Persons Urged to be Cautious in Responding to Job Offers

Persons are being urged to take care in responding to advertised jobs, as human traffickers are using this as a scheme to lure persons into exploitation.

According to Manager of the Trafficking in Persons Secretariat, Keshia West, traffickers are using local newspapers to offer jobs that don’t exist, and the public must be aware of the dangers that they might face if they respond to the ads.

He said that recently a message went out via social media that a new hotel in the Cayman Islands was about to open and was in need of various workers, but when it was checked by the National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons, it was found to be false.

“We see traffickers using different means of getting to unsuspecting victims,” she told a recent forum, held at the Ridgemount United Church, in Mandeville, Manchester.

Miss West told the gathering that persons who responded to the job offerings might have been asked to send money for hotel accommodation, as obtaining funds is another ploy that is used in the scheme.

The Ministry of Justice official is also urging community members to look out for persons who might have been trafficked and reside among them.

She said such persons are relieved of their possessions and are always anxious, because of threats by their captors while they work in servitude conditions, including prostitution.

She said that the Internet is another avenue that traffickers are using to attract persons, especially children, or young females. In recent times, some 62 human-trafficking victims have been rescued, and there have been four convictions for the crime.