A fake online advert offering employment at giant beverage company Coca-Cola is scamming job seekers in Kenya out of money.
It was first posted on the Facebook page Coca-Cola Kenya Jobs on 3 September 2018, claiming there were over 1,700 open vacancies.
The latest fraudulent ad, offering 1,500 vacancies, was posted on 13 March 2019 on the imposter Facebook page Coca-cola Company KE.
It’s similar to other fake ads flagged by Africa Check in March 2019, such as for Tuskys, Choppies Kenya, Huduma Kenya, Kenya Revenue Authority and East Africa Breweries Limited. All required some kind of “application fee”.
Like the other ads, it links to a Google Form. This one is titled “Coca-Cola Company Kenya Job Application Form” and instructs applicants how to apply.
It reads: “All first time applicants must pay a registration fee of KSh350 only which is REFUNDABLE if you don’t qualify to get a job. (The KSh350 will be used to cater for the Induction Process & Coca-Cola Membership Loyalty Card and training for those who will qualify to work with us).”
The adverts were posted on the fake Facebook pages Coca-Cola Kenya Jobs, which has 1,200 followers, and Coca-cola Company KE, which has only 56 followers.
The real Coca-Cola Kenya Facebook page Coca-Cola (@cocacolake) is verified and has more than 107.5 million followers. (In other countries it redirects to the local Coca-Cola page.)
Africa Check asked the Coca-Cola Company if they were aware of the adverts.
Their consumer care office emailed back: “The Coca-Cola Company is in no way associated with such a recruitment exercise. Be informed that our name and trademarks are being used deceptively in these communications.”
It advised job-seekers who had already fallen for the scam to cut communication with the fraudsters and report them to the police.
“If you have already responded to these persons via telephone calls, email or letters, we recommend that you immediately discontinue all communications with them and contact your local authorities or police.”
The company said people looking for jobs at Coca-Cola would be able to find real employment ads on their official social media channels, website and in the media. And, they said, applicants were not required to pay any fee.
“Please note that genuine Coca-Cola vacancies are advertised through mass media e.g. newspapers our official social media pages and on our official website via the link https://www.coca-colacompany.com/careers and the application procedure usually spelt therein.
“As a company we highly uphold integrity and canvassing for any job positions or tenders at Coca-Cola or with any of our bottling partners in the country may lead to automatic disqualification,” the statement said. – Dancan Bwire (10/04/2019)
It was first posted on the Facebook page Coca-Cola Kenya Jobs on 3 September 2018, claiming there were over 1,700 open vacancies.
The latest fraudulent ad, offering 1,500 vacancies, was posted on 13 March 2019 on the imposter Facebook page Coca-cola Company KE.
It’s similar to other fake ads flagged by Africa Check in March 2019, such as for Tuskys, Choppies Kenya, Huduma Kenya, Kenya Revenue Authority and East Africa Breweries Limited. All required some kind of “application fee”.
Like the other ads, it links to a Google Form. This one is titled “Coca-Cola Company Kenya Job Application Form” and instructs applicants how to apply.
It reads: “All first time applicants must pay a registration fee of KSh350 only which is REFUNDABLE if you don’t qualify to get a job. (The KSh350 will be used to cater for the Induction Process & Coca-Cola Membership Loyalty Card and training for those who will qualify to work with us).”
‘Coca-Cola not associated with recruitment exercise’
The adverts were posted on the fake Facebook pages Coca-Cola Kenya Jobs, which has 1,200 followers, and Coca-cola Company KE, which has only 56 followers.
The real Coca-Cola Kenya Facebook page Coca-Cola (@cocacolake) is verified and has more than 107.5 million followers. (In other countries it redirects to the local Coca-Cola page.)
Africa Check asked the Coca-Cola Company if they were aware of the adverts.
Their consumer care office emailed back: “The Coca-Cola Company is in no way associated with such a recruitment exercise. Be informed that our name and trademarks are being used deceptively in these communications.”
It advised job-seekers who had already fallen for the scam to cut communication with the fraudsters and report them to the police.
“If you have already responded to these persons via telephone calls, email or letters, we recommend that you immediately discontinue all communications with them and contact your local authorities or police.”
Where to find Coca-Cola job ads
The company said people looking for jobs at Coca-Cola would be able to find real employment ads on their official social media channels, website and in the media. And, they said, applicants were not required to pay any fee.
“Please note that genuine Coca-Cola vacancies are advertised through mass media e.g. newspapers our official social media pages and on our official website via the link https://www.coca-colacompany.com/careers and the application procedure usually spelt therein.
“As a company we highly uphold integrity and canvassing for any job positions or tenders at Coca-Cola or with any of our bottling partners in the country may lead to automatic disqualification,” the statement said. – Dancan Bwire (10/04/2019)
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