Recruiters warned of new scam

The recent warning issued by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) regarding a fraudster who has been ‘conning agencies’ is a sad reflection on those parts of the recruitment sector which are obviously not doing their jobs properly, said Aisling Tighe, managing director of Perriam & Everett

Tighe explained: ‘The scam involves the fraudster setting up a false company and then contacting an agency asking for a temporary worker with a very specific skill set. Within days, the agency is sent a fake CV of someone with such skills, which secures its fictitious owner a job with the non-existent company. The agency then pays the wages of the temporary worker, after which both client and candidate disappear.’

Added: ‘Any agency that has lost money to this scam is obviously not undertaking a client visit or doing any form of research or credit checking on the client company. Nor are they reference checking or identity checking their temporary candidates – two of the very cornerstones of the REC code of practice which states: Members should document all key stages of the recruitment process in line with relevant legislation and good practice guidance.’

‘While obviously it is devastating to be the victim of fraud, perhaps if some of these firms had adhered to a more robust set of professional set of standards when dealing with clients and candidates, the fraudsters would not have seen the sector as such easy prey.’