Scam Alert: Emirates Modern International School

Another day, another scam to capture data from parents and teachers. Emirates Modern International School has risen overnight, and looks remarkably similar to Horizon International School, in large part because it has simply stolen its web site.

The differences between the sites of the real Horizon International school, and the fake Emirates Modern School is simply the logo, the address and contact details, and, where the data forms go.

The scammers use free software called HTTrack Website Copier which allows users to download the contents of a web site to a local directory for offline viewing. The scammers instead use it to rebuild an identical school web site, with small but important changes.

As with previous scams, the Emirates Modern International School is being used to dupe unsuspecting teachers who are emailed a job offer, often through LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn.com is used as one means to find teachers, especially those currently looking for a job.

An attractive salary is offered. All the teacher has to do is to transfer “visa processing fees.” Once money is received by the scammers, it says it will then initiate the required paper work for his or her entry into the country. 

WhichSchoolAdvisor.com was alerted to this scam by a teacher wanting to know if a job offer from the school was real.

"I have received an offer letter from a: EMIRATES MODERN
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL. They say I have to paperwork processed by their travel agency. Can you tell me if the school is real and the offer is real ? I can forward you the offer if need be. Please let me know..."

WhichSchoolAdvisor.com has confirmed the offer is not real.

If you are contacted by a school, with a job offer with an attractive salary, without even going for an interview, then it is almost overwhelmingly likely this is a scam. Do not follow the instructions for money transfer it will have sent.

The best way to check whether a school in Dubai or Abu Dhabi is real is to simply check whether the school is on our web site.

Link - Schools in Abu Dhabi 
Link - Schools in Dubai 
Link - Schools in Sharjah 
Link - Schools in Ras al Khaimah 
Link - Schools in Fujairah
Link - Schools in Umm al-Quwain
Link - Schools in Al Ain

Finally, if you feel you are being or have been scammed, let us know, so that we may inform others and try to prevent it happening again.