Commercial Bank Qatar has alerted people to raise awareness regarding the recent fake cheque scam that victimizes job seekers.

Typically, a job vacancy is posted online seeking candidates as 'Personal Assistants', to aid in the receiving of fake cheques and encashing them to defraud customers.

A part-time job is offered by the fraudster that requires the candidate to receive donations from donors in the form of cheques. The offer made to the candidate includes an attractive salary, plus a commission for encashing the cheques.

Active current account holders are the type of candidates that are sought by the fraudsters; particularly, those that are willing to receive the donations and clear the cheques on their behalf. Courier companies are the most common means of sending fake cheques. Upon receiving the cheques, the victims are directed to deposit the cheques into their personal accounts and then send back money through the means of Western Union after deducting the commission amount for the work they have done.

The following guidelines have been encouraged to protect yourself:

• Be alert or cautious if you received a cheque from an unknown person and are asked to send money back as fund transfer or gift card.
• Do not accept or send money if you are unaware of the person who has written the cheque and you are unaware of the purpose. If the cheque happens to be fraudulent you could be liable and also subject to criminal action.
• Any suspected scams to be reported to the number +974 4449 5095

Source & Cover Image Credit: Commercial Bank Qatar

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Fareeha Imtiaz

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