NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Labour officials in this northeastern province have launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from eight people in Chum Phuang district that they had fallen victim to a job scammer.
They said they were cheated out of about 140,000 baht in total by a person who offered job placements in South Korea via Facebook.
Nithi-orn Boonuyanusit led a team of officials from the provincial employment office to interview the eight people at a house in Chum Phuang district on Sunday morning.
Boonlert Artdee, 36, one of the job seekers, told the officials that in December 2017 she saw a Facebook page created under the name of "Kongphop Pongkhamla". The man claimed to be able to secure jobs in the farm sector in South Korea.
Mrs Boonlert started a Facebook chat with the man, who told her that she and anyone else interested should apply for a passport and send it to him, along with 17,000 baht each for an air ticket and 'management fee'.
She and five relatives each transferred 17,000 baht to an account at Siam Commercial Bank, Ramkhamhaeng branch, opened by Kongphop Pongkhamla.
Later two other people from Khon Kaen province followed suit, this time sending 20,000 baht each into the account.
They were told by the man that they were to leave for South Korea on Dec 15, 2017. But shortly before that day, the man deleted his Facebook page and disappeared, Mrs Boonlert said.
Mrs Nithi-orn, the employment office official, said job scams have been rampant in social media.
She said job seekers should check for more information with provincial offices of the Employment Department to avoid being deceived.