Beware of fraudulent recruitment sites

Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can set up a website. And so, it's no surprise that the world of scams has reached recruitment sites. This year, Haringey Council issued a warning about a recruitment agency trying to extract personal information from jobseekers.

Haines Employment claimed to be recruiting for council positions. The hoax agency even managed to get a link on the Jobcentre Plus website, asking people to submit their details via a CV. Applicants would then receive an email from James Haines with the email address hainesemployment@googlemail.com. The email contained a genuine information packet from the Council along with a fake application form. The form asked jobseekers for bank and credit card details, £6 for a fast-tracked CRB check and personal information, such as parents' and former names.

Haringey Council responded by saying that it would never ask jobseekers for bank details during the application phase and that you cannot fast track a CRB check with an advanced fee.

That's not the only scam site. The Guardian recently wrote about the website www.employeruk.com, which it says has called up applicants on its site, told them they are ideal candidates and then demanded they pay £99 to polish up their CVs.

Those are unfortunately not the last scams jobseekers will see. Identity Theft provides information for victims of identity theft and how to avoid becoming a victim. Here are some tips regarding recruitment sites.

Don't give out banking information to any potential employer during the application phase.
Don't give out any personal information that wouldn't normally appear on a CV, such as date of birth, place of birth or marital status. For tips on how to write a good CV, visit our CV guide.
Be wary of emails from addresses that can be set up for free, such as those from Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo.
Look out for bad spelling, punctuation or irregular fonts.
Avoid sites that are registered abroad or are seeming clones of established recruitment sites.
Beware of sites that ask you for money just to apply or be listed on a directory of jobseekers.
Beware of sites that redirect you to other sites, even if the change is subtle like taking you from a .co.uk website to a .com site.
And if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.