Police yesterday warned the public to be wary of a text scam that targets job-seekers.
Police issued the warning following the arrest of Vasil Baylosis, who was accused of duping Mae Marie Grace Parba.
Parba was one of the participants in the May 15 job fair at the Phan-Phil Sports Complex in Liloan town.
Baylosis, who lives in the town, pretended to be one of the applicants in the job fair.
While waiting to be interviewed, Baylosis copied the contact numbers of the applicants from a registration form that they had filled up, Senior Insp. Ramil Morpos, chief of the Casuntingan police station, said.
Last May 15, Parba told police that she received a text message informing her that she has been hired by Prince Warehouse Club.
Parba said the sender told her to send P1,160 for her medical and processing fees.
Parba sent the money to the sender through a money remittance center.
Parba was later instructed to proceed to the Hi-Precision Diagnostic Center in Mandaue City and look for a certain Jessa.
Parba later found out that the company didn’t have a worker named Jessa.
Parba said she then received another text message from the sender who asked for an additional amount of P1,000 before she could start working.
Parba and the sender, who turned out to be Baylosis, met last Monday afternoon in a pizza parlor in M.L. Quezon Street in barangay Cabancalan, Mandaue.
Parba was accompanied by her live-in partner.
Parba said she gave the money to the man but she became suspicious when Baylosis gave inconsistent statements as to when she could start working.
Parba alerted her live-in-partner, who contacted the Casuntingan police.
Baylosis was later brought to the police station.
After learning about the arrest, Benjie Demecillo, account officer of Paramount Human Resources Services, which was one of the companies that joined the job fair, went to the police station.
Demecillo said they received complaints from applicants that they received text messages informing them that they have been hired by the company.
Demecillo said successful applicants are not asked to pay processing fees and are instead advised to directly report to the company for their final interview and IQ examination./REPORTER JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS