Beware of Job scams in the Automotive Industry

It was a day like any other. The sun rose, mom shouted, sleepy eyed I went to work, fell asleep in the bus, missed my stop, went to work late and the boss sent me a stinker of a mail. So, all was well in the balanced world that I lived in, until an e-mail knocked on the door of my address.

I am no stranger to spam mails, but this one was about a job opportunity. I am happy with the work I have in hand and was never looking to change (statement for the eyes of the boss) but this one was extremely intriguing.

The mail I received was from an unknown address which had a Word document attached to it. As I browsed through the document, I realized that I was shortlisted for a job with none other than Maruti Suzuki. How I was selected? Had I applied? Or who had applied on my behalf? I have no idea. I claim complete ignorance, but there was an e-mail in black and white with the header bearing the 'Maruti Suzuki' logo. For an ignorant eye, this document came straight from the company.

As I read through the matter, I saw that I was promised a job in the Marketing or Sales department and with a starting salary of Rs. 60000 - Rs. 200000. It went on to say that once I send all my details on the email address mentioned after which the process of my employment will begin. After this rosy picture was painted, there was a statement which said, "You have to deposit the (Cash) as an initial amount in favor of our company accountant name in charges to collect your payment department. For Rs. 15,200/- (Fifteen Thousand Two Hundred rupees) through any [STATE BANK OF INDIA] OR [ICICI BANK] Branch from your Home City to our Company accountant name in charges." And the bank details would be given to me when I respond to their mail.

It was a petty some to pay considering the salary that was on offer. You read ahead and realize that the letter is signed off by MD&CEO Shinzo Nakanishi. Interesting! Why would Maruti forget that their current CEO and MD is Kenichi Ayukawa?

I knew it from the beginning that the document was complete hokum but there are people out there who get caught up in this scam and at the end of the day don't have a job and lose all their money in the bargain.

In fact, even car manufacturers have posted these warnings on their website saying that 'they do not ask for money when recruiting people or do not recruit through a third party'. The warnings continue to run daily on the websites and the companies issue a statement every now and then alerting the people about such scams but as you can see, there is no end to it.

In such circumstances, you can do one of two things. Decide to take action or ignore it completely. You can forward such an email to the Corporate Communications department of a company and they will take the relevant action. While action is taken to minimize such scams, the fire is still to be put out completely.