South Africa, “the land of opportunity” is a beautiful country. There are many young people who only ever see this beauty on TikTok or Instagram feeds. Many young people are categorized NEET, that means not employed or in further education and training. These economically vulnerable people may also be subject to home circumstances that make being unemployed unbearable and intolerable. So whatever posts come out those people will apply because “anywhere is better than here.”

There are people in the world who will exploit the circumstances of NEET people using job scams to lure them into very dark and dangerous situations. Job scams vary, but the impact on someone's mental health is always devastating. Some job scams extort money from job seekers, others will make sexual demands in order to hire someone. There are scammers who will sexually assault job seekers and in worst cases - subject job seekers to human trafficking.

Just think of Mpume, who is hard-working, devoted to her goals and has no support from her mother. In fact Mpume’s mom is always telling her to get a “proper job” that pays well, but will be the first one to demand money from Mpume whenever she makes a sale or has a gig- even though she knows that those don’t pay so well. In pursuit of better- seeking a mentor Mpume was being pressured for sexual favours by the man she wanted to learn from.

Being caught between a rock and hard place is never easy and because of that, please make sure you don’t from the frying pan into the fire by checking if:

• The job sounds too good to be true
• Promises to pay truckloads of money to inexperienced and or unqualified juniors
• Wants you to pay them to get a job
• Looking for upfront personal information like your ID number, passport or bank details before a formal interview or offer
• Interviews conducted on Telegram or WhatsApp

All of those are incredibly sus. Remember to do your due diligence. Only use trusted sites like Harambee to look for employment opportunities that are verified and genuine. You deserve financial freedom. You deserve safety too.