Monster.co.uk is urging job seekers to follow their security advice to protect themselves when searching for jobs online.
Email scams can take on a number of forms when targeting those who are job-hunting.
Phishing is designed to fraudulently obtain an individual’s personal information, and account log-in information, for their online profiles on job websites. Users may also be asked to download software that turns out to be malicious. Monster will never ask users to download software to access their accounts or to use their services.
‘Spoofing’ is when a user receives a fraudulent offer of employment, or is offered an opportunity to act as a go-between for payment processing or money transfers. This is also known as ‘money muling’.
How to avoid becoming a phishing victim:
- be suspicious if you receive an email with an urgent request for personal financial information
- beware that phishers often say something upsetting or exciting in their emails to encourage people to react quickly
- phishing emails often ask for a lot of personal information that you wouldn’t normally give out easily – including usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, National Insurance numbers, date of birth etc
- don’t click on links in emails or other online correspondence if you’re suspicious about whether it’s genuine. If you’re not sure, phone the company on a known phone number, or type-in the known url of the company into the address bar to access your account – you’ll still see if you have any updates or messages
- check that the website you are using is secure before submitting bank account information, or other sensitive information, online. You can do this by checking the web address starts with ‘https’ and has a padlock in the address bar.
Anyone who has given out their bank details in response to a suspicious email should contact their bank immediately. Anyone who has lost money to fraud should report it to Action Fraud.
Read more about job seeking scams on Monster’s website.
Please note: Action Fraud is not responsible for the content on external websites.
To report a fraud, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.