How to spot a recruitment scam

Recruitment fraud is growing, and it is one of the more cynical scams out there, because it preys on people at exactly the moment they are most hopeful and least guarded: with a new job — and a better future — apparently within reach. Every year we hear from people who have been approached by fraudsters using our name, or the name of a firm like ours, and it makes me angry every time. So I want to be blunt about the warning signs, about how these scams actually work, and about what a legitimate agency like ours will and will never do.

Please read this even if you think you'd never fall for it. The best of these scams are professional, patient and convincing. They don't look like the clumsy emails of a decade ago; they use real company names, plausible job descriptions, and well-designed fake portals. Knowing the structure of the con is the best protection there is.

How the scam usually works

Recruitment fraud tends to follow a predictable arc, and recognising the shape of it is more useful than memorising any single red flag. It typically starts with an unsolicited approach — a message about an exciting role you didn't apply for, often flattering about your experience. The "process" is unusually smooth and fast: a quick chat, an enthusiastic offer, very little real scrutiny. Then, once you're emotionally invested, comes the ask — money for equipment, a fee for a visa or background check, or your bank and identity details to "get you set up on the payroll." That final step is the whole point of the exercise. Everything before it is theatre designed to get you there.

The red flags

Any one of these should stop you in your tracks. More than one, and you are almost certainly looking at a scam.

• Any request for money. For "training", "equipment", a "background check", a "visa deposit" — anything at all. This is the single clearest sign. A legitimate agency is paid by employers, never by candidates. If someone asks you to pay to get a job, it is a scam. There are no exceptions to this rule.
• Requests for bank details or identity documents to "secure" a role before you have been formally and verifiably hired. Your bank details are needed to pay you, which happens after you start — never to "reserve" a position.
• Emails from free accounts. A message from a company or agency that comes from a gmail, outlook or similar free address — sometimes with the real company name in the display name to disguise it. Always check the actual address, not just the name shown.
• Offers that are too good, too fast. A high salary offered with little or no real interview, or a job offered within hours of first contact. Genuine hiring, especially at senior level, takes proper assessment.
• Pressure and urgency. "You must pay today or lose the role." "The client needs your details in the next hour." Manufactured urgency exists to stop you thinking clearly and checking. A real employer will always give you time.
• Slightly wrong details. A domain name with an extra letter, a logo that's subtly off, a job title that doesn't quite match the company. Fraudsters imitate; they rarely get every detail right.

How to verify you're really talking to us

The reassuring news is that verifying a genuine approach is easy, and takes two minutes. Fraud relies on you not taking those two minutes, so take them.

• Check the email address, character by character. Ours always ends in @garricktalent.co.uk. If it doesn't, it isn't us.
• Verify independently. Don't reply to a suspicious message or call the number it gives you — both may be controlled by the scammer. Instead, find our details yourself and make contact separately.
• Call our switchboard. Our London office is on +44 20 4620 6620. Ring it and ask whether the person who contacted you genuinely works for us. We will always confirm or deny it happily.
• Ask for the consultant by name. Every genuine Garrick consultant is listed on our team page with a verified company email. If the person contacting you isn't there, be very careful.

Who these scams target

It's a mistake to think this only happens to the naive or the desperate. In our experience the opposite is often true: fraudsters increasingly target experienced, senior professionals, precisely because they are used to being approached by recruiters and therefore less suspicious of an unsolicited message about a great role. Active jobseekers are targeted because their guard is down and their hope is high; passive candidates are targeted because a flattering approach to someone not even looking is disarming. Recent graduates and people returning to work after a break are targeted because they may be less familiar with how legitimate hiring actually works.

In other words, there is no profile that is safe, and no shame in being targeted — only in the scam succeeding. The single habit that protects everyone, regardless of seniority, is the same: slow down and verify independently before you share anything or pay anything.

If you think you've been targeted

If something feels wrong, trust that instinct and stop. You are never being rude or difficult by pausing to verify — any legitimate recruiter will respect it, and most will actively encourage it. Never act on the contact details contained in a suspicious message alone.

If you believe you've been approached by someone using our name fraudulently, please tell us at security@garricktalent.co.uk so we can warn others and help shut it down. And whether or not our name is involved, report it to Action Fraud (the UK's national fraud reporting centre) — the more reports they receive, the more they can do. If you've already shared bank details, contact your bank immediately; they can often act quickly to protect your account.

A genuine job offer is one of the good moments in life. Don't let anyone use that hope against you. If you're ever unsure whether an approach in our name is real, get in touch and we'll confirm it straight away.