Anyone looking for a job on a cruise ship must beware of cruise ship employment scams. While the cruise industry is currently on pause, many major cruise lines continue to warn job applicants of fraudulent companies and individuals pretending to be cruise line recruitment partners. What are some common cruise employment scams, why do you need to be worried, and how can you avoid being scammed?
Common Cruise Ship Employment Scams
There are many different types of cruise ship employment scams that job seekers need be aware of. These include false offers of employment, deceitful emails, email phishing, phony online applications, cruise employment databases, resume blasting, foreign work permit scams, request of payment for services, request of payment for a “deposit”, 1-900 number advertisements, and offers of non-required training and courses.
Getting hired to work on a cruise ship is not a quick process and the cruise job market is very competitive. It may be tempting to pay a fee for a service that gets you hired quicker or a “Guaranteed Job Offer”, but beware. Scammers are banking on a jobseeker’s sense of urgency. The bottom line is that the only way to get hired to work on a cruise ship is to work with an authorized cruise line hiring partner.
How to Know If a Cruise Employment Agency is Legitimate
Most major cruise lines recruit their officers and crew through a network of approved employment agencies, also known as hiring partners. These recruitment partners locate, screen, and interview potential employees on the cruise line’s behalf.
In general, cruise lines pay their hiring partners for their services and will never require candidates to pay an application fee, processing fee or agency fees. If you are being asked to remit monies as part of your employment application, be aware that this is fraudulent solicitation. There are other red flags or indications that a company or individual is deceitfully representing themselves as a legitimate recruiter with the intent to collect your personal information and your money.
Phony Cruise Employment Agencies
These fake agencies and fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated in their attempts to lure jobseekers with the promise of a cruise ship job. These fraudsters are preying on jobseekers’ desperation for employment. After you pay them a fee, you will find out there is no job. Remember, only authorized cruise line hiring partners have the authority to hire you!
Don’t be fooled by authentic-looking websites with content that includes cruise line logos, crewmember testimonials, and even job vacancies. Also, be aware of phishing emails and fraudulent job advertisements from these so-called agencies. If the agency is not listed as one of a cruise line’s authorized hiring partner, then you are at risk by giving that agency your personal data or money. Here are some other tips to avoid cruise employment scams.
Tips to Avoid Cruise Employment Scams
- Don’t remit any money as payment for submitting your application
- Don’t send money to an agency for services
- Don’t phone a 1-900 number in response to an ad for a job
- Avoid services that promise a job
- Avoid agencies that provide testimonials or references from people who supposedly used the agency’s services. These are fake.
- Don’t provide personal details or submit your resume to job listing services
- Don’t be convinced that you are being offered a job without an interview
- Avoid agencies that provide a “Money Back Guarantee”
- Don’t provide any banking information. You won’t need to sign up for direct deposit until you are actually hired and are onboard on your first contract
- Don’t provide any information regarding any of your government issued documentation (ie. passport, driver’s licence, Social Security Number, Social Insurance Number, etc)
- Pay attention to links within suspicious websites
- Be suspicious of advertisements and job offers that have spelling and grammatical errors
- Be suspicious of email addresses from individuals that do not feature a company name (ie. @yahoo or @gmail)
- Be suspicious of agencies that do not provide a physical street address
Authorized Cruise Line Hiring Partners
Visit a cruise line’s employment web pages to know exactly which regional hiring partner to apply with. You can also visit this website’s Directory of Authorized Cruise Line Hiring Partners for a list of agencies you can trust.
Updated: June 14, 2020