Interior Ministry scams people for their own good

15 cases of human trafficking were registered in Slovakia last year and around 30 victims annually seek the help of NGOs and other institutions in such crimes. This is the official data, which is supposedly much lower than the real number of such victims. The average victim of human trafficking in Slovakia is female, between 18 - 30 years old, single and comes from Eastern Slovakia. Most Slovak victims of human trafficking are sexually abused. As Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák stated it's a criminal activity that is very difficult to uncover. That is why the Ministry decided on a different approach.

In cooperation with the civic association BSOS, the Interior Ministry launched a phoney job advert, the Pravda daily reports. "Do you work hard but feel that your work is undervalued? Come to England for a great pay!" reads the ad pretending to offer jobs in countries such as Great Britain, Austria, Germany and Spain for a monthly salary of around €2,000. If people fill in the application form on the website they will receive an email stating that they have been found by the police in dire circumstances. The email further reads that "Such news could arrive to your next of kin one day. You almost fell victim to fraudsters - human traffickers." The jobseeker as well as the two next of kin that the applicant listed in the online form will receive such a deterring email. In addition, the email includes links to websites that tell people how to spot fraudulent job offers, what to do when travelling abroad to find work and how to behave if they find themselves in trouble.

The site was set up and advertised on Sunday, March 8^th and so far more than 40 000 people have visited it and thousands responded to it. Sociologist Silvia Porubänová thinks that the campaign will attract people's attention to the problem and make them more cautious when responding to lucrative job offers abroad. Psychologist František Skokan is less enthusiastic, however. He views the campaign as pointless scaremongering. He doubts that people who are clutching at straws will be put off from looking for similar deals in the long run.