Recruitment fraud notice

We are aware that people are being contacted with fake offers of employment from individuals and organisations claiming to represent Aurecon. The Aurecon name and logo have been used on documentation without authority.

If you believe you have received a suspicious email, please forward it to sharedservices.people@aurecongroup.com

What is recruitment fraud?

Recruitment fraud is on the increase. Recruitment fraud happens when scammers offer fake job opportunities to job seekers. Scammers target job seekers by listing jobs that don’t exist, in the hopes of getting either money or personal data, for use in identify theft.

Recruitment fraud tends to occur through online services including fake recruitment e-mails, fake SMS texts, fake URLs (websites), fraud social media accounts, fraud job posts, online recruitment services such as LinkedIn or unsolicited emails claiming to be from well-known organisations. Often company employee names and logos are used to try to convey legitimacy.

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

What should I do if I receive a suspicious job scam email?

If you believe you have received a suspicious email, please forward it to sharedservices.recruitment@aurecongroup.com.

You can also forward the email you received to the fraud department of the email provider hosting the scammers email address, and request the account be closed:

• Yahoo (Ymail etc.): mail-abuse@cc.yahoo-inc.com
• Google mail (Gmail etc.): abuse@googlemail.com
• Hotmail (Live mail etc.): report_spam@hotmail.com

If you have already disclosed your bank details or received funds into your account, you should contact your bank immediately.

Protect yourself from online job scams

The following good security practices are recommended:

• Change your passwords on other online services, if you re-use the same password.
• Enable multi-factor authentication and other available security measures provided by your other online services.
• Be aware of potential phishing emails and telephone calls from businesses or institutions requesting your personal details. Avoid opening attachments from unknown senders via email or social media.
• Install anti-virus software and keep it updated.
• Apply all recommended software patches from operating system and software providers.

Your best defence against Internet job scams

Do a search on the company name. Compare what you find to the information sent to you. Visit the company’s website. Check the check the URL, or web address of the company – does it match exactly with what you have been sent? Scammers will use a different variation of the website address.

Until you have done your research and know for sure the employer and job are legitimate, you should not:

• Use any contact information in the job posting or on the website.
• Share your personal or financial details with anyone you do not know.
• Register a resume or set up a profile.
• Respond to unsolicited business propositions and/or offers of employment from people you do not know.
• Engage in further communication if you believe the communication may be fraudulent.

Where do I go for more information?

If you believe you have been the victim of recruitment fraud, we advise you to contact your local authorities.