NEW JOB SCAM IN MALAYSIA

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Dear Gravitas

i have job offer from 5 star hotel,but for the visa  (2 yeras )they have request to pay 50:50% around 10000 MYR.is this regular amount ?

You should pay NO money to get an employment pass in Malaysia.

It sounds like a job scam, also because foreigners from countries outside SE Asia are rarely employed in hotels, unless they are chefs, etc.

There are continually scams in the hospitality industry worldwide. The idea that the cost is actually RM20k and you are asked to pay half is total nonsense.

Gravitas is right. Hotel job scams are common in Malaysia and they ask you to pay for the Visa. They are so well set up that they have a number where you can call their Human resources person who is also part of the scam. The last one I heard about was for a job at The Gardens. Fortunately that person who had been contacted asked me to check it out and it was proved to be a scam.

These scammers are very clever, so if you suspect it seems a bit strange, find the hotel website in google and contact the Human Resources Department yourself and DO NOT call any numbers provided by the scammers. Also DO NOT send any money or documents.

Companies will NEVER ask you to pay for your Visa up front. And in any case, who would want to work for a company who did that? It is clearly a scam, so don't quit your current job.

Well, just curious, what is the amount the employer pays to get a Category 1, work permit done.

Where in the employee pays the amount needed to get the visa, attestation work back in his/her country from his pocket.

In my case I paid all the amount required to pay for the document attestation and visa fee from my pocket back in my country and my employer had paid the money for the work permit and others related to this process through their agent

The very basic alarm raiser would be a job offer from a public mail provider like Gmail n Yahoo. Any reputable company would not allow it's employees to use general mails.

This is very simple n basic thing which many of us already know but we fail to check especially in cases where there are lucrative job offers.

It's about hotel St.Regis,position General restaurant Manager.They want to pay by money gram transfer.
email from where i got the offer is The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur <career@thestregis-kl.com>.We had phone communication,but when i ask for Skype they did not answer.
the name of the HR Manager matching with the name of official web site.

The St. Regis can afford to pay your Visa.

Yeah the names will always match. But you need to be smarter than that. You can google St. Regis and call them and ask to speak to Human resources.

To put it bluntly - don't be so niaive. They would not be allowed to hire a foreigner for that position as there are plenty of local applicants and you don't even speak any of the local languages.

A job like that pays about RM2-3k per month.... Category I has a minimum salary of RM10k per month  and Category II has a minimum salary of RM5k per month. Category III has a minimum salary of RM2500 per month

Application charges - https://esd.imi.gov.my/portal/faq/myxpa … n-charges/

Employment Pass     RM 300.00    GST RM 18.00
Dependant Pass            RM 70.00    GST RM 4.20
Social Visit Pass (SVP)    RM 70.00    GST RM 4.20

(NOTE: The amount stated are solely for the expatriate application charges and exclude Immigration fees)

Jb Boban wrote:

It's about hotel St.Regis,position General restaurant Manager.They want to pay by money gram transfer.
email from where i got the offer is The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur <career@thestregis-kl.com>.We had phone communication,but when i ask for Skype they did not answer.
the name of the HR Manager matching with the name of official web site.

The St Regis KL e-mail addresses end in  "@Stregis.com" which tends to indicate that the e-mail you received is a scam e-mail.

That is so entrapping. Formally, upon the procedure I've experienced, the employer or its hired third party service provider will need to get VDR Letter and Approval Letter from EXPATRIATE SERVICES DIVISION of Immigration Department of Malaysia in advance of your first landing. With the two letters, you can apply a single entry VISA from your local Malaysian embassy or consulate. After landing in Malaysia, the employer will then take your passport to the department again to stamp the official working VISA on your passport and get an i-KAD for you.

Hopefully this could be helpful for whoever, as a foreigner, is about to work in Malaysia.

Rule of thumb is if you are asked to pay any money, just turn them down.

After paying from your side, did you finally get work permit/visa?

