Job seekers beware, for the next employment agency promising a brighter future may just be selling bullshit.
A surge of fraudulent employment agencies, particularly those recruiting people to work overseas, have caused the Department of Employment to issue warnings after it prosecuted 41 such agencies and 82 complicit parties this year amid a huge spike in arrests for related crimes, according to department head Sumet Mahosot.
The scam involves employment agents swindling people into paying them large amounts of money for their services. The scams are most prevalent in Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Lampang, Sukhothai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum and Lopburi, where demand for work is high. Most affected job seekers were looking for work in Japan, South Korea or Laos.
Employment scammers face fines up to THB200,000 or 10 years in jail for each case of fraud, according to state media.
