Guatemala raises awareness about recruitment scams

“Ask, notice, and check” is the message of Guatemala’s campaign to people interested in migrating, telling them to inform themselves about fraudulent job offers, primarily in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. It was developed by the Ministry of Foreign Relations and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of Guatemala with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in response to the high numbers of reported scams involving jobs abroad.

The campaign emphasizes the importance of identifying the person offering the job (including by taking a photo of them if possible), informs people that it is illegal to ask for property deeds in exchange for employment, and gives the minimum information that should be provided about a future job and employer. In addition, it provides means of reporting if someone has already been a victim of a scam.

The campaign was supported through the combined efforts of government institutions, civil society, and embassies of countries that receive migrant workers. Materials were distributed in consulates in southern Mexico and Guatemalan border departments with high emigration rates, including Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, Chimaltenango, Retalhuleu, Alta Verapaz, Zacapa, San Marcos, Quiché, and Jutiapa. These were chosen as priorities for the campaign because they have high recorded rates of emigration as well as a primarily agricultural population. 

“We believe that this joint communication effort, driven by governmental and non-governmental institutions, is very important. IOM will continue to support actions that promote orderly and regular labor migration which benefits migrants,” explained Walter Arreaga, coordinator of the Regional Migration Program, in Guatemala.

These activities were carried out thanks to support from the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica-The Caribbean, financed by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State of the United States.

You can see the campaign flyer here [Spanish]: https://bit.ly/2PTHj0Y

And a promotional banner: https://bit.ly/2PxXYZ2