Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), a division of state-owned logistics company Transnet SOC, is once again warning the public against scams promising employment with the company in exchange for payment.
Job seekers are still paying money to fraudsters in the belief that they will be employed by Transnet. They are being scammed by unknown persons, using information from legitimate Transnet vacancy ads and requesting payment to secure the advertised positions.
Ngqura Port Manager, Tandi Lebakeng, said Transnet undertook regular campaigns in the media, on social media and across its operating divisions to try to warn vulnerable jobseekers against these scams.
“We empathise with the latest victims and have encouraged them to report these matters urgently to SAPS. We will also lodge a case with the police because the safety and security of one of our own recruiters has now been threatened. However, we state categorically that it is external fraudsters taking money from victims and this had nothing to do with Transnet,” she said.
Lebakeng said there were recurring scams that occurred in various forms and Transnet is not the only major company to be preyed upon. SAPS continues to investigate these incidents.
“Very often these victims are desperate jobseekers who truly believe that they are securing employment with us, which is unfortunate. However, we are quite clear in urging the public to practise caution and to familiarise themselves with the correct procedures for seeking employment with Transnet. No bona fide Transnet vacancy will ever require payment of any kind from a jobseeker,” she said.
The modus operandi of the scammers over the years has included using the names of actual Transnet personnel, which are easily obtained from legitimate Transnet advertisements.
Other scammers set up false social media profiles in the name of senior Transnet representatives with the aim of extorting money from vulnerable jobseekers.
A number of external websites and social media pages often advertise positions extracted from the Transnet portal on their own channels. There have also been scams where false Transnet jobs are advertised on various external websites and when people respond, arrangements are made for them to collect fraudulent application forms in exchange for money and the promises of jobs with the company.
The safest method of obtaining information about Transnet jobs is to refer to the Transnet careers portal (http://www.transnet.net/Career/Pages/Career.aspx) or advertisements in recognised national print publications.
How not to be a Transnet job scam victim
Following these tips will also help you to avoid becoming a victim:
- Know that Transnet only advertises vacancies via
- its official online career portal on the Transnet website (www.transnet.net),
- via recruitment agencies
- in national print media / newspapers.
- Via official Transnet company pages on LinkedIn only
- Application forms can only be found on the Transnet website or can be collected from an official Transnet Human Resources department, not from anywhere else e.g. public places or external collection points.
- Transnet does not under any circumstances request payment from job applicants for applications, medicals or uniforms
- All Transnet email addresses must end with @transnet.net
- No Transnet recruiter will ever share their cell number. Only office numbers are provided on Transnet vacancy adverts – never employees’ cell phone numbers.
- All Transnet employment adverts should include grade levels (A, B, C, etc) and reference numbers for ease of tracking on the website
- No official Transnet job ad will ever include a salary scale
- Application forms will never be pre-completed on an application form.
- All applicants must provide the vacancy reference number as it appears on the advertisement when responding.
- All due diligence is followed by Transnet’s human resources departments when positions are advertised.
Members of the public are requested to report any fraudulent activity on Transnet’s toll free fraud hotline on 0800 003 056, email to transnet@tip-offs.com or fax to 0800 00 77 88. They may also contact SAPS if they have any information related to this issue.