The Facebook page “Jobs learnership and bursary III” has posted a series of messages offering jobs at South Africa-based companies such as Coca-Cola, Transnet and Spar.
But like its namesake, “Jobs learnership and bursary” – which Africa Check has found to be a scam page – it only offers fake jobs. The messages are a ploy to drive traffic to a website that likely earns money from ad revenue.
We have investigated many job ads that use this tactic. Here are some of the telltale signs.
Facebook transparency records show the page “Jobs learnership and bursary III” was created in March 2018 with the name “All Jobs, Bursaries, Vacancies and Learnerships Here”.
Each post has a link to a page where users can supposedly apply for a job. But the links do not take you to a retailer’s or official employment website. Instead, you are taken to a basic-looking website called Careers23 – a play on the name of the legitimate jobs portal Careers24.
There is no real way to apply for a job from Careers23. The site is filled with pop-up ads and colourful banners which likely earn the website owner money. Read our in-depth investigation into how this works here.
A number of red flags appear in the details of the posts themself. For example, the ad for a job at Coca-Cola and Transnet says applicants can expect to earn R7,000 a month, with a monthly bonus of R2,500 and an annual bonus of R30,000. And applicants don’t need any experience to apply.
While there are some jobs in South Africa that require less experience, it is rare to be offered a salary that high without having any experience at all.
Remember that if a job ad seems too good to be true, it probably is. Read our guide to Facebook scams for other pointers. – Africa Check
But like its namesake, “Jobs learnership and bursary” – which Africa Check has found to be a scam page – it only offers fake jobs. The messages are a ploy to drive traffic to a website that likely earns money from ad revenue.
We have investigated many job ads that use this tactic. Here are some of the telltale signs.
Dead end links
Facebook transparency records show the page “Jobs learnership and bursary III” was created in March 2018 with the name “All Jobs, Bursaries, Vacancies and Learnerships Here”.
Each post has a link to a page where users can supposedly apply for a job. But the links do not take you to a retailer’s or official employment website. Instead, you are taken to a basic-looking website called Careers23 – a play on the name of the legitimate jobs portal Careers24.
There is no real way to apply for a job from Careers23. The site is filled with pop-up ads and colourful banners which likely earn the website owner money. Read our in-depth investigation into how this works here.
Interrogate the details
A number of red flags appear in the details of the posts themself. For example, the ad for a job at Coca-Cola and Transnet says applicants can expect to earn R7,000 a month, with a monthly bonus of R2,500 and an annual bonus of R30,000. And applicants don’t need any experience to apply.
While there are some jobs in South Africa that require less experience, it is rare to be offered a salary that high without having any experience at all.
Remember that if a job ad seems too good to be true, it probably is. Read our guide to Facebook scams for other pointers. – Africa Check
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