The families of Thai workers being evacuated from Israel are advised to beware of scammers, who may contact them through the Line application, claiming that they are accounting service providers for banks in Israeli who can process claims for unpaid salaries from their Israeli employers.

Somchai Morakotsriwan, labour inspector-general and acting director-general of the Employment Service Department, issued the warning and said today (Friday) that the claim is false and a scam to dupe families of the returning workers into providing them with their bank account details, only to discover subsequently that money in the accounts has disappeared.

He suggested that returning Thais, whose employers still owe them their salaries, contact the department on its 1694 hotline, adding that the labour attaché at the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv has already sought help from the Israeli Population and Immigration Office to claim the unpaid salaries.

He assured that returning Thais, who are members of the fund to assist those working abroad, will each receive 15,000 baht in compensation.

Those living in the provinces can contact their provincial labour office to claim the compensation and salaries owed to them by their Israeli employers.

Meanwhile, Thai overseas workers have urged the Labour Ministry to contact the Israeli government to demand the return of security deposits, which are deducted from their salaries by their employers and normally returned to them after the successful completion of their contract.

One returning worker, Ratthida, said the amount of money deducted can amount to several hundred thousand baht over the period of the employment contract.

She claimed that, in her and her husband’s cases, the combined amount is around 700,000 baht, adding that they are entitled to the refund under Israel’s labour law.