MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) took down over 71,000 fake and illegal job postings on Facebook and TikTok in 2024, it said in a statement.
In collaboration with the Philippine offices of Meta and TikTok, the DMW took down and deactivated 71,653 fake job postings and accounts in 2024, which included 50,220 dubious posts on Facebook, and 21,433 on TikTok.
In its original statement on Friday, January 17, the figure was around 30,000, but the DMW corrected it on Saturday, January 18, to over 70,000.
“As we find them, we take them down. Every illegal recruitment post we see online, we immediately report and coordinate with Facebook and TikTok for the deactivation of those accounts,” said Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac.
Cacdac said that these illegal recruiters pretend to be legitimate recruitment agencies by duplicating official Facebook pages of DMW-licensed agencies.
“There were duplications of accounts and pages of legitimate recruitment agencies on Facebook. We had a meeting with these agencies, and Facebook agreed to take down all these copycat sites,” said the DMW chief.
The DMW reiterated the department’s warning against fake overseas job postings by illegal recruiters and syndicates, which are proliferated on popular social media platforms.
One of the DMW’s mandates is to prevent and address illegal recruitment of would-be overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The department said it is also partnering with concerned government agencies, local government units, and social partners to monitor illegal recruitment schemes, and empower OFWs and aspiring OFWs against them.
“Filipino overseas job seekers are encouraged to be more cautious against dubious job offers on social media and always verify the legitimacy of their preferred agencies to avoid falling victim to internet-related modus operandi of these illegal recruiters,” the DMW said.
Illegal recruiters’ victimization of OFWs and would-be OFWs through social media platforms have been highly documented in recent years. In some Senate investigations of illegal recruitment cases, such as the Filipinos being recruited for cryptocurrency scam operations in Southeast Asia, the survivors testified finding the jobs online. The crypto scam victims said they responded to postings for “call center agents.”
The list of recruitment agencies licensed by the DMW can be accessed on its website.
The public can report any suspicious recruitment activities to the DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau through the following:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmwairtip/
- Email: mwpb@dmw.gov.ph
- Hotline number +63 2 8721-0619
– Rappler.com