Warning for OFWs in UK

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) warned all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to be wary of individuals recruiting workers bound for United Kingdom (UK). The Philippine Embassy in London reported to that an internet scam is targeting OFWs.

According to Edgardo Espiritu, Philippine Ambassador to UK, the scammers pretend to be officials of the British Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), a unit of the British Home Office. The BIA manages the migration of foreigners to UK.

Espiritu also added that the criminal syndicates carry the official address of the BIA in their internal communications but use email addresses obtained from commercial internet and email service providers. Added to that is they are using names of other British or Filipino government agencies in their deceitful activities.

Con artists asked the unsuspecting victim to pay for their service via the legitimate commercial money remittance service providers operating all over the major cities in the Philippines.

“Filipino workers who have received invitation to work in the United Kingdom through the internet are advised to consult with POEA to verify if the recruitment agency is licensed to deploy workers to the UK,” Espiritu said.

Espiritu also emphasize that if the artist asked them to settle their payments prior to their deployment, the transaction is considered suspicious and they should stop dealing with the recruiter.

Statistics shows that there are some 200,000 Filipinos mostly nurses and caregivers in the British national health system, in the United Kingdom.

The new Point-Based System in UK strictly monitors the entry of non-European Union workers.