Job scams and how to avoid them

The Careers Service reviews each job advertisement it places in an effort to ensure jobs are genuine, lawful and non-discriminatory.

Unfortunately there has been a large increase in employment scams over recent years. During your job search, you may occasionally therefore encounter roles that are not genuine and whose only purpose is to take advantage of you as a job seeker, usually financially. Sometimes these are illegal, sometimes they exploit loopholes in the law or rely on the applicant not reading and understanding what they are getting into. In some cases 'phishing' scams are attempts to obtain your financial/personal data for fraudulent purposes.

Tips for avoiding scam jobs

  1. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be alert to roles where the per hourly rate or salary is much higher that is usual for similar types of opportunity.
  2. Be suspicious if directed to different numbers, email addresses, websites, what’s app/messaging platforms or a different company name than the one in the advert you responded to. Watch out for typos and also be alert if it’s a free email service (gmail etc).
  3. Do not part with any money or alternative form of payment (ie Gift Cards). In line with our vacancy policy, the Careers Service does not advertise roles where there is a stated upfront financial investment from students but sometimes this is not evident until the onboarding process has begun.
  4. Avoid schemes where you make money by signing up new members to sell for you.
  5. Make sure you ask questions about the job if you are unsure.
  6. Do not be pressurised to sign up to anything you do not fully understand.
  7. Be careful about what information you share – for example bank or financial information, passport or similar identification, personal data if you have not had any formal and legitimate job offer/contract of employment.
  8. If in doubt:
  • Do not apply for the job.
  • Do not agree to sign anything.
  • Do not pay for any services on offer.
  • Do not share any financial or personal data.
  • Do not return any contact with the organisation.
  • Ask the Careers Service for a second opinion.

Get advice on scams

The University’s Pause, Check, Protect campaign has been designed to support students with understanding scams:

If you believe that you have been victim of an employment scam:

  1. Keep copies of all correspondence about the job, write down names, dates and everything you can remember.
  2. Refer to guidance from Action Fraud around how to report the incident
  3. If the vacancy was inadvertently advertised through the Careers Service or on campus, please tell us immediately by contacting careers.info@manchester.ac.uk

General guidance on standard employment practices in the UK can also be found at: Work - Citizens Advice