Falling victim to a scam is nothing new to anyone. However, there is a new kind of scam floating around and it is directly aimed at teachers. You have all heard of jobs in which people are scammed. Several teachers are falling scam to a job in which they are being offered work overseas. Several companies are legitimately offering work to those who would like to work overseas. Apparently, there are many jobs in which are not legit and many teachers are easily falling prey, according to The National.

Law enforcement is encouraging those who are thinking of working overseas to check and double check the legitimacy of the job position. It’s amazing how people are falling prey to these job ads and law enforcement is keeping a close eye on the schools who are offering these types of positions. A trick that many of the companies are using is pretending that they are a popular school. For example, many people have been approached with jobs offers to work for Dubai British School. “Many of the victims email us to let us know that the name of the principal is being used or that they have become suspicious of the communications they are receiving,” said Mark Ford, head of DBS. We started to get a few suspicious emails in early 2009, which became more frequent by June 2009,” added Mr Ford.

A lot of teachers are aiming to go overseas and begin teaching ESL. This means that they will teach English as a second language to people who do not speak English. The person applying for the job will usually receive an email claiming to be the principal of the school. Upon correspondence, the potential employee will be asked to give money for work permits and even hand over their passport information. Several other schools like British School Al Khubairat have also been used as fake schools. “These scams are going on all the time online,” he said. “We got a few emails from people to check out the authenticity of the offer. We do not advertise for ESL teachers.” states the principal from British School Al Khubairat.

One person who actually started looking for a position with one of these schools stated that is looked official. Allen Hermiston, 53, from Canada, “When they asked for money, I looked up the school on the internet and contacted them,” he said. “I did not send money but did give them personal information and my resume.” However, others were not so lucky and have sent thousands of dollars. If you are ever in doubt about the legitimacy of a school or company, make sure to check them out thoroughly. Once you send them this information, it’s very hard to get it back. Research the school and contact them directly if there is any question about their legitimacy.