people, including a doctor based in Spain fell for the racket. Dr Z.E. is among many others who ended up paying Dh9,860 towards a “visa processing fee” and other charges for lucrative jobs at the fake hospital. But now the con men, apparently from the same gang, have picked a ‘ghost’ Dubai hospital.
While the setting has changed, the modus operandi of their well-orchestrated recruitment scam remains the same.
Yet again, scores of job seekers worldwide have received offer letters promising them attractive salaries and a slew of perks including monthly entertainment and recreation allowances.
Dr Emile from Uganda for instance, has been offered a monthly pay of Dh20,500 plus Dh15,500 in allowances for a general practitioner’s position at Chiron. Similarly, South African Kalonji Mbula, Indian Asha S. and Filipina B. Lihat have been lured with a bait of Dh16,500 each for nurse’s positions.
Additional “benefits” include a weekly allowance of Dh1500, Dh6,000 monthly towards car maintenance and travel, and Dh19,000 annually for home furnishing. If this were not good enough, all employees have been offered fully free, furnished accommodation including three- and five-bedroom villas.
To avail of these dream jobs, candidates have been asked to make a refundable security deposit of $1,190 (Dh4,355) with Chiron’s Hospital’s logistics agent — in this case, a recruitment agency supposedly located in Palm Jumeirah. This money, candidates are told, will cover their visa application and residence permit fees.
If previous scams modelled on similar lines are anything to go by, the candidates will never hear from the Chiron or its “logistics agent” firm once they make the bank transfers.
