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Scammers, hackers, and frauds are everywhere. Unfortunately, they are also active in recruiting. Recruitment scams are often very well packaged and hard to recognize.
The following tips and tricks can help you recognize recruitment fraud.

Paying for an interview
A recruiter or recruitment agency will never charge you for an interview. Whether you will be invited for an interview is based on different aspects, but payment is not one of them. Never transfer any money or give out your banking information. A genuine recruiter will help you earn money by getting you a job instead of taking your money and leaving you jobless and broke.

We have noticed that some companies started implementing fees to be able to apply for a job. We feel that applying for a job should be open, accessible, and free of charge for everybody, no matter the circumstances. And at Banks and Insurance Jobs, we neither agree with nor support these practices.

Personal information
You should never give out personal information when applying for a job. If an online application requires you to fill in personal data, you should not continue. Personal information can consist of but is not limited to:
*bank account information (PIN etc.)
*social security information

Google is your friend
At Banks and Insurance Jobs, we love Google. And for good reasons. A simple search on Google can tell you a lot. When a recruiter approaches you, you should always Google their name. If you find that they have a profile page that links to the company or find their name on the company’s careers page, you can almost for sure tell that they are the real deal.

Not every recruiter will appear in your Google search as some people don’t have a (significant) social media presence. And not every company has its recruiters displayed on its career page. This doesn’t mean that they are a scammer. In this case, you can Google the company’s contact information and directly contact them. If you are worried that calling a company to verify a recruiter will hurt your chances, you are wrong. Your due diligence shows you are serious, responsible, alert, and proactive. What else can an employer ask for? 😉

Meeting
Many interviews are being held through digital systems such as Zoom, Teams, and Skype. If you haven’t applied for a job, spoken to a recruiter, or planned an online interview with a recruiter but received an e-mail with a link, do not click on it. Immediately delete the e-mail without clicking on the link. Please don’t reply to the e-mail before you delete it because even a reply can activate a virus on your computer. This can lead to personal data leakage, including photos, passwords, and more that you have stored on your computer.

Besides getting an invitation for an online interview, you can also get an invitation for an interview face to face. When the recruiter wants to meet in a public place, make sure that it is a location that is, in fact, a public place. Never under any circumstances agree to meet a recruiter at your house or the recruiter’s house. This is 100% a scam and can have a dangerous outcome. Always let someone know when you meet with a recruiter, wherever this may be!

E-mail
Most companies use their domain name in their e-mail address. Recruiters will e-mail you from the general recruitment/hr e-mail address or their individual work e-mail address. Either way, it will have the company’s domain name. Recruiters rarely use free e-mail accounts such as Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc. If you receive an e-mail from a free account, you can always check the company’s website to be sure.

An offer without a job listing
When a recruiter contacts you first via email, they usually send you a job listing. Either in the body of the e-mail or a link to the job posting. If they don’t send it right away, they will send it later when you show some interest. When days go by and you don’t receive the job listing (or even a summary of the job), but the recruiter keeps in touch, you can assume that it’s a scam.

Where did you find me?
When you’ve been searching, praying, and dreaming of a new job, it feels like a blessing when a recruiter approaches you. Usually, a recruiter tells you where they got your contact information from. Options can include:
*you are registered with different recruitment agencies
*you have uploaded your CV to a CV database
*a friend recommended you
But be aware that even if the recruiter found your contact information in a legitimate place, it can still be a scam. Scammers do not stop at anything to get what they want. They even use well-known legitimate resources to try to scam you.

Inform the fraud team
A lot of companies have a fraud team. If you get contacted by a scammer trying to use the company’s name always contact their fraud team. If a company doesn’t have a fraud team it is still important to contact them. You can also do this by contacting their HR department or customer service. They can redirect you to the right department or contact person. Don’t forget to send all the information and contact that you have from your encounter with the scam artist. Even the smallest detail can be helpful.

You’re mistaken if you think that the company will not take you seriously or that they will not care. Companies appreciate it if you inform them. Besides, we can only stop (recruitment) fraud when working together.

Do you have experience with recruitment fraud? Or do you have any tips and tricks of your own to combat it? Let us know in the comments!