How to protect yourself from recruitment phishing scams

In today's digital age, job hunting has moved online, making it convenient yet leaving job seekers vulnerable to a new kind of threat: phishing scams disguised as enticing job opportunities. These scams are designed to steal personal information, financial data, and even infect your devices with malware. At Harvey Nash we take these scams extremely seriously and want to provide you with advice on how to spot these fake opportunities.

How to spot a potential recruitment phishing scam.

Often using a reputable company's name, brand, logo and tone of voice these recruitment scams may on the surface seem authentic, but the following checks and tips will help you to protect yourself.

1. If in doubt, contact the company. Do not respond to the message directly, this goes for email as well as text messages. Go to the company’s website and contact them from there to check the validity of the offer.
2. Too good to be true. If an offer seems too good to be true it usually is, so trust your instincts. Examples can include seemingly attractive salaries for little work, promise of earning a lot of money quickly.
3. Relevancy. If the job opportunity you are being contacted for has no relevancy to your skills it is likely to be a scam.
4. Upfront payment requests. Harvey Nash will never ask you for any payment to get a job, nor will other reputable recruitment agencies.
5. Unprofessional communication. Poor grammar, spelling mistakes, unprofessional email addresses or overseas phone numbers are all tell-tale signs of a scam.
6. Urgency of response. If the offer insists on an immediate response without giving you enough time to think or research, be cautious.
7. Unsolicited links or attachments. Never click on a link or open an attachment that you suspect to be a scam.  
8. Look at the email domain. Does the email address have an unnecessary "s" or extra letter that isn't the brand name. We will never email you from the domain HR@harveysnashusa.com. Notice the extra "s" after Harvey. 
9. Correct up to date branding. If you notice the branding or logo doesn't look the same. For example, we are Harvey Nash with the red square brand, no longer using the "Harvey Nash Group" brand and logo.   

Things Harvey Nash will never ask you to do.

At Harvey Nash and most recruiting firms their is a standard of how we engage with our candidates and consultants. We won't ask for sensitive information without speaking with you or over email. 

1. We won't send your resume over to a client without speaking with you live, without qualifying whether or not this role is a fit for you and whether or not you consent to your resume being sent over to the client
2. We won't send you a questionnaire for you to complete in the place of a live phone call
3. We won't send you an offer letter without ever speaking to you, without presenting the offer live over the phone to receive a verbal acceptance before sending over any documents

What to do if you suspect a job scam using the Harvey Nash name or logo?

If you are unsure if a Harvey Nash communication or job offer is genuine, please contact Harvey Nash directly by emailing info@harveynash.com.

If contacted through WhatsApp we would also suggest blocking the sender and reporting the account.

You can also report the fraudster through the following resources:

· National Crime Agency – Fraud https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/fraud-and-economic-crime

· Action Fraud (National Reporting Centre for Fraud and Cybercrime) https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/recruitment-scams

· Jobs Aware (SAFERJobs) https://www.jobsaware.co.uk/