Fake job ads have risen by 300% in the past two years, according to Action Fraud. Younger workers are at much greater risk of fake job fraud, with some candidates being scammed of over £4,000 by fake recruiters and fake job ads that promised work opportunities but never delivered.
Scammers are taking advantage of jobseekers, and companies with no interest in recruiting are advertising jobs just to stack up CVs for months or even years into the future.
How can you tell the difference between a real job advert and a fake job advert?
How to Spot a Fake Job Advert:
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The Personal Touch
Real job ads will come from a real person as opposed to a random string of letters (like 3xj45th8@example.com) with a professional email signature, and the email should be a work email address rather than a personal domain such as hotmail or google mail. Check the recruiter’s LinkedIn profile to make sure they exist.
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Branding
Check the spelling, grammar and general quality of the job ad in front of you. Real recruitment agencies with real job ads will be proud of their company brand and want to show it in the best possible light, which extends to all online and offline channels including job advertisements.
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Financial Privacy
Real recruiters will never ask you for personal information such as bank details or your credit score. If someone responds to your job application with a request for your bank account number of a favour to transfer money for them, this is a fake job advert serving a financial scam.
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Online Presence
Check out every prospective employer before you go on a job interview. Real recruitment agencies and businesses will have a website with lots of information, active social media channels and plenty of case studies and testimonials from clients and candidates to prove they fulfil their promises.
