Pencils of Promise (PoP), a not-for-profit organization has issued a disclaimer indicating that it does not operate a traveling agency that offers job opportunities in Europe and America.

According to the organization, some unscrupulous individuals are using its name to lure and scam people who seek to travel and work in the western world.

In a communique, management stated that “for the past 1 year, a group of people have been using the name Pencils of Promise and sometimes our official logo to scam unsuspecting people in the name of travel and work in the USA, Europe, and Canada.”

PoP further indicated that it had received several complains on the operations of the supposed scammers through emails, messages, and walk-ins.

 
“One of the accounts is even ‘sponsored’ which means they paid for it and so it can appear on the timelines of Facebook users even when they have not ‘liked’ the page,” the release added.

Sources say victims are informed that the entire process is online due to the Covid-19 restrictions, hence are made to fill a form online.

They are then directed to make payment to a mobile money account and submit medical test results online, which comes at an extra cost.

Once the victims make the payments, "they don’t hear from the scammers again”, the communique stated.

Pencils of Promise has therefore urged the public to desist from doing business with such party. Failure to oblige, management says is at one's own peril.

“We are a not-for-profit organization working to promote quality education globally. Doing business with any travel and work group bearing our name will be at your own risk”.