The Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) has raised alarm over fake job adverts circulating on social media.
In a statement to Radio Tamazuj, FAO said there are fraudulent messages shared on Facebook and other platforms claiming that FAO is advertising jobs in South Sudan and it is calling for candidates to send their application to a private email address.
FAO says the adverts have been crafted to look like it originates from FAO, is fraudulent and may seek to extract money and/or personal details from the recipients of such correspondence.
"FAO wishes to disassociate itself from such activities and to warn the public of fraudulent schemes soliciting applications for internships or employment opportunities on behalf of FAO or of FAO officials," the statement reads in part. "FAO strongly recommends that prospective applicants and recipients carefully verify the authenticity of solicitations and offers before sending any response. Electronic communications should be disregarded if they originate from other than an FAO e-mail account – @fao.org – or website – fao.org."
It recommended that job seekers interested in FAO in South Sudan and abroad should use the only legitimate FAO employment Website accessible at this URL: www.fao.org/employment/vacancies/.
"The organization does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment whether at the application, interview, processing, or training stage, nor requires or needs to know any information relating to the bank account details of applicants. FAO conducts its procurement in accordance with transparent processes through the UN Global Market Place," the statement said. "Any request deviating from these standard practices should be rejected. Suspicious communications purportedly from, for, or on behalf of the FAO should be reported to FAO at the following email address abuse@fao.org."
FAO said fraudulent schemes may also be reported to the local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.