National Fraud Helpline has issued a warning about job scams after seeing an increase in victims in recent months.
The no win, no fee law firm says that as the job market tightens the scammers are taking advantage of people looking for work.
National Fraud Helpline estimated four out of ten of the frauds that it sees are as a result of job scams.
A common job scam involves victims being asked to review products or services and then get paid a fee. The victim will often be given access to an online platform where they can see their work account seemingly build up money. However, when it is time to withdraw money they are typically asked to pay taxes or withdrawal fees to access their money.
As competition for work grows there are also growing scams on online job platforms such as Indeed or LinkedIn. Applicants will be advised that they have successfully secured a job but need to pay money for training or, if working abroad, visas.
National Fraud Helpline had one client who had lost more than £100,000 after thinking he had secured a job abroad in which he was told he needed to pay in advance for accommodation, visas and taxes. It wasn’t until he arrived at the offices that he realised he has been a job scam victim. The receptionist told him that they had people turning up every day for the fake jobs.
Martin Richardson, a senior partner at National Fraud Helpline, said: “As the job market restricts the scammers see it as an opportunity.
“When people are desperate they are happier to believe that something is true, because they want it to be true.
“Job scams victims used to be people wanting to earn extra money on the side or working from home. We are now seeing job scams where fraudsters pretend that they are offering mainstream work.’
National Fraud Helpline has a proven track record on helping job scam victims to recover their money. Eg. Devastated south Essex dad lost over £15k to clever ‘Google Movie’ review scam
Find out more about how to Avoid Becoming A Job Scam Victim.
