Dubai: Job-seekers who have paid to register on a Canadian-based recruitment website fear they have been conned.

The applicants who logged onto the site jobsindubai.com were promised jobs in the Gulf and the Middle East in reputed companies across the region. The website also featured a branch office address on Shaikh Zayed Road. However, applicants who went looking for the office said they were shocked to learn it did not exist.

"The company kept in touch with me through e-mail for sometime but all communication on their part came to an abrupt end. I have ample evidence to prove it. I tried calling them but to my utter surprise the telephone was disconnected. I then went to the company's Shaikh Zayed Road address that was listed on its website. I was told by the building security and the watchman that no such company existed," said Omer Shareef, an Indian.

There was no response when Gulf News tried to get in touch with the recruitment company on the contact number listed on its website. The site features detailed information on the services it offers, a list of employers, the process of applying and a company profile. It also features a well-tailored profile on Dubai.

The applicants said that they were required to submit a fully refundable application fee of $34 (Dh125) and $74 (Dh271) for non-residents of Canada or America.

"The fee was payable by draft or money order. An option was also given to us to pay online. A job was promised to me within a month. We were told the employers would contact us directly and that the company was just a facilitator," said Zafar Isiake, a Nigerian.

Another applicant who did not want to give his name said: "I have been in correspondence with this particular recruitment company for the last three months and now all of a sudden I fear that the whole thing must be just a scam," he said.

The building's watchman said he was tired of fielding telephone calls from people enquiring about the recruitment company.

"All enquiries come on the building's telephone number. It is turning out to be a headache. Each individual that I have held a conversation with said that they had come looking for a recruitment company located on the first floor.

"They told me that they had paid money online to a recruitment company. I have received at least a dozen people enquiring about a recruitment agency," he said.