How do I identify recruitment fraud and protect myself from online job scams?

14 warning signs of recruitment fraud

1. The message is not addressed to you personally
2. The message does not have a street address, only a post office box or an email address
3. The message sender is using a free email address such as Yahoo, Live, Hotmail or Gmail
4. Receiving unsolicited communications and/or offers for jobs you did not apply for
5. Being asked to provide sensitive identification details – like your date of birth, bank details or a copy of your passport or driver's licence. Genuine employers won’t need these details until they have made a formal job offer and you have signed the contract.
6. Being asked to send money in advance to pay for things such as: training materials; travel to an interview or job location; work visas; background and or credit checks.  If you are being asked for money – no matter what the reason given – you are being scammed. Do not hand over your money.
7. Being asked for financial information to set up a company account or for direct deposits
8. Being offered a role without anyone seeing your CV or speaking with you or being offered the role within minutes of applying and then asked to send money for training or undertake a free week trial.
9. The salary is way more than you would normally earn
10. A badly written message full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes
11. The job description is not clear and doesn’t ask for specific skills, qualifications or previous experience
12. Being asked to set up a Gmail account and contact the hiring manager through Google Hangout
13. Getting viruses or malware onto applicant’s computers and/or mobile devices through attachments or links in the job posting or other communications
14. Prompting users to try to log into fake accounts; similar to phishing schemes where scammers then record the information entered on the fake site and use it to log into the real account

Aurecon’s recruitment practices

Aurecon is taking this matter very seriously and is working to raise awareness and ultimately prevent people from becoming victims of employment scams.

To check if the communication you have received is legitimate, please review the guidance below:

• Verify the email address – Aurecon employees conduct email communications via the domain @aurecongroup.com. We will never use Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or any other non-official email account to communicate with potential candidates.
• Formal interview process – In most cases the individual being approached has not applied for a vacancy with Aurecon. Aurecon won’t make job offers without performing a formal interview process. Our recruitment process involves personal interviews, in most cases.
• First contact telephone calls are always from a fixed line – Aurecon employees always make first contact telephone calls from fixed lines from our offices; never via text message or by mobile phone.
• We won’t ask for money – Aurecon never requests money from candidates who seek employment with us. We will never ask for any form of payment as part of the recruitment process for visa fees, taxes, accommodation, background checks or travel expenses.
• Don’t send sensitive personal information via email – Aurecon will never request copies of passports, driver’s licences, credit cards or other forms of personal identification by email.
• Aurecon website pages always include – https://www.aurecongroup.com
• Legitimate information regarding career opportunities with Aurecon – Can always be found on our website at https://www.aurecongroup.com/careers

Frequently asked questions