Recruitment Scam Warning: How to Protect Yourself from Fake Recruiters

Job searching should be an exciting step forward in your career. Unfortunately, recruitment scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with fraudsters impersonating legitimate recruiters and businesses to gain the trust of candidates. 

Zenopa has recently been made aware of individuals falsely claiming to represent our business. We want to be completely clear about what has happened, how you can verify genuine communication from Zenopa, and the steps you can take to protect yourself when looking for a new role. 

An important notice from Zenopa 

We have received reports from candidates who have been contacted by someone using the name “Lauren Crowther” and the email address recruiter.zenopa.hr@gmail.com, claiming to represent Zenopa. 

This email address is not associated with Zenopa and these communications have not been sent by our business. 

Zenopa employees communicate using official @zenopa.com email addresses. If you receive an unexpected approach from someone claiming to represent Zenopa using Gmail or another personal email domain, please do not provide personal information, download files or software, send money, or continue the conversation until you have independently verified the person. 

If you are ever uncertain whether someone genuinely works for Zenopa, please contact us directly through the details published on our official website. 

This is part of a much wider problem 

Unfortunately, this type of impersonation is not unique to Zenopa. 

Recruitment scams are an increasingly significant issue for candidates and employers. JobsAware, a not-for-profit organisation focused on protecting workers and jobseekers, previously reported a 259% increase in job scam reports between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023. Its research also cited Ofcom data indicating that 30% of UK online adults had encountered employment scams or fraud. 

More recently, BBC News reported on the growing sophistication of online recruitment scams, including a case in which a jobseeker was taken through what appeared to be a legitimate recruitment and interview process before being encouraged to download a bogus interview tool containing malicious software. The victim subsequently lost £18,000 in cryptocurrency. 

The case demonstrates an important point: recruitment scams are not always obvious. They can involve professional-looking emails, genuine company names, convincing interviews and information taken from real people or organisations. 

That makes verification increasingly important for everyone involved in recruitment. 

How to spot a potential recruitment scam 

There isn’t one single sign that proves an approach is fraudulent, but there are several things candidates should look out for. 

Check the sender’s full email address, rather than relying on the display name. Be cautious if someone claiming to represent an established company contacts you from a Gmail, Outlook or other personal address rather than its official company domain. 

Be wary of requests to download unfamiliar software, particularly where you are being pressured to do so quickly. The recent case reported by the BBC demonstrates how malicious software can be disguised as part of an apparently genuine interview process. 

You should also be extremely cautious if you are asked to send money, provide banking information unnecessarily, move money through your own account, purchase equipment on someone’s behalf or disclose highly sensitive personal information before you have independently verified who you are dealing with. Zenopa will never request payment, fees or money of any kind from a candidate as part of our recruitment process. 

If someone claiming to represent Zenopa asks you to send or transfer money, make a payment, purchase something on their behalf or provide funds for any reason, they are not acting on behalf of Zenopa. 

Do not make the payment. Disengage from the individual immediately and contact Zenopa directly through our official website to report the communication. 

JobsAware advises jobseekers not to include information such as their date of birth, full home address, passport number, driving licence number, National Insurance number or bank details on their CV. 

Most importantly, verify independently. Don’t rely solely on the contact details, links or telephone numbers provided by the person approaching you. Find the organisation’s official website yourself and contact the company through its published details if you have any concerns. 

How to verify someone claiming to represent Zenopa 

If you are contacted about an opportunity through Zenopa: 

• Check that email communication comes from an @zenopa.com address. 

• Visit our official website independently rather than relying on links within an unexpected email. 

• If something doesn’t feel right, contact Zenopa directly and ask us to verify the consultant and opportunity. 

• Do not send money to someone claiming to be a Zenopa recruiter. 

• Do not download unfamiliar software at the request of someone whose identity you have not verified. 

We would much rather you contact us to double-check a genuine communication than feel uncomfortable about questioning something that doesn’t look right. 

What should you do if you think you’ve been targeted? 

First, stop communicating with the suspected scammer and do not click further links or download attachments. 

Keep copies or screenshots of the emails, messages, profiles and contact details involved. These may be useful when reporting what has happened. 

If someone has contacted you while falsely claiming to represent Zenopa, please let us know through our official contact details so that we can investigate and help protect other candidates. 

In the UK, suspected job scams can also be reported to JobsAware, which provides free help and advice to people affected by employment scams and unfair working practices. 

Fraud and cybercrime can be reported to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. If you have disclosed financial information or believe money has been taken from you, contact your bank or financial provider immediately as well. 

If you have downloaded suspicious software or provided passwords, take steps to secure your accounts and devices, including changing compromised passwords from a safe device. 

Protecting trust in recruitment 

Recruitment relies on trust. Candidates often share information about their careers, aspirations and circumstances with recruiters, and they should be able to do so knowing who they are speaking to. 

Fraudsters impersonating legitimate recruiters damage that trust across the whole recruitment industry. 

At Zenopa, we will continue to communicate openly when we become aware of attempts to misuse our name. We also encourage candidates to question unexpected approaches, check who they are speaking with and contact us directly whenever they are uncertain. 

Taking an extra minute to verify a recruiter is always worthwhile. 

Further support 

BBC News: “Jobseekers warned over online interview and recruitment scams” 

JobsAware: Safe job-seeking advice and job scam reporting 

Action Fraud: Report fraud and cybercrime 

If you have received suspicious communication from someone claiming to represent Zenopa, please contact us directly through our official website.