WhatsApp warning

Have you recently received a WhatsApp message from a recruiter who seems suspicious?

We want to alert our candidates to a current scam that preys on job seekers. Some scammers might contact you with enticing job offers to extract your personal information or ask for payment. This scam is currently widespread and affecting thousands of recruiters in the UK.

Our recruiters will never contact you initially via WhatsApp message. Initial contact will be by phone on 01243 782763, via job board if you have applied or have a public CV, or by email from an official Kiwi Recruitment address.

Please remember if you are contacted by our team, they would only conduct themselves in a professional manner and will never make any suspicious requests. We would like to thank those who have forwarded us the evidence of this scam. We would also encourage you to report any suspicious scams to the Action Fraud here.

Here are some tips to help you spot a fraudulent message:

• It’s a message that you weren’t expecting.
• It comes from a number or email address you don’t recognise. (We have had several reports of the use of US +1 numbers in these scams)
• It contains a link – please avoid clicking it.
• The job offer seems too good to be true.
• They are asking for money or personal details, such as your age or bank details.
• The message is poorly written and contains spelling errors.

We apologise for the inconvenience, be assured that we report every issue but unfortunately as these are cyber scams, we are unable to stop this widespread issue affecting the whole recruitment industry. Find more advice on how to deal with fraud here.