130 people deceived by fake job advert at Bara hospital

About 130 desperate job seekers were duped when they applied for fictitious jobs at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, the Gauteng Department of Health said on Monday.

The department has subsequently warned the public about the emergence of a job advertisement scam in the province.

According to the department, some of the fake job advertisements asked applicants to pay an amount of money in exchange for employment.

The department said that no money is required to apply for jobs in the public service.

Department of Health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said the syndicate is exploiting the socioeconomic conditions of desperate people in the job market.

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"At face value, some of the adverts look legitimate until one starts scrutinising the content more closely. In the recent advert, an unusual call is made for schools around the province to share the message with unemployed residents.

"The department could not have made such a call on an advert issued during the Level 4 lockdown period as this would mean the request could not be implemented, given that schools are closed.

"Secondly, people are referred to the national website instead of the provincial site. Furthermore, the scammers used the name of a former employee as the person issuing the advert," said Kekana.

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Kekana said the department advertises vacancies through trustworthy platforms, such as the Gauteng online portal, the Department of Public Service and Administration's website, official social media platforms and mainstream newspapers.

"Moreover, employment applications are not faxed, rather they are either sent via post or dropped off physically at a designated hospital, clinic or any of our facilities in their original form for verification.

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"We plead with the public to be vigilant at all times and verify job advertisements that are circulated on social media platforms against those posted on the above-mentioned official sites."