There are two things scammers are after – money and your personal details.

Recruitment Agencies should never charge job-seekers in the recruitment process. These job scams work when a fee is charged upfront throughout the recruitment process. It may be for a range of reasons including:

• application fees
• recruiter placement fees
• interview reservation fees
• training fees
• CV formatting/re-writing fees or background check fees.

If an employer asks you to pay any of these fees, report the listing immediately. 

Tips to spot a fake ad:

• The job ad is generally posted only via free messaging platforms and social media
• Ads ask you to direct message and do not offer further verification of the person and company such as a company email address or website
• Asks for money up front
• Uses a personal or unrelated email address rather than a company one
• Appears in your in box but you didn’t apply for it
• Fake ads often offer multiple jobs available, with part-time and full-time options and generally little experience is required.
• Contains a high salary
• Seemingly genuine companies or recruitment agencies where the contact details or logo don’t seem quite right
• The job ad contains grammatical errors and flawed sentence structure.

What can you do?

• Always research the employer and company
• Be wary of contact made via direct messaging only. Cert NZ has this helpful scam checklist: https://www.ownyouronline.govt.nz/personal/scam-check

Tabitha confessed due to the amount of competition in the employment marketplace, it’s tempting to go with anything that fits, but agrees if it’s too good to be true it probably is.

Even on closer inspection the social profiles can be convincing. Warning signs to look for include:

• Newly created profiles with little information
• Locked comments on profile posts

Tabitha said whilst researching one Facebook profile she was nearly convinced. “There was a placement post with a lot of comments and I thought maybe I had it wrong and it wasn’t spam, but when I looked at the comments there were repeat profiles posting – people had taken the time to make it look like something it wasn’t.”

What to do if you are scammed?        

The first thing to do is report the scam to CertNZ. https://www.cert.govt.nz/

If you have given any money – contact your bank immediately.

Remember, you’re not at fault if you are a victim of a scam, many of the scams are highly convincing. Don’t be afraid to share your experience – which is likely to help someone else avoid being scammed themselves.

As the saying goes, “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.”

Partnering with a Recruitment Specialist removes the risk of scams, as they have completed their due diligence on the position and employer to ensure the opportunities are genuine. If you are looking for a new job, ensure you register for Job Alerts with PN Personnel.

Source: https://www.seek.co.nz/career-advice/article/job-ad-scams-to-watch-out-for