Safer Jobs

At myjobscotland we're committed to helping you find the right job in a safe and secure environment.

On this page, you can learn more about some of the most common internet security threats, what you can do to protect yourself, and what we do to ensure your details remain secure.

Common security threats

Money laundering:

Jobseekers are an increasingly common target for money laundering scam emails. Typically, these emails concern a job offer and the sender may claim to have found your details on a job site such as myjobscotland, but we would never share your information with anyone other than the main organisations who use the site for manging their jobs. They often offer job titles such as 'transaction manager' or 'accounts assistant'.

Money laundering scams usually have five key stages:

• A jobseeker responds to a fake email job offer
• The jobseeker is asked for their bank details
• A cheque is paid into the jobseeker's bank account
• The jobseeker is instructed to transfer a portion of the funds into another account (often via a money transfer service, such as Western Union or Moneygram) and keep the remainder as their payment
• Once the jobseeker has transferred the money, the cheque bounces and the victim is left with the debt

Falling victim to a money laundering scam is not only distressing, it can also affect credit ratings and bring victims under suspicion of criminal activity.

However, there are a number of tell-tale signs to look out for to help you spot a potential money laundering scam:

• Are you being offered an opportunity to work from home? Usually, this type of scam email includes the offer of a great opportunity to work from home as a transaction processor or similar.
• Is the salary offered realistic? Usually, the fake jobs being offered in this type of scam offer an unrealistically high salary.
• Are you being asked for bank details? Money laundering scammