1. Do not apply at recruitment agencies not licensed by POEA.
2. Do not deal with licensed agencies without job orders.
3. Do not deal with any person who is not an authorized representative of a licensed agency.
4. Do not transact business outside the registered address of the agency. If recruitment is conducted in the province, check if the agency has a provincial recruitment authority.
5. Do not pay more than the allowed placement fee. It should be equivalent to one month salary, exclusive of documentation and processing costs.
6. Do not pay any placement fee unless you have a valid employment contract and an official receipt.
7. Do not enticed by ads or brochures requiring you to reply to a Post Office (P.O.) Box, and to enclose payment for processing of papers.
8. Do not deal with training center and travel agencies, which promise overseas employment.
9. Do not accept a tourist visa.
10. Do not deal with fixers.

Traffickers use variety of recruitment methods as follows:

1. Illegal Recruitment

This method of trafficking is perpetrated by individuals posing as recruiters and projecting themselves as representatives of sales agents of a fake recruitment agency or by a legitimate recruitment agency that has the full authority to recruit and deploy foreign workers to specific countries.

B. Illegal Immigration

This form of human trafficking and smuggling which is in itself a modus operandi is perpetrated by organized crime groups and victimizing Filipino nationals who are willing to permanently live or work in other countries.

C. Mail-Order Bride

Foreigners who are either married to Filipino or who have contracts here in the Philippines perpetrate this scheme.

OTHER FORMS/MODUS OPERANDI

A. Foreign Training or Internship

This is a legitimate means of going out of the country but most people who avail of this program refuse to return home and instead prolong their stay in that country to work and would do everything to legitimize their stay therein.

B. Adoption Method

Children in the Philippines are smuggled out of the country by foreigners who pretend to adopt them but in reality, they will engage them into child labor markets abroad or in prostitution dens.

C. Family Tours

Allegedly organized by unscrupulous travel agencies, a bogus family is booked on a tour of certain countries, with one of the members of the family masquerading as the father and another one pretending as a mother. Children or minors with tampered passports complete the bogus family.

D. Religious Pilgrimage

Victims, mostly women join groups for religious tours/pilgrimages and are promised employment by traffickers upon arrival in the foreign country. Some end up in bonded labor while others in prostitution.

E. Cultural Exchange/Promotion

A group posting as artists or singers would enter a country of destination on a cultural exchange arrangement. After the performances, the group disbands and each is fielded in other jobs. This arrangement is also a form of exploitation, especially against woman, for unstable/insecure jobs. In many instances, most of these women who travel in the guise of cultural exchange and promotion end in prostitution.

1. Be vigilant against suspicious characters roaming around; be sure to report their presence to the police for proper actions.

2. Report parked cars or unattended vehicles stalled suspiciously. This may preempt the horrific damage brought about by terrorist car bombs.

3. Exercise optimum security in your respective surroundings. Keep doors and gates of your respective houses/business establishment properly secured to avoid unauthorized access.

4. Avoid snooping unclaimed boxes or unidentified baggage's; report such sightings to the nearest security personnel for proper disposition.

5. Do not receive/open suspicious letters/packages. Correspondence is being utilized by terrorists as an instrument to inflict lethal damages like in the case of the Anthrax scare in the United States .

6. Keep yourself informed on the latest news and development on terrorism. Avoid traveling to places designated as hot spots or danger zones.

7. Make a list of the contact numbers and hotlines to report and enhance prompt response of law enforcers on emergency cases.