News / National
Nurses fall prey to bogus recruitment agency
20 Sep 2015 at 09:56hrs | Views
SCORES of desperate people could have fallen prey to a bogus nurses recruitment agency after being duped into paying substantial sums of money after being promised nursing jobs in Victoria Falls. The bogus agent placed an advert a few weeks ago in the Press, inviting applications from registered nurses to apply so that they could be employed at an unnamed organisation in the resort town.
A number of unsuspecting nurses responded to the advert and sent their curriculum vitaes with "successful" applicants being made to transfer their bus fare through a mobile money transfer system for booking a bus that was to take them to their new work station.
However, a majority of the nurses later discovered that they had been duped after spending prolonged hours waiting for the bus at the proposed pick-up point near Tredgold Building in Bulawayo.
The nurses later made a report to the police after it dawned on them that they had been tricked.
Bulawayo police acting spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednego Ncube confirmed receiving a report to that effect and said investigations were still underway
"Indeed we are investigating such reports. At the moment we have not made any arrest in connection with the matter," said Asst Insp Ncube.
One of the affected nurses who spoke to Sunday News on condition of anonymity after filing a report at Bulawayo Central Police Station confirmed that a number of people were duped.
"These people placed an advert in the newspaper that they were looking for registered nurses to take up posts at a private organisation in Victoria Falls.
"They asked candidates to phone the number which they had placed on the advert. When I phoned one of the numbers I spoke to a Mr Gomo who directed me to send my CV," he said.
"After about two days I received a message from him that my application was successful and was asked to send $25 which was meant to secure a seat in a bus from Harare.
"He told me to transfer money through EcoCash to a Mr Mandisiira who in turn sent me a message that my seat number was 28 and advised me to wait for the bus near Tregdold Building as it was coming from Harare."
He said on the day of travel he went to the pick up point but the bus did not arrive until the late hours.
"That is when I asked from touts whether they knew anything about this bus company and they advised me that there was no such a bus that picks passengers from that point.
"While I was still talking to the touts I discovered that there were other people like me who were waiting for the bus and we discovered that we were given the same seat number.
"It then dawned on us that we had been duped," he said.
He said he then phoned Gomo to ask about the issue but he terminated the call and switched off the phone.
Sunday News has been trying to call the number purported to be that of Gomo but it has not been going through.
A number of unsuspecting nurses responded to the advert and sent their curriculum vitaes with "successful" applicants being made to transfer their bus fare through a mobile money transfer system for booking a bus that was to take them to their new work station.
However, a majority of the nurses later discovered that they had been duped after spending prolonged hours waiting for the bus at the proposed pick-up point near Tredgold Building in Bulawayo.
The nurses later made a report to the police after it dawned on them that they had been tricked.
Bulawayo police acting spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednego Ncube confirmed receiving a report to that effect and said investigations were still underway
"Indeed we are investigating such reports. At the moment we have not made any arrest in connection with the matter," said Asst Insp Ncube.
One of the affected nurses who spoke to Sunday News on condition of anonymity after filing a report at Bulawayo Central Police Station confirmed that a number of people were duped.
"These people placed an advert in the newspaper that they were looking for registered nurses to take up posts at a private organisation in Victoria Falls.
"After about two days I received a message from him that my application was successful and was asked to send $25 which was meant to secure a seat in a bus from Harare.
"He told me to transfer money through EcoCash to a Mr Mandisiira who in turn sent me a message that my seat number was 28 and advised me to wait for the bus near Tregdold Building as it was coming from Harare."
He said on the day of travel he went to the pick up point but the bus did not arrive until the late hours.
"That is when I asked from touts whether they knew anything about this bus company and they advised me that there was no such a bus that picks passengers from that point.
"While I was still talking to the touts I discovered that there were other people like me who were waiting for the bus and we discovered that we were given the same seat number.
"It then dawned on us that we had been duped," he said.
He said he then phoned Gomo to ask about the issue but he terminated the call and switched off the phone.
Sunday News has been trying to call the number purported to be that of Gomo but it has not been going through.
Source - sundaynews
