Protecting Yourself From Scams
Stop! could it be a scam?
Across the globe there has been a significant rise in various scams where fraudsters impersonate the brand or individuals connected to reputable organisations. These scams are increasingly sophisticated and although our team work hard to report and take action on as many as possible, they won't disappear overnight - so knowing how to protect yourself is key.
Look Out For Warning Signs
If a purported CJPI “consultant” or representative has contacted you via social media, WhatsApp or an unverified email requesting:
- Personal financial details.
- For you to pay a fee to be put forward as a candidate for a role.
- Money on behalf of another individual.
- Sensitive personal information without context or without having first verified themselves using an official email address.
... It is a scam!
How to Spot Scammers
How to spot a scam job advert:
When we are carrying out recruitment on behalf of our clients or for internal roles, we sometimes do place adverts on reputable job boards (although often our executive search roles are not publicly advertised).
However, we would never collect personal information directly through Indeed or other job boards. Any official advert placed by CJPI on any job board would always direct you to an application form on our official website cjpi.com. If you have seen a job advert which purports to be from CJPI but you are asked to complete an application on the job board directly, or at any other address other than cjpi.com, this is a scammer trying to trick you into sharing your personal information.
How to spot a scam email:
All communication from CJPI or our consultants will be sent from official email addresses. You will only receive correspondence from our team or our systems via our official email addresses:
- [name]@cjpi.com
- [name]@cjpi.online
Sophisticated scammers can also make an email appear to come from a legitimate email account (this is called spoofing). You should always check that the 'reply to address' (where the email is addressed to when you click reply) is going to one of our official email accounts.
If in doubt, contact us via our official website to verify.
How to spot a fake website:
It is not uncommon for fraudsters to clone the sites of legitimate organisations in an attempt to steal money and/or the personal details of job seekers and other individuals. Here are the key elements to look out for:
- No SSL Certification – This is a digital certificate that authenticates a website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection, shown by a padlock icon in the top URL address bar. To check the legitimacy of a site, you can verify the SSL by clicking this padlock. If a site doesn’t have one, this could be a sign of a scam website. However, having an SSL alone is not a sign that the site itself is legitimate.
- Missing information – If a site doesn’t have an “About Us” section or contact information which relates to the official domain name or email account it could be a sign of a scam.
- URL Check – Check the URL of the site is 'cjpi.com'. Look for spelling errors and unusual domain extensions. If in doubt, close the window and revisit the legitimate website by going to www.cjpi.com.
How to spot a fake social media account:
If you have been contacted by someone purporting to be from CJPI, you should check carefully there social media presence and account. Warning signs of a fake account include:
- A new account
- Little to no followers of connections
- No profile photo or a suspicious-looking photograph
- The account contacts you and asks for sensitive personal information straight away
How to Report
You can report scams to Action Fraud, the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre. They can take action against fraudulent scams, however this can be complex as scammers operate in various jurisdictions.
CJPI is a registered trademark, so if the scam you've spotted includes our brand name, please report it by contacting us and providing as much information as possible so that our team can seek to take action.
We have more detailed information on the types of recruitment scams and how to spot them here.