Beware online recruitment scams

Beware online recruitment scams

With more than 100 job applications submitted per second on LinkedIn, scammers are increasingly targeting jobseekers with fake job opportunities. Indeed, according to research from security firm NordLayer, nearly two-thirds of British users have been targeted.

And the fake job ads aren’t by any means restricted to LinkedIn, with scammers also exploiting other genuine, reputable job websites, as well as targeting university students directly by email.

The scams work in two main ways.

“You get a job offer with some basic information that sounds very interesting, and there is a link where they say that if I click, I’ll see a presentation with details of the organisation and the job role,” says Jedrzej Pyzik, a recruitment consultant at financial recruitment firm fTeam.

“Then, after clicking through the link, there’s usually some kind of landing page where they require you to download something and log in and give personal details – this is the most common one I’ve come across.”

Another frequent scam is to ask “successful” job applicants to hand over money upfront, with a promise that they’ll be paid back – commonly known as an advance fee scam. They may be told that this will cover training, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks into their criminal record, travel fees such as visas, or equipment needed for the job. However, if a cheque ever arrives to cover these costs, it bounces.

So if you are recruiting only use trusted sources to find candidates.