Scam Alert: Fake Job Brokers Target Moroccan Migrants Seeking Work in Germany

Known by his pseudonym H.J., this alleged broker has scammed nearly 127 people from Morocco to Turkey by making them pay sums ranging from 1,500 to 9,000 euros (16,000 to 96,000 dirhams), reports Infomigrants. Expelled from Germany in coordination with the Moroccan authorities who discovered that he had falsified employment contracts and sold them to Moroccans, this man is incarcerated in a prison in Kenitra.

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Aissa (a pseudonym) is one of his victims. He wanted to emigrate to Germany. After being scammed first by A. for 5,500 € - a sum that was later returned to him - this young graduate crossed paths with H.J. to whom he paid an advance of 1,500 € in May 2021, to obtain a work contract in Germany. Two of his friends paid the same amount, plus an additional 4,000 € for the final contracts. A fourth friend, who was in Turkey, had to pay a larger sum, 9,000 €. All received fake employment contracts.

The scam is often presented in the same way, comments the German Ministry of Labor. Brokers, generally based in language schools in Morocco, promise quick results, assuring that they have an established network and trusted contacts in the administrations. In exchange for large sums, they draw up fake contracts, for victims they find in their schools. They even promise to find them housing and help them easily obtain a residence permit in Germany.

Some Moroccans find themselves blacklisted by embassies because of the fake contracts, while others manage to reach Europe before discovering, on the spot, that their contracts are fake. As a result, their residence permit application is rejected. They thus find themselves in a precarious situation: without housing, without a job. In order to try to curb these scams, Hasan Mohafid, an employee of the German Ministry of Labor, has created a YouTube channel to assist foreigners wishing to settle in Germany. In addition to learning German, he mainly advises candidates to turn to official platforms, such as the Federal Employment Agency or ZAV.