Hundreds of African youths are falling prey to international job scams daily, risking enslavement and exploitation. In 2023, a shocking 16.7% of victims were sold by their own family members, according to A21, a South African NGO that works to fight human trafficking. The tactics used by traffickers are changing by the day, but how can you protect yourself from these glaring job scams?
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00:00Most people know the saying, when the deal is too good, think twice. But who has time to think
00:05twice, especially when the offer involves living abroad and good money at the end of the month?
00:11Many people from the continent still fall prey to job scams that promise hefty salaries abroad,
00:16only to end up in slavery or victims of sex trafficking. Why do such stories continue
00:21to happen despite efforts to break the cycle? Welcome to the flip side.
00:27Findile Mtetwa, a young South African woman, narrated to local media how she nearly got
00:32trafficked into sex work when she applied for a job as a waitress. Her suspicions only became
00:37clearer while she was on the phone with a recruiter who told her she would need to
00:41dress a certain way when hosting customers at a club. But human trafficking syndicates come in
00:47different forms. We have seen a percentage of victims who were sold by their family members,
00:53so in 2023, 16.7% of victims were sold by their own family members and 14.3% of victims were sold
01:02by friends. The Kenyan government recently issued a travel warning to its citizens for Myanmar,
01:08following a significant number of cases of human trafficking under the disguise of job adverts.
01:13This scam reportedly begins in major cities like Nairobi, where recruitment agencies advertise
01:19jobs in Thailand. The applicants are unaware that Thailand is only just a transit country.
01:24Those trafficked then find themselves in heavily guarded compounds across the border in Myanmar,
01:29where they are forced to work in cryptocurrency scams and other illegal jobs. What might be
01:35surprising is that not everyone gets recruited this way once they return home. Instead,
01:41they turn into allies of these cartel networks and traffic other Kenyans for a fee. I would say
01:47when looking for a job, the following red flags should always be, you should always be on the
01:53lookout for. So this could be unrealistic salaries. Also look for companies who use free email addresses
02:00such as Gmail or Yahoo. That's also very, it's also a red flag. And then also sometimes we find
02:08that the company is requesting an amount of money before the person starts working there.
02:14That is also another red flag. While it is unfair to criticize or condemn victims of such
02:19illegal schemes, there is a need to be extra vigilant and do due diligence regarding foreign
02:25job offers. After all, the old saying still holds, when the deal is too good, think twice.
02:32And that is the flip side.