Beware of recruitment scams

Periodically the REC becomes aware of scams that have happened to recruitment businesses that operate here in the UK. Unfortunately one has come to light again recently.

The recruitment business concerned had been approached on a number of occasions by people purporting to be interested in their business services - asking relevant questions about the types of contractors the place etc.

The belief is that the scammers then used that information to attract the recruitment business to start work on some permanent placements. The recruitment business did their due diligence, checking with Companies House, asking for job specifications, undergoing a credit check and checking the clients website to establish they were who they said they were.

All good we think - but then the delays started. The scammers delayed contact between the recruiters and the hiring manager, until it was too late to meet the start dates for the permanent roles.

In order to meet the client’s needs, the client suggested interim staff, which the recruitment business was happy to accommodate as a short-term solution.

The client then suggested three contractors that were suitable and could be payrolled by the recruiter. After conducting the due diligence on the candidates, checking bank details, addresses, contracts etc, the company started to payroll these workers on behalf of the new client.

Therein lies the issue, as after a number of weeks, the client hadn’t paid any fees. The recruitment business became suspicious and contacted the client. It had by this time disappeared.

When written like this with the bare minimum of information it looks like a standard, yet unacceptable, type of business fraud. But it is much more sophisticated than that. It would appear that the client company (not named as it is a genuine business) had been cloned and a website copied with a very similar domain name. Also, at least three individuals’ identities have been cloned in order for the due diligence to stand up, leading the recruitment business to believe it was all genuine.

We share this with you in the hope of raising the awareness of how much effort scammers are willing to go to.

The team at REC are always here to help and support our members and Jobs Aware have a focus on reducing scams within the industry.

You may also want to visit our guest blog from Marsh on the threat of ransomware to your business.