Quickmart Supermarket Flags Scam Targeting Unsuspecting Job Seekers

Quickmart Supermarket has cautioned members of the public against falling victim to fraudulent recruitment schemes after identifying a fake email address being used to target job seekers.

In a notice on Thursday, July 9, the supermarket informed the public that the Gmail account was not affiliated with the company and should not be trusted.

"Beware of recruitment scams! The email [email protected] is not an official Quickmart email address," the notice read.

The supermarket advised prospective applicants to confirm that any recruitment advertisement claiming to be from Quickmart is genuine before proceeding with an application or sharing personal details.

"Before applying or sharing any personal information, always verify the authenticity of any Quickmart job advert through our official contacts," the notice added.

Quickmart also reminded the public that its recruitment process does not involve any form of payment and urged job seekers to remain vigilant against fraudsters.

"Quickmart will never ask for payment during any stage of the recruitment process. Protect yourself from scammers," the notice concluded.

Meanwhile, four suspects have been arrested in Nairobi over an alleged employment fraud scheme that targeted job seekers by falsely promising them jobs at the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

In a statement, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the arrests were made by detectives following investigations into a complaint by a victim who claimed to have lost Ksh600,000.

"Detectives from DCI Central, Nairobi, have arrested four suspects linked to an employment fraud syndicate that targeted unsuspecting job seekers by falsely claiming they were in a position to secure employment in the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

"The arrests followed investigations into a complaint by a victim who reported losing Sh600,000 after being lured with promises of an NIS job," the statement read.

According to the DCI, to convince the victim that the recruitment process was genuine, the suspects allegedly provided her with what appeared to be an official NIS calling letter indicating that she had successfully secured employment.

"To make the scheme appear legitimate, the suspects allegedly issued her with a fake NIS calling letter purporting that she had been successfully recruited," the statement added.

Acting on actionable intelligence, detectives tracked down and arrested the four suspects identified as Patrick Kibor, Moses Tarus Kibor, Humphrey Ngeiywo Kutuli, and Abraham Kimeli.

Following the arrests, detectives recovered several documents that are believed to be connected to the suspected fraud network. 

The materials have since been taken for forensic analysis as investigators work to verify their authenticity and determine the scale of the alleged scheme.

"Upon arrest, detectives recovered several documents believed to be linked to the fraudulent scheme. The documents are undergoing forensic examination to establish their authenticity and determine the full extent of the syndicate’s operations," the statement further read.

The four suspects are currently in police custody.