HUGE rise in job-hunter scams – how you can protect yourself

There has been a whopping 300% increase in reported job scams over the past two years, new figures have revealed.

The number of scams reported to non-profit fraud fighting organisation SAFERjobs (Safe Advice for Employment and Recruitment) have jumped from 380 between September 2014 and 2015 to 1,241 between September 2015 and September 2016.

A further 138 scams were reported in October.

Chairman of SAFERjobs, Keith Rosser, said the sharp increase had been “dramatic”, and “reflects just how sophisticated and determined criminals have become”.

So what does a job scam look like? And how do you protect yourself?

Advance fee fraud

According to SAFERjobs, this was the most common job scam reported. Scammers advertise fake jobs, and then try to get applicants to pay for police checks, visas, travel and training. Alternatively, they may offer to polish up your CV in exchange for a small fee.

Of course, nothing ever comes of it, and all you’re left with is a hole in your bank balance.

If any checks need to be carried out, it should always be the employer that pays for it, not you. And if you need help with improving your CV, there are plenty of free services online you can use, including the Government’s own National Careers Service .

Premium rate telephone interview scams

Fraudsters are also making use of telephone interview scams to milk cash out of job-hunters, according to SAFERjobs.

Again, you apply for a job that actually doesn’t exist. The scammers invite you to call them for a job interview. You will then be put on hold for a long time, or the call will be dragged out as long as possible.

And as they are operating a premium rate phone line, the bill you end up with will be massive.

You should always be suspicious if you are asked to make the call for a telephone interview. Legitimate businesses will call you, rather than ask you to call them.

Identity theft

If they get their hands on your personal details, scammers can really cash in, so they may employ phishing scams in order to steal your identity.

There are a couple of different versions.

You may receive an email from the scammers, with an attachment which they claim is a form you need to fill in and send back. In reality, it includes malware, which will sit on your computer and find your login details for your various accounts.

Alternatively, you might be guided towards an online form designed to get you to reveal certain personal details. Once they have those details, the scammers may be able to steal your identity or help themselves to the contents of your accounts.

To protect yourself from these scams, you should NEVER open email attachments or click on links from people that you don’t know. And even then you need to be careful – contact them independently over the phone to check that the attachments or links are legitimate.

Money laundering scams

This is a scam where victims are told they can make good money working from home. The ‘job’ involves receiving money into their bank account, and then paying it on to another account, minus their cut.

Scammers advertise the job as a ‘money transfer agent’ or a ‘ payment processing agent’ but in reality you are simply helping organised gangs to launder money.

There can be a high price if you are duped by one of these fake jobs; you could have your account frozen, face difficulty opening accounts in future, and potentially even a jail sentence.

With money laundering scams, the fraudsters will generally contact potential victims directly – according to Financial Fraud Action UK , as many as 15% of adults in the UK have been approached with suspicious job offers.

This should be the first warning sign – always be on your guard when receiving unsolicited emails offering you the chance to make lots of easy money.

How to report scams

If you believe you have been contacted by scammers, it’s really important that you report it to organisations like Action Fraud and SAFERjobs . You can do it online, it only takes a couple of minutes, and it could help prevent other people from falling victim to the fraudsters.