Resumes and regrets

IT was only two months ago when 27-year-old Aida (not her real name), from Kuala Lumpur, saw a job advertisement that was too good to be true.

“The job entails making calls to sell some products offered by a company. A telemarketer of sorts in a neighbouring country.

“I saw it online and the advertised salary, in US dollars, is very attractive,” she says.

Aida is among many potential scam victims who, despite the reported prevalence of scammers belonging to criminal organisations or scam parks, are willing to take on risky ventures.

For Aida, the company’s offer of US$8,000 (RM37,372) monthly for a job that doesn’t require a university degree or work experience was very tempting.

“That is suitable for me. I have a diploma in communication studies but somehow it is difficult to land a job. I used to work in an insurance company as an agent but left because I am not making enough to support my family.

“My family does not really need the money. But I want to give something back to them,” says Aida, who is the youngest of five siblings.

But her mother was dead against it. She was worried Aida might be swindled into a scam, especially when the job requires her to relocate to somewhere far away.

“She had been reading a lot of news reports on scam victims being whisked away to scam parks to work for criminal syndicates dabbling in human trafficking or fraudulent businesses.

“She says that if it just a telemarketer job, why would they need me to be overseas? I can just work remotely.

“My mother’s argument made sense.”

Aida then took a few days to think about the job and decided to contact the advertiser about it.

“At first, the number didn’t go through. After a few tries, a foreign man answered the phone. He spoke to me in English, in a very heavy foreign accent.

“He said I will be given accommodation and food on daily basis, and that I will make more if I meet certain targets from clients. He also said for the job interview, I would need to fly out there.

“But I decided to talk to my mother first. And she, suffice to say, was angry that I made the call.”

Aida decided not to go ahead applying for the job. But the man she called kept making contact to persuade her to take up the offer.

“It is as if they are desperate for workers. But I told them that I need time to think. I decided to block the number so that I can have peace of mind.

“But I often wonder if the job advertisement is genuine and not the other way around. Who knows right? With so many reported stories about scammers, maybe genuine offers get swept up in the conundrum as well.

“I can always use the money,” Aida says.

Career scammers

The truth is, nobody is totally immune to fraud, says Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) president Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj.

Hence, being warned about clever psychological tactics used by scammers can be immensely helpful, he says.

“At the same time, more must be done by the authorities to educate the public on these cognitive biases as there is a growing number of scams that are becoming much harder to identify.”

Dr Mohanraj, however, notes that there are also individuals who have a higher index of suspicion and may fully be aware of such scams having read about it or knowing some one who was duped in a similar scheme, yet they fall for the scam.

“These are the sort with personality types that are impulsive in nature or with a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude and who may have been involved in unconventional ‘easy to get rich’ activities even in Malaysia. Therefore, it makes it easier for overseas scam park scammers to lure such victims.”

Then there are the so-called victims, who even after finding out about the scam, are willing to work there as scammers to scam people out of their money.

Says Dr Mohanraj, some of these individuals are likely to have strong anti-social personality traits such as being deceitful, having reckless disregard for others and a lack of remorse.

“These are the sort who return to a similar environment after they are rescued and brought home to Malaysia.”

However, he concedes that adjusting back to the real world after being held hostage can be just as difficult as abruptly leaving it.

“Upon release, many hostage survivors are faced with transitioning from conditions of isolation and helplessness to sensory overload and freedom. This transition often results in significant adjustment difficulties. The genuine victims of such scam parks would also likely to suffer from psychological trauma that can lead to persistent anxiety and depressive symptoms.

“Some may manifest full-fledged post traumatic disorder which would require intensive psychiatric invention,” he says.

ALSO READ: What is a scam park?

Traumatic experience

As reported, victims of human trafficking endured harsh punishments, including physical abuse such as rape, electric shocks and confinement in rooms filled with mice.

Ikram, who was a victim at KK Garden, Myawaddy, Myanmar, explains that these punishments were imposed on those who failed to perform well in their tasks.

The syndicate instilled fear by imposing fines and threatening victims with various consequences, he tells. Upon returning from work, victims were subjected to further punishment, such as pressing a tube 100 to 200 times in the office.

According to Ikram, some victims, overwhelmed by threats, chose to end their lives, including a Filipino victim who jumped from the fourth floor of a building. Describing how he fell into the syndicate’s scam, Ikram, originally from Batu Pahat, shares that he was attracted to a job opportunity offered by a friend – a room attendant position with a monthly salary USD2,000.

As the sixth child among 11 siblings, Ikram says he was happy to get an all-paid offer to work in Singapore. But the plan shifted to Thailand when the promised job in Singapore was no longer available.

Ikram says from Johor Baru he was taken to Mae Sot, near the Thailand border. After spending a night in Mae Sot, they were picked up by a four-wheeled vehicle that led them through covert routes connecting the Thailand-Myanmar border. Feeling helpless in Thailand, they had no choice but to follow through cornfields and rivers in the area.

Victims of human trafficking in KK Garden, Myanmar, are likely to be relocated and have their organs sold if they resist or fail to meet the syndicate’s scam targets, says another victim who wants to be known only as Nizam.

Nizam, who was rescued last February, says his “seniors” working at the scam park often related stories of such threats issued by the syndicate’s men .

“I have never seen it with my own eyes, but I have heard about it from the conversations of those who have been working there for a long time.

“Those who fail to meet sales targets are isolated, transferred to another company (within KK Garden), and then their organs are sold,” he tell Sinar Harian.

Nizam also says he had seen more than 100 individuals dressed in military attire passing through the KK Garden area in armoured vehicles, fully armed.