The person says they work on a ship or an oil rig and cannot meet. Is that a red flag?
The job itself is not the red flag; many Filipinos really are seafarers. The red flag is when the job becomes the excuse for everything: no video call because of the signal, no meeting because of the contract, and then a request for money to fix a problem on board or to get home.
A real seafarer has a contract with an end date, a company name you can look up and usually family and friends who know where they are. A scammer playing a seafarer or a rig engineer has a story that cannot be checked and an emergency that only money solves: a broken machine they must pay for, a fine, a ticket home, a sick crew member.
What to look for
- The person cannot say which company, which ship or which route, or the details change.
- Internet works for long chats but never for a one-minute video call.
- An emergency on board needs your money: equipment, a fine, a flight, "the captain is holding my salary".
- Search the photos: engineer and seafarer photos are often stolen from real profiles.
- Check the number and the email, and search the messages online for copied lines.
Frequently asked questions
- The person showed me a contract and a company ID. Does that prove it?
- Documents sent by chat can be edited or taken from someone else. Veritaza checks a photo of an ID for signs of tampering, but never says a document is genuine.
Want to know if there are warning signs about the person you are talking to? Veritaza checks the photos, the messages, the number, the email, the name and the ID, for ₱199.
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