Employment fraud: 5 nabbed over N’Eliya DS forgery
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Five people, including a 70-year-old man from Jaffna and operators of communication centres in Nuwara Eliya, Hatton and Kotagala, have been arrested for allegedly collecting money from residents by promising Government jobs, housing and loans using forged Nuwara Eliya District Secretariat (DS) documents.
The arrests were made by the Nuwara Eliya Divisional Crime Investigation Unit, which also seized several forged seals, official letterheads and computers allegedly used to produce the fraudulent documents.
The suspects had allegedly posed as the Acting Accountant and Planning Director of the DS and forged the signatures of relevant officials, including District Secretary Thushari Tennakoon.The forged documents came to light after several individuals who had paid money to the suspects sent letters to Tennakoon seeking responses to documents issued to them. The letters contained forged signatures and official seals.The suspects had allegedly collected money from residents in Hatton and Kotagala with the assistance of several others in the areas and issued letters bearing forged seals on official letterheads as proof of the amounts collected.
Following the discovery, Tennakoon lodged a complaint with the Unit, which subsequently commenced an investigation.
Speaking about the incident, Tennakoon said money had also been collected from residents for various events organized using her name and that of the Additional District Secretary.She said the suspects had allegedly informed event organizers that she would attend the relevant events and later telephoned them to say that she was unable to attend due to an unavoidable reason, while instructing them to proceed with the meetings.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has warned the public about a fraudulent website misusing the Bureau’s name, official logo and photographs to promote purported free employment opportunities in Israel and collect personal information from prospective job seekers.
The SLBFE said the fraudulent scheme involved the unauthorized use of its identity to impersonate the institution and could pose a serious cybersecurity threat.
The fraudulent link is being circulated through social media, presenting information in a manner that could lead the public to believe that it is an official SLBFE-approved recruitment process for employment opportunities in Israel.Users who access the link are directed to an online application form requesting personal information, including their full name, date of birth, National Identity Card number, gender and mobile telephone number.The SLBFE warned that the unauthorized collection of such information through an unverified online form could expose individuals to risks including phishing, identity theft, impersonation, fraudulent data collection, social engineering and misuse of personal information.
The Bureau said the scheme appeared to target young people seeking employment opportunities in Israel, potentially with the intention of obtaining and misusing their personal information.It advised job seekers and members of the public not to provide personal information through such links, websites or unverified online forms.
The SLBFE has lodged a complaint with the Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) regarding the fraudulent activity, and necessary action is being taken.
The Bureau urged prospective applicants for employment in Israel to exercise caution and obtain information on recruitment opportunities only through official SLBFE channels and verified sources.
