A qualified nurse who has been unemployed for two years thought he had a stroke of luck when he received a call for a job interview hours after he had applied for a post advertised online.
Albert Gina then travelled almost 150km to the interview at Lydenburg Hospital in Mpumalanga, only to find that he was one of several people who had fallen for a scam by an alleged jobs-for-cash syndicate.
The scam offers jobs at public hospitals. Unlike others, Gina's suspicions made him delay paying the R800 the scammer had asked for in exchange for the job.
Yesterday, Mpumalanga MEC for health Gillion Mashego issued a warning to desperate job-seekers not to fall victim to the scam.
This came after three victims reported it to Lydenburg Hospital recently. It is believed that more people could have been affected.
Gina, 43, a married father of three from Elukwatini in Mpumalanga, had been struggling to find employment after getting his qualification as an auxiliary nurse in 2015.
"My sister told me about a nursing post advertised on Gumtree in March. I saw the advert and immediately sent my application," said Gina.
He later received a call from the scammer who told him that the job had been confirmed but that Gina needed to go to the interview the following day.
"While on the way to Lydenburg, he [the scammer] called me saying I would have to pay R800 to secure accommodation. I became suspicious but I wanted to meet him in person before paying," Gina said.
When he got to the hospital he was told that no such job had been advertised. Gina spent that night in the patients' waiting room. The next day the scammer told Gina to pay him R1500 to secure the job.
"Police tried to trap him but he disappeared before I could give him the R1500. His cell number can not be traced as the simcard was not registered," Gina said.
Mashego said the imposter posts job offers using the department's logo . No jobs were currently advertised, he said, adding that the department usually advertises with reputable media houses.
"We have alerted our law enforcement agencies."
Desperate nurses warned of jobs scam
A qualified nurse who has been unemployed for two years thought he had a stroke of luck when he received a call for a job interview hours after he had applied for a post advertised online.
Albert Gina then travelled almost 150km to the interview at Lydenburg Hospital in Mpumalanga, only to find that he was one of several people who had fallen for a scam by an alleged jobs-for-cash syndicate.
The scam offers jobs at public hospitals. Unlike others, Gina's suspicions made him delay paying the R800 the scammer had asked for in exchange for the job.
Yesterday, Mpumalanga MEC for health Gillion Mashego issued a warning to desperate job-seekers not to fall victim to the scam.
This came after three victims reported it to Lydenburg Hospital recently. It is believed that more people could have been affected.
Gina, 43, a married father of three from Elukwatini in Mpumalanga, had been struggling to find employment after getting his qualification as an auxiliary nurse in 2015.
"My sister told me about a nursing post advertised on Gumtree in March. I saw the advert and immediately sent my application," said Gina.
He later received a call from the scammer who told him that the job had been confirmed but that Gina needed to go to the interview the following day.
"While on the way to Lydenburg, he [the scammer] called me saying I would have to pay R800 to secure accommodation. I became suspicious but I wanted to meet him in person before paying," Gina said.
When he got to the hospital he was told that no such job had been advertised. Gina spent that night in the patients' waiting room. The next day the scammer told Gina to pay him R1500 to secure the job.
"Police tried to trap him but he disappeared before I could give him the R1500. His cell number can not be traced as the simcard was not registered," Gina said.
Mashego said the imposter posts job offers using the department's logo . No jobs were currently advertised, he said, adding that the department usually advertises with reputable media houses.
"We have alerted our law enforcement agencies."
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