Hi sir /maam i am applying for a job in malaysia. The company named mps sdn bhd. Is it true that i am required to pay a personal bond worth RM1000 to get a visa

Thanks for ypur response in advance

Foreign Workers (Visitors Pass Temporary Employment) from the Philippines pay RM26 for their visa and a personal bond of RM1000 http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/foreign-worker.html

Is it a legal process maam to ask the applicant to pay for RM 1000

The employer should pay it, but FW employers usually make the employee pay it. There are threads on here where Filipinos interact so hit them up

is there a case here wherein the employee pay for the bond then suddenly the employment doesn't continue or in short they where scammed

Anything can happen. You could turn up for the job and get fired on day one as well. The Bond is usually paid post arrival but agents often take all the fees plus their charges up front. You need a medical and a VDR (single entry visa) to take up work here - is the recruiter mentioning these?

no never mention for medical but for vdr they mentioned it

at first they send me an appointment and probationary letter...after i send them back the appointment letter together with my passport scanned copy....after that they send me an employment pass and personal bond form..and again i send it back to them after signing it...then after how many days they send me an approval of employment pass from the malaysian immigration and ask me to pay for a bond for me to get a visa


is the process they use id appropriate maam/sir

You can't get the employment pass until after you arrive on a VDR in Malaysia and after having a medical in Philippines and Malaysia.

Approval usually takes several weeks. The approval letter is what you use to get the VDR at the Malaysian consulate in Philippines before travelling.

The Malaysian consulate will have a copy of the approval - if it is not a scam. Check with them.

Thanks for that maam

@Lemuel hi, in respond to your post about mps its a scam! I am one of the victims! Same what happens to yours, then after I have sent 1000RM theyre gone! I have my EP pass and personal bond receipt checked and it was NOT existing in the Immigration system. The job offered was Logistics Operation Manager. A certain person pretending the HR Manager is Sharifah then she will asked you to send the money for personal bond to a person name Juliana Tungga Anak Ensol please do not send money! I am tracking them currently and will soon travel to Malaysia to file a case.

Thank you for that maam it helps me alot

@elaine 28, it means that all the website they have in google are fake...because the contact no. Posted in the website is the same with the no. Used by sharifah to contact us...may God punish them for they are doing

Lemuelgacho wrote:

@elaine 28, it means that all the website they have in google are fake...because the contact no. Posted in the website is the same with the no. Used by sharifah to contact us...may God punish them for they are doing

Yes, this is the MPS that have scammed me and currently wanting to scam you http://mpstrading.net/AboutUs.html and check this one from where they have copied the logo,fax number and address http://www.modularpowersystems.com/contact.php

The +601 is a cellphone number not a landline.

I have informed the real MPS about this and I hope they will act on it. If you have friends in Malaysia do the same let them check the EP approval in the immigration so you will feel confident. My money is gone but I dont want to see another victim especially my fellow Filipinos.

Lemuelgacho wrote:

@elaine 28, it means that all the website they have in google are fake...because the contact no. Posted in the website is the same with the no. Used by sharifah to contact us...may God punish them for they are doing

Yes, this is the MPS that have scammed me and currently wanting to scam you http://mpstrading.net/AboutUs.html and check this one from where they have copied the logo,fax number and address http://www.modularpowersystems.com/contact.php

The +601 is a cellphone number not a landline.

I have informed the real MPS about this and I hope they will act on it. If you have friends in Malaysia do the same let them check the EP approval in the immigration so you will feel confident. My money is gone but I dont want to see another victim especially my fellow Filipinos.

PLEASE (for the sake of others) use these contacts and report all the details you have including contact numbers, names, companies etc.

http://ccid.my/en/contacts/

It is important to include how you got to know about the job. Report the website (advert if possible) or the agent who made contact

Lot of stuff like this happening

The Star Newspaper has announced another job scam, this time with Offers of Employment fraudulently said to come from University Malaya

PETALING JAYA: Scammers have been using Universiti Malaya's name to fool job seekers.

UM's Corporate Communications Office deputy director Shahzatul Ermiza Johol said e-mail with the subject “Employment offer letter from University of Malaya, Malaysia” has been sent to expatriates and job seekers.

She urged members of the public who received such e-mail not to respond as it is a scam.

All recruitment exercises by the university are made through its official channels and no third parties or agents are appointed, she said, adding that any communication from UM is sent using the e-mail domain@um.edu.my.

https://www.um.edu.my/home/scam-notice

TELL ME THE DETAILS OF IMMIGRATION MAIL ID SO THAT I CAN TELL THEM OF THIS

Ok, going back to the top, the first and only necessary clue to a scam is being asked to arrive on a tourist visa.

The rule is that you have to be outside first, then imported via the visa. Real employers would know that--thats the clue. In my case, years ago when I applied for a workpass to work in my own company,  I was already here and paid to Immigration RM700 for "Journey Performed" as the workaround for the visa request not coming from the embassy in my country.

SO, though I do understand how employment CAN occur while an expat is in the country, its not the method or way and therefore thats the clue to a scam.

Main thing is not to pay any money at all for anything at the beginning. The case in this thread seems to be OK now but in the future,  if asked for any payment, come in here and ask questions. It can be reported, as indicated above, but its unknown if the government really attacks the fraudsters or not.

Im very happy to help expats get to the bottom of cases so that real and honest employment can occur. I know how hard it is to get a good job, and how hard it is when you are trying from afar. The Police do have units dedicated to fraud but they tend to work the big cases and drug cases. Pressure from expats can help when there tends to be a focus on large numbers of employees by big name companies, like "Hewlett-Packard" advertising in mass emailings to India.

Of course, that doesnt help someone get a job and so my ongoing advice is to ignore all advertisings and emails, instead contact potential employers directly and seek a job. Here,  this is important. If you contact "Hewlett-Packard" and HR tells you that at your level of employment you must contact their recruiter, then OK you do that and do what that recruiter says. Thats the only time you should do anything not asked by the company itself. In the case of the St. Regis Hotel job, call the hotel yourself and verify there is even such a job available and if you may apply to them directly. I never would reply to any advertisement of any agent promising a job, no matter how honest or good it sounds.

There are also reports of job scams associated with the firm Accenture

It is important to read their instructions on how to verify an offer of employment is authentic

https://www.accenture.com/in-en/careers … ant-notice

I wish there was a way to track down and catch these creatures. If I could, i'd make them suffer badly and nobody would ever hear about it.

Go to the Police? I have little faith in them. They cant and wont respond to and investigate every complaint made to them. A police report really does nothing more than catalog the date of the complaint in case YOU need it later for some reason, like in a court case. Also, especially new expats should know that making a police report also implicates you. The theory is:
1. You are here
2. We have you
3. You know something about this
4. You might be lying to get an enemy in trouble
5. We smell the smoke, now where is the fire?
Be very careful how and if and when you use the police for anything and never insult or criticize them, even if its well-deserved. Generally, avoid them. Also, be aware there are also fake policemen around too, criminals posing as policemen, but this is off the topic.

Im not paranoid that everything is a scam, most things are not. But scams rise further in bad times, when trying to make an honest living just didnt work. So, dont be paranoid about a job offer but instead develop the ways to quickly verify an offer is real and in my mind thats with the company itself. If any information you gain doesnt sit right with you, just walk away.

ACCENTURE

There are also reports of job scams associated with the firm Accenture

It is important to read their instructions on how to verify an offer of employment is authentic

https://www.accenture.com/in-en/careers … ant-notice

Let's keep this thread alive with uptodate reporting or personal experiences of job scams.  They may include being asked to break immigration rules or pay money.

Im wondering if its better to try to expose the rats or list out the best defenses against them. The problem is that job seekers want to believe someone because they want a job, sometimes desperately and that causes mistakes and loss of time and money. For defenses to work expats also have to have the strength to follow them.