At Propel, security is a top priority.

We understand that money is tight in the current climate and now more than ever we need to do our best to protect ourselves and others financially. Unfortunately, there are still lots of individuals out there who are trying to target vulnerable people. The effect the rising cost of living crisis is having is also impacting the volume of fraudsters seeking to take advantage of this situation.

A report from Which? states that scammers are posing as consultants from recruitment companies and sending out fake job offers – usually via text message or WhatsApp. This is a bid to trick their victims into engaging with them. This technique is known as ‘phishing’.

Here are some ways to identify that you may have received a fake message from a scammer:

• The message was unexpected. Recruitment companies don’t usually contact people out of the blue. 
  
• The message contains a link. Many scammers send messages containing links to malware or deceptive website that is designed to trick you into sharing personal information.
  
• The job offer seems too good to be true. Scammers who pose as recruiters often mention overly ‘too good to be true’ perks like flexible hours, working from home, and generous salaries. 
  
• The message is very pushy or urgent-sounding. Scammers want you to act before you think, so they often use pushy language and phrases like ‘today only’ and ‘one hour left’ are common.
  
• The message contains spelling and grammar errors. Scammers tend not to sound as professional as genuine recruitment consultants, so keep your eyes open for spelling mistakes, broken English, missing punctuation marks, etc.

What to do if you think you’ve received a scam message: 

If you receive a WhatsApp message, text message or email posing as someone you know or a consultant but something feels off about it, it’s likely the message is from a scammer. If you receive a scam message:

• DON’T reply to the message.
• DON’T open any links in the message
• REPORT the message (to the police and the appropriate authorities)

What can a scam message look like? 

Here is an example of a scam message people have previously received from a fraudster pretending to be a Propel consultant:

“Hi, I’m Samantha from Propel Recruited.
I get your number from the company’s database. Are you interested in a flexible role?
May I share you more details? This is probably the most exciting time to join us as we have some big projects on for 2023, that you will be central to”

They also sometimes follow those messages up by enticing further with ‘Benefits & Requirements’ packages, such as:
“- Flexible time and UK location
– Weekly (700-900 USDT) (30-60 minutes/day)
– Age 20 above
– Salary issue via encrypted wallet (TRC20)”

If you receive a suspicious message like the one above that appears to be from us, please contact us directly by either sending an email to [email protected] or via our website to report the message.