Advisory of Ghana Consulate regarding Internet scams

The public is hereby warned about the proliferation of bogus companies which are victimizing Filipino jobseekers for nonexistent work in Ghana. Because of its strong economic development, Ghana is fast becoming a center of migration in Africa. As a result, offers of employment opportunities there abound, especially through the internet, that are, more often than not, mere scam operations.

These companies, which mostly hire directly by e-mail, offer salaries that are extremely beyond the normal rates, along with benefits that are too good to be true. When applicants are enticed by these compensations, they are then asked to shell out money for the processing of visa, travel and other documentation expenses, work and residence permits. Some even charge “diplomatic services fees” for an officer to personally come to the Philippines and stamp the visa and deliver travel documents to the applicants concerned.

Ghana’s Honorary Consul Ramon Z. Abad would like it to be known that the only legitimate organization issuing a visa for Ghana is its Consulate in the Philippines. “As far as we are concerned, we find invitations for work that ask payments for visa processing and other unscrupulous expenses as scams,” Consul Abad said.

Job applicants for Ghana are therefore advised to inquire first with the Ghana Consulate if they have doubts about the existence and legal operations of the companies that are recruiting them before spending anything on their applications.