“Canadian government job recruitment 2022,” reads the headline of a message circulating on WhatsApp in Nigeria.
The message was also posted on some Facebook pages.
It includes an application link for people interested in migrating to Canada and says applicants must be older than 16 and able to speak basic English.
The message claims that the recruitment programme is run by the Canadian government and covers travel expenses, housing and “medical facilities”.
Is this true? We checked.
Signs of an online scam
The link in the message leads to a poorly designed web page where visitors are asked to provide basic contact information.
The text on the website contains grammatical errors, a sign that it was not designed by professionals who would typically handle communications for the Canadian government.
Although it has been reported in the press that the Canadian government plans to welcome 431,645 immigrants in 2022 as permanent residents, there are no mainstream media reports about any government plan to recruit 450,000 foreign workers.
The alleged recruitment was also not shared by the verified Twitter handle of the Canadian high commission to Nigeria.
In September 2021, the Canadian government published an article warning migrant hopefuls to beware of fraudsters and provided tips on how to spot fake immigration websites.
All signs point to this being a scam recruitment aimed at collecting people’s personal information. It is not in any way linked to the Canadian government.
For more tips, also read our guide on how to spot online scams here.
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