Mangaluru: With fraudulent overseas job offers and visa scams continuing to target people aspiring to work abroad, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy has urged job seekers to exercise caution and deal only with recruitment agencies registered with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

In a video message shared on social media on Friday, the commissioner warned that fraudsters were exploiting the aspirations of people seeking employment overseas by offering fake jobs and visas and collecting money from them.

He said there are around 25 to 30 MEA-registered recruiting agents and advised job seekers to verify the credentials of an agency before entering into any agreement or making any payment.

“People should approach only agencies registered with the MEA and verify their credentials before paying any money,” he said.

The commissioner also cautioned people against approaching the police only after they had been cheated. By then, recovering the money can become difficult, even if a case is registered and the accused are arrested, he said.

He urged those planning to take up employment abroad to carry out proper verification before handing over money or documents to recruitment agents.

Job seekers can check the list of recruiting agents registered with the MEA through the government’s eMigrate portal at emigrate.gov.in.

The police advised prospective overseas workers to verify the registration and credentials of recruitment agencies and remain alert to offers that demand money without proper documentation or verification.