If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this blog, it’s NEVER PAY MONEY FOR A JOB OR FOR A CERTIFICATE NEEDED FOR A JOB.
As a job aggregator, we see thousands of jobs posted in our platform every week, from Indeed, CV Library, Agencies and Companies, but also from Telegram Groups and Facebook groups. These sources independently post to thousands of people and yet in a lot of cases, there is no filtering or checking of the authenticity of jobs being posted or the companies posting them.
Unfortunately, this lack of regulation has led to a rise for opportunist criminals to target people at their most vulnerable – those who are in desperate need of a new job.
First thing to remember is that criminals use this to their advantage, creating a sense of urgency that will force you into making a mistake or skipping steps in your usual checks.
We are here to give you some tips about how you can quickly spot even the cleverest scams out there.
TOP TIPS FOR SPOTTING SCAMS:
- Always check who the company or agency is that you will be working for – if they are reluctant to share that information, this is a major red flag! 🚩
- Ask for the full name of the person you are talking to – again, if they don’t give you their name this can be a sign something is up. 🚩
- Check you can find their company on Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11424945
Also check if they have a website – most reputable companies have a website!
- If you can, check if you can verify whether that person works at the company they say they do using a Google Search or LinkedIn.
Some scammers use REAL companies in order to get past these initial steps, so it’s important if you can to verify that who you are speaking to really works at this company. Usually if you Google the person and their company together, e.g. Lucy Clarke, Fixed Construction, you will find other jobs they have posted or their LinkedIn profile or similar – some of these will even have their phone number in the message so you can double check it’s not someone pretending to be someone they are not. 🚩
- Never pay money to the agency for a job or for a certificate that you need for a job.
If the company or agency passes all of these initial steps, another red flag to look for is someone asking you for money for work. No legitimate company or agency will ever do this. Sometimes they may tell you that you need a specific certificate for the job and that they can help you get it. Remember, nothing in life is free, and definitely not a certificate for taking a course that you did not actually take, so this is 100% a scam.
Please also remember that if a real job requires a certificate, it is because there is a health and safety requirement for that training – when it comes to asbestos awareness, never skip the training because the risks to your health are too high! Book the course yourself using the real accredited provider. Beware of fake providers! If someone is advertising a course cheaper than the real provider, that’s because it’s a scam.
- Always independently verify large payments with a company’s HR department before paying them.
We have heard reports of companies pretending to be large construction companies offering to sponsor candidates from abroad. The costs associated with this are very high (thousands of pounds). If you are in the process of paying a sponsorship fee to a company in the UK, always search for the company’s number on their website yourself and independently check that the role you are applying for is real and that you have the correct payment details. You can phone their main reception and explain the situation or ask to speak to the Hiring Manager or Head of HR.
- Last but not least, report anything suspicious to us at Fixed and to our partner JobsAware.
We can independently check jobs that don’t seem right and potentially help thousands of others who are at risk of being scammed.
You can also follow our socials for the latest updates on new scams in the industry:
Good luck with the job search everyone but remember to stay safe!! 👍
