HOAX: These AeroFlys Freight Cargo K Ltd job offers are a scam
This job offer from an airport cargo company named AeroFlys Freight Cargo K Ltd is a HOAX.
After responding to a job advertised by the cargo company, one applicant, Sebestian Wafula, received an appointment letter. However, the letter does not state to which position Wafula has been appointed, although he is to begin working on 4 October 2021.
While he was offered a job, no interview was conducted. His appointment letter instead indicates that a two-month probation period will serve instead of the interview.
“During these two months, you will work under supervision in different stations every week within the department you applied in at a reduced net salary of KSh 32,460 every month. After the two months, you get posted permanently with improved pay,” the appointment letter reads in part.
The letter further states that hostels are available and instructs Wafula to send his full name and national ID number to a specified number before 16 September 2021 if he wants to take up accommodation.
The applicant is then asked to wait for official directions, which will be relayed through the company’s four official mobile phone lines. Wafula is also asked to carry the signed appointment letter, copies of his school papers and his national ID.
However, a disclaimer is issued towards the end of the letter saying that the job offer will automatically be withdrawn if Wafula fails to respond by 29 September 2021.
A text message offers directions to the premises along Airport North Road at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“Come to Cargo Centre Freight Terminals, OR wait for the staff bus at Kencom on 4th 8 am,” the message reads.
No such cargo company at the JKIA Airport
PesaCheck contacted the communication department at the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) who confirmed that no company with the name AeroFlys Freight Cargo K Ltd exists at the JKIA.
“That company does not exist within our documents at KAA. So that is a con, it is not a genuine company,” the communication department at the KAA said in a message to this fact-checker.
AeroFlys is not listed among the cargo companies located at the JKIA airport on the KAA website.
Cargo Unit Handling Certificate Fee
Another red flag with the job offer is the instruction to pay KSh 2,485 for the Cargo Unit Handling Certificate, as seen in a text message to another applicant. The message was sent from the same phone number used to communicate the company “directions” to Wafula.
We asked the KAA whether it is customary for freight cargo companies to ask job applicants to pay a fee of KSh 2,485 for a Cargo Unit Handling Certificate. The Authority explains that job seekers should not be asked to pay any amount of money when joining a freight cargo company or any other organisation.
“Anytime an organization asks you for money upfront, it is most likely a con. We have been sending a lot of warnings on our website and social media pages for job applicants to first verify the legitimacy of these organizations to avoid being conned,” the KAA communication department added in their message to PesaCheck.
But what does it take to get a Cargo Unit Handling Certificate and how much does it cost?
We discovered that private institutions in Kenya such as the Kinoo Vocational Training Centre and Unity College of Professional Studies offer a Certificate in Air Cargo Introductory Course for six months, at varied costs. Conversely, to obtain a diploma in Air Cargo at Kenya Airways takes nine months and costs US $1700.
Phone numbers used
Additionally, the numbers provided in the job applicant’s appointment letter raise suspicion that this could be a scam. Four numbers have been listed in the appointment letter. A search on Truecaller reveals that two of the numbers are registered under the name Mara Ritz Palazzo and one under the name Mara Ritz Resort.
PesaCheck previously fact-checked those two hotels and discovered they are both non-existent. The fourth number provided is not registered under any name.
HR Manager’s Name and Signature
The human resource manager’s name for the AeroFlys Freight Cargo company — Nicholas K. Kibiwott — bears similarity to the one listed as the HR manager in the Mara Ritz Palazzo scam, Hilary K. Kibiwott.
The signatures and wording used in both appointment letters are also similar.
Not on Google Maps
Similarly, AeroFlys Freight Cargo K Ltd is not on Google Maps.
PesaCheck has looked into jobs advertised by AeroFlys Freight Cargo K Ltd — a company purportedly based at the JKIA — and finds them to be a HOAX.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Naomi Wanjiku and edited by PesaCheck chief copy editor Rose Lukalo. The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Enock Nyariki.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.