Job scams exploit people at their most vulnerable — when they are actively seeking employment. Fake job offers steal personal information, money and time from thousands of UK job seekers every year. Knowing how to spot them could save you significant financial and emotional harm.
You are offered a job but asked to pay upfront fees for training materials, background checks, DBS checks, uniforms or equipment. Legitimate employers never ask candidates to pay fees before starting work.
Fake job adverts designed purely to collect personal information — NI numbers, passport copies, bank details, date of birth — for identity theft. The job does not exist.
Jobs advertised as financial processors, payment agents or money transfer agents. In reality you are recruited as a money mule — receiving stolen money into your account and forwarding it to criminals. This is a serious criminal offence even if you did not know the money was stolen.
Adverts for easy work from home jobs — stuffing envelopes, data entry, completing surveys — that promise high earnings for minimal effort. You pay a starter kit fee and receive worthless materials or nothing at all.
Research the company independently — search the company name on Google, LinkedIn and Companies House. If they cannot be found or the website was recently created be very cautious.
Contact the company directly — find the company's contact details independently and call or email to verify the job is genuine.
Never pay fees — legitimate employers never charge candidates. If asked to pay anything before starting it is a scam.
Be cautious with personal information — do not provide your NI number, bank details or passport copies until you have verified the employer is genuine and have received a written contract.
We alert subscribers to new job scam campaigns targeting UK job seekers
Job scammers target people using personal data from broker sites. Remove yours automatically.
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