Unfortunately, recruitment scams are becoming increasingly common, and many jobseekers are being targeted by individuals posing as genuine recruiters and agencies.

Recently, we have become aware of fraudulent job adverts and messages circulating online claiming to be from members of our team. In several cases, scammers have impersonated our Consultants using unofficial Gmail addresses and fake job opportunities in an attempt to contact candidates directly.

As a recruitment consultancy, candidate trust is incredibly important to us, which is why we want to raise awareness of the warning signs and help jobseekers protect themselves.

How Recruitment Scams Typically Work

Fraudsters often impersonate established recruitment agencies because candidates naturally feel more comfortable responding to a recognised business name.

These scams can appear through:

Email
LinkedIn messages
WhatsApp or text messages
Telegram
Fake job advertisements
Cloned company profiles or websites

The communication can look convincing at first glance, particularly when company names, consultant names and logos are copied from genuine businesses.

In many recent cases across the industry, scammers have used free email accounts such as Gmail, Hotmail or Outlook addresses while pretending to represent legitimate recruitment consultants.

What Candidates Should Look Out For

Unofficial Email Addresses
One of the clearest warning signs is the email domain being used.

Professional recruitment agencies will communicate using official company email addresses, not generic Gmail accounts.

For example:

Genuine: consultant initiall.consultant surname@eurolondon.com
Suspicious: companyjobsrecruitment@gmail.com or consultant name.eurolondon@gmail.com (or variants)

If you are ever unsure, take a moment to verify the sender before responding, you can check by sending the email to london@eurolondon.com so we can confirm before you reply.

Requests for Money or Payments

A genuine recruiter will never ask candidates to:

Pay registration fees
Purchase equipment upfront
Transfer money for visa processing
Pay for training courses as part of an application

Any request for payment during a recruitment process should be treated as a major red flag.

Pressure to Respond Quickly

Scammers often create urgency to encourage quick decisions before candidates have time to verify details properly.

Messages may include phrases such as:

“Immediate start”
“Urgent hiring”
“Limited positions available”
“You have already been shortlisted”

Professional recruitment processes take time and should never pressure candidates into sharing sensitive information immediately. However, you may be told of an "immediate start" if it is a temporary position that we are recruiting for, again if unsure please verify with london@eurolondon.com 

Requests for Personal or Financial Information

We will often request certain details/documantation from you in order to verify that you have the right to work, or if you are about to undergo a temporary assignment we will need bank details in order to pay you, however please confirm that you are liaising with a genuine recruiter before forwarding these details as often scammers will request similar information.

How to Verify a Recruiter

If you receive a message about a role and are unsure whether it is genuine, there are a few simple steps you can take:

Check the recruiter’s email domain carefully
Visit the company’s official website
Verify the Consultant on LinkedIn
Contact the agency directly using the number listed on their website
Avoid using contact details provided only within the suspicious message

A quick verification can prevent both financial fraud and identity theft. All our Consultants are on LinkedIn and you are able to message them directly via the platform.

Our Commitment to Candidates

We take these incidents extremely seriously and are actively monitoring reports of fraudulent activity involving our company name and Consultants.

We would like to reassure candidates that:

• Our Consultants will only email candidates using official company email addresses
• We will never request payment from candidates at any stage of the recruitment process
• Any suspicious communication can always be verified directly with our team

If something does not feel right, we strongly encourage candidates to contact us directly before engaging further.

If you receive any communication claiming to be from our business that you are unsure about, please contact us directly through our official channels and our team will be happy to assist.