Unfortunately, phishing scams - a type of social engineering attack often used to obtain user data – have become all too commonplace, and recruitment agencies, like HR Heads, have been targeted.
We have recently been made aware of one such scam in which someone is contacting people via Whatsapp alleging to be Grace from HR Heads.
The scammer has also been using the HR Heads’ logo in an attempt to add legitimacy to their scam.
They are reaching out to people from different numbers with fake job opportunities and creating fake email signatures with our logo – below is an example of one such fake email signature.
To help protect yourself against a potential phishing scam, please note the ways in which the team at HR Heads will communicate with you:
- Via a verified email address
HR Heads conduct email communications using the following domains: @hrheads.co.uk @headsgroup.co.uk and will never contact people with any other email service to communicate with jobseekers (in the above fake email signature, the scammers are using a Gmail account)
- Formal interview process
We conduct formal interview processes, again these will be set up using an official HR Heads email address, which will use the @hrheads.co.uk or @headsgroup.co.uk format
- No payment requests
We will never ask for payment from candidates as part of our recruitment process, be that for service or visa fees, background or taxes – we do not work in this way at all.
- We don’t request personal information during the early stages of the process
The team at HR Heads may request a passport at the latter stage of an interview process, again, these requests will come from an official @hrheads.co.uk or @headsgroup.co.uk email address, and will only be necessary when you are in a formal interview process as part of regulatory requirements by the UK government which require all firms to check a candidate’s right to work in the UK before hiring.
For more information on the checks carried out by employers, visit the government’s website.
Who are the HR Heads team?
The team may be small, but we have vast experience in HR recruitment, and you can find out more about the HR Heads team here.
These are the only people who represent HR Heads and all of their legitimate contact details can be found on their profiles.
What are HR Heads doing about phishing scams?
Clearly, we are disappointed that someone is using our well-established brand to try and scam people.
We have reported the malicious communications to the police, Action Fraud and the mobile network provider of the mobile numbers.
How to protect yourself from job scams:
- Do not respond to text messages and calls from suspicious and unknown numbers.
- Do not transfer money to people you do not know.
- Do not share personal and sensitive information such as your bank account/credit card details, or passport number.
Other steps you can follow:
If you wish to verify the legitimacy of a message, email or phone call that you receive from an individual claiming to be from HR Heads, you can contact us directly at +44 1962 432001.
Please avoid any further communication with the individual or click on any links within the message and report the message to Whatsapp, you can find out how to block someone on Whatsapp by clicking here.
If you do receive what you suspect are scam calls or messages you should also file a report with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
