Such fake activity includes contractor fraud, disclosure and barring services (DBS) scams, ID theft and hotel scams.

Speaking on the first day of the Recruitment Agency Expo in London Olympia yesterday, DC Krishan Kapur told delegates that non-profit, joint industry and law enforcement organisation SAFERjobs is currently receiving five reports a day from people who suspect that they are victims of fraudulent activity, while there has been a 300% increase in job scams over the past two years.

Kapur explained the types of fraud affecting agencies and their candidates can include contractor fraud, which Recruiter recently highlighted, where agencies are contacted by people claiming to work on behalf of a business looking for contractor personnel.

In these cases the representatives of the apparent employer and the contractor candidates they refer to the agency turn out to be fraudulent, while significant subsequent financial loss is incurred when the agency pays the contractor for a period of time – without being paid by the employers.

Kapur also warned delegates about website squatting, where someone squats on an agency’s website using their names and potentially their contacts, and DBS scams. In these instances fraudsters tell a candidate they need a DBS check that they pay £59-£99 for to apply for a job that does not exist.

According to Kapur, other fraudulent activity affecting candidates includes ID theft, where the fraudster asks for very detailed information such as passport numbers, account numbers and even in some cases the candidate’s mother’s maiden name, so as to take out credit loans and bank accounts under their name. 

And then there are hotel scams, where an overseas recruiter will pose to work on behalf of a Central London hotel, advertise a non-existent job, and then charge huge fees for visas and registrations for this fake role.