Dear residents of Kent,

There has been an increase of Employment/Recruitment Fraud in West Kent!

What is Employment/Recruitment Fraud?

Criminals create a fraudulent employment opportunity or steal the reputation of a company and create a fake advert pretending to be advertising job opportunities. They may advertise on legitimate websites.
When browsing websites for job opportunities, check the details for the company from the advert on Companies house. The contact details and address information the advert should match to that on Companies House. If it differs, be wary that it could be a fraudulent advert.

If you have received an email, text message, social media message or WhatsApp message advertising a job that you have not applied for, this may be fraudulent, and you should treat it as suspicious. DO NOT click on any links within the email/message.

Look out for email job offers that claim they can make you rich quickly and offer incredibly high salaries for part-time hours and/or require you to make an upfront payment to secure work.

A professional employer/agency will not ask you for money to work for them.

If you are ever unsure of the authenticity of the email/message and/or the link you are advised to use, do not proceed as this may not be a legitimate source.

The ABC of fraud prevention:

Never ASSUME –Never assume a call/email/ text/message is genuine.
Never BELIEVE –Never believe a call/email/ text/message is genuine – Scammers may ‘spoof’ official telephone numbers and emails, for example, the call display may show your banks telephone number, or the email may appear genuine.
Always CONFIRM –Always confirm if the call/email/ text/message is genuine – Ask for identification ( Name, Branch, employee number etc). Tell the caller you will hang up and call back to confirm. Call the bank on the number shown on their website using a different phone, or wait at least 10 minutes. Ask if it was a genuine call. If you are unsure, ask family or friends.

Please remember to never send your personal information, bank details or money to anyone if you receive an email or call asking for you to. Banks, police, HMRC and other organisations will NEVER ask you to transfer money, send money or ask for banking details and passwords. NEVER give this information to anyone.

Have a lovely weekend, enjoy the sunshine and stay safe!

Emily Jenner 46061435

Fraud Prevention Co-ordinator (West)