The Intern

Names mentioned herein are hypothetical

Kasun, a university student, had been searching for an internship for several weeks. He had applied to several companies, but either received no response or was told that the positions had already been filled.

One evening, while scrolling through Instagram, he came across an “Internship Opportunity – Social Media & Content Creation.”

The company page looked professional, with a logo, regular posts, employee photos and many followers. Everything seemed genuine.

Kasun applied through the link.

The next day, he received a WhatsApp message.

“Hi Kasun, this is Nadeesha from HR. Your application has been shortlisted for our internship programme.”

After a short online interview, he received another message.

“Congratulations! We are happy to offer you the internship.”

Kasun was thrilled. At last, the opportunity he had been waiting for seemed within reach.

Then came the catch.

“To confirm your placement, you need to pay a small registration fee. This will be refunded with your first allowance.”

It sounded unusual, but Kasun did not want to lose the opportunity. He made the payment.

A few days later, he was told to pay for a mandatory training package before joining. Again, he was assured the money would be refunded.

Kasun paid. But soon, the cracks began to show. His joining date was postponed, and the HR representative became difficult to reach. Messages that were once answered within minutes were now left unread for days.

Finally, the WhatsApp number stopped responding.

Kasun checked the company’s social media page but could not find any information about the internship or the people who had contacted him.

Worried that he had been scammed, Kasun spoke to a friend who had seen a Hithawathi awareness video about online scams. His friend advised him to contact Hithawathi. Kasun was guided to preserve the messages, payment receipts, screenshots and relevant links. He was also advised to report the incident to the nearest police station.

Kasun later learned that the social media account had been created to impersonate a genuine company and attract job seekers.

What seemed like a promising internship was actually a scam designed to collect money from applicants.

Prevention Tips

• Be cautious of internships that require registration, training or placement fees, even if the fees are said to be refundable.
• Verify the company and vacancy through official sources.
• Do not assume a professional-looking social media page is genuine.
• Keep screenshots, receipts, messages and profile links.
• If you encounter a suspicious online incident, contact Hithawathi for guidance.