Mumbai: Hindustan Pencils Private Limited (HPPL), established in 1958, is taking all the essential steps to safeguard innocent people from fake job scams. Recently, the company has observed with concern the proliferation of fraudulent job offers falsely attributed to its iconic brands, Nataraj and Apsara.
- The legendary stationery manufacturer has launched a nationwide communication initiative.
- The campaign aims to raise concerns by taking cognisance against the menace of Fraudulent Pencil Packaging Job Scams.
These scammers are fraudulently impersonating HPPL’s legitimate representatives. They misuse HPPL’s registered office address as well as images of their personnel to cheat innocent and unsuspecting individuals into supposed work-from-home pencil packaging job opportunities through various digital media, including Google, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and other online platforms. These misleading offers have led to unfortunate instances where innocent job seekers fall victim to scams, losing money and trust.
Being the pioneer and leader in manufacturing pencils & other stationery items since the year 1958 through advanced technology, HPPL has never authorised any such employment offers of work-from-home pencil packing jobs. HPPL would like to bring to the notice of all job aspirants and the general public that recruitment in HPPL is carried out through a well-established selection process. It is clarified that no websites or agencies have been authorised by HPPL either to show vacancy positions on its site or to accept any application for recruitment on behalf of HPPL. They also refrain from requesting any payment from job seekers under any circumstances. Therefore, any job postings that require money in exchange for a work-from-home pencil packing job are false, fake & bogus.
Furthermore, all Nataraj and Apsara pencils are manufactured and packaged with state-of-the-art automated machinery in robust manufacturing units across India.
The company is committed to maintaining transparency and protecting the interests of its consumers and the public at large.
In response to these alarming developments, Hindustan Pencils has undertaken the following vital initiatives:
- Legal Action: Hindustan Pencils has taken a strong stance against these scammers and filed a First Information Report (FIR) to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for propagating these fraudulent job offers.
- Awareness Video: Dubbed & uploaded videos in 10 key Indian languages: Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Maghai; the company has circulated awareness videos through social media channels to educate the public about these fraudulent job scams. The video underscores the importance of verifying job offers through official channels to avoid falling prey to scams.
Link for the same: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jUky0lONK0
Till date, HPPL is vigilant in tracking fake advertisements on Facebook and has successfully taken down 991 pages carrying fake pencils packing job work from home. They have also successfully taken down 11 pages carrying fake pencils packing job work from home on the IndiaMART portal.
- Communication Outreach: Alongside law enforcement authorities, Hindustan Pencils is engaging with consumers across India through emails, telephone calls, 24 x 7 automated response on board line & consumer care number response through manually operated customer care executive to highlight the menace of the fraudulent packaging job scam to help protect public interests.
HPPL is also keeping a close eye on various advertisements published in print media under the classified column and communicating directly with publications disclaiming any such job offers and have also published cautionary notices in the newspaper where such fake job offer advertisements were published.
Over a span of time, even scammers have adapted and refined their methods of operation. Advertisements are now being disseminated without explicit mention of any particular brand name. On a regular basis, HPPL receives a multitude of inquiries, verification requests, and complaints via phone calls from individuals spanning the entire country. These calls come in through various contact points such as board numbers, consumer care lines, and toll-free numbers. HPPL representatives diligently caution each caller, emphasising the importance of refraining from transferring any funds to these fraudulent entities under any circumstances. Callers are further advised to promptly report the incident to their local cybercrime authorities if they have, unfortunately, fallen victim to the scam and already made monetary transactions.
Mr. Pradip Ughade, President of Hindustan Pencils, stated, “We take immense pride in our legacy of providing quality stationery products to our customers. It is disheartening to see the Nataraj and Apsara brand name being misused by scammers to exploit innocent job seekers. We are determined to put an end to these fraudulent activities and ensure that the public is well-informed and protected.”
Hindustan Pencils urges all individuals to exercise caution and diligence while seeking job opportunities online. The company advises job seekers to verify offers directly through the official website and authorised channels to avoid falling victim to scams.
About Hindustan Pencils
Hindustan Pencils Pvt. Ltd. is the largest primary school stationery manufacturing company in India. Their brands, Apsara and Nataraj, are household names. Established in 1958, Hindustan Pencils has mastered the art of making high-quality stationery products. With the latest machinery set up, today they have state-of-the-art manufacturing units daily that produce 8.5 million pencils, 1.7 million sharpeners, 2.7 million erasers, 0.2 million scales and 1 million pens. They believe in manufacturing products of high quality.
