Bengaluru Job Seekers Defrauded of Rs 8 Crore in Fake Azerbaijan Employment Scam

Around 20 young professionals in Bengaluru were defrauded of approximately Rs 40 lakh each, amounting to a total theft of nearly Rs 8 crore, by a fraudulent recruitment agency promising employment opportunities in Azerbaijan. The victims discovered the scam when they visited the agency's office to collect their promised travel documents, only to find the premises completely abandoned.

The candidates had been assured that their visas and flight tickets would be handed over to them just a few hours before their scheduled departure. However, as the departure day approached, the promised documents never arrived. When the anxious job seekers visited the agency’s office to seek answers, they found that the recruiters had vanished with the collected money.

According to police officials, the sophisticated recruitment fraud targeted young graduates and early-career professionals. The scammers made the hiring process appear unusually simple, bypassing skill verifications, detailed interviews, or technical assessments. Instead, they pressured the applicants into transferring large sums of money quickly, claiming the payment was sufficient to secure a visa, flight tickets, accommodation, and a high-paying job abroad.

To make the scheme convincing, the fraudsters used forged offer letters, fake company websites, and fraudulent social media advertisements. Some scammers even impersonated multinational corporations and reputed international employers, providing candidates with official-looking documents complete with logos and fabricated appointment letters.

K Anirudh, an HR professional, noted that fraudsters are increasingly misusing the names of reputed companies to attract unsuspecting candidates on digital platforms, making fake job advertisements difficult to identify.

Police officials stressed that the demand for excessive recruitment fees is a key warning sign. Under government regulations, registered overseas recruitment agents are not permitted to charge candidates more than Rs 30,000, excluding GST, for recruitment services.

To protect job seekers, authorities advise candidates to verify all recruiters through the Ministry of External Affairs' eMigrate database, which lists registered agents operating in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka, before making any payments.