• Xolani Sidwell Fongo has found himself in a terrible situation after he accepted a job offer
• The young man from the Free State says he was lured with a work opportunity in Thailand but soon realised something was amiss
• South Africans have pledged to help Fongo with money to help buy a plane ticket home

JOHANNESBURG - A young South African man from the Free State thought he finally got his big break after a Chinese company offered him a job to work in Thailand.

Excited about the job opportunity after dropping out of university, 29-year-old Xolani Sidwell Fongo hopped on a plane to Thailand but quickly realised that he was duped.

Free State man recruited to scam US businessmen in a foreign country

According to IOL, Fongo was contacted by a man called John Thomas, who alleged to have found his profile on PNET. Thomas said he was looking for Chinese-English speakers to work at his company.

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Fongo did not find the offer amiss because he was well-versed in Mandarin, which he learnt while studying in China through a Free State government-funded scholarship.

After arriving in Thailand, Fongo thought something was wrong because he met various people from other African countries, including Zambia and Mauritius. He said they were illegally transported to Mynamar to a camp run by a group of Chinese people.

While there, they were told they had to pretend to be women to get into the pockets of wealthy US businessmen. He explained that he wanted to leave but was told he had to pay back the expense incurred for being transported from Mzansi to Mynamar.

After a month of working there, Fongo decided to leave, even though he did not have enough money for his flight back home. He has since bounced from one scamming workplace to another and now works for another Chinese firm selling Binance in Cambodia.

He told the publication that he does not want the job because he fears it might be another scam. Fongo took to social media to request funds for a plane ticket home.

South African government warns young people about fake job opportunities

Fongo is not the only young South African to have fallen victim to such job scams. Spokesperson of the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) Clayson Monyela has warned young people on Twitter about accepting job offers abroad before check-in with Dirco.

Monyela stated that a young woman from Limpopo also fell for a teaching abroad scam in Thailand. He added that human trafficking is real and people needed to be careful.

Monyela added that the Limpopo woman's and Fongo's cases were being attended to.

South African man stuck in Thailand shares his experience

Briefly News reached out to Fongo to ask how he has been dealing with his situation and if he has received any government assistance since the Dirco's spokesperson's social media post.

Fongo explained that someone from the South African Embassy in Thailand reached out to him and wanted clarity on the conversation he had with the embassy when he got the opportunity to leave the first job scam.

He said he was essentially told that there wasn't much the South African government could do for him and he would have to find his way home.

"The ultimate response from them was that the government do not provide a budget for them to repatriate SA citizens who are stranded in Thailand," said Fongo.

Fongo said most of the help he has received so far is from ordinary people in South Africa. He hopes to share his experience with more people when he finally gets back home.

South Africans react to Free State man's job scam in Thailand

Takalane Sesane asked:

"Why can't he go to the nearest police station and get himself arrested because his visa is expired so that he can be deported to South Africa?"

Teboho Moruti said:

"This is so sad. Strength king. I will throw the little I have and share this with my contacts please be strong."

Kelumetse Tibane Moseme said:

"Can’t we all pledge a minimum of R100 and see how far it gets while we wait for assistance? Guys joh this is painful!"

Nandi Hlungwanisaid:

" May God help you, I will put in what I can, I know very well what you going through, I was once in your situation, stuck in China after I lost my passport with visa, and I needed help like you, but God showed up. Don't give up help is on the way."

Thiwe Ranthimo said:

"I found a Facebook group/page of South Africans living in Cambodia seeking shelter for you while we try and sort out a way for you to get home. We pray that the spirit of Ubuntu will come through for us and that someone will offer you shelter and food in the meantime."

Woman gets SMS for job earning R1000 a day, Mzansi pokes fun at scams: “You should consider buying Twitter”

Briefly News previously reported that a lady received a peculiar SMS for a supposed job that would have her earning R1 000 a day, but Mzansi peeps were on to the suspicious nature of it.

@Kamogelo_MN was surprised when she received the text and immediately ran to Twitter to share her findings with like-minded SA netizens. The text has obvious red flags proving it's a scam. The first is that WhatsApp is spelt "What-App", which is very odd, to say the least.

The SMS highlights the massive annoyance of modern times: relentless spam. Not only are dubious text messages sent out all the time, but emails and even social media platforms are also places where one can find such annoyances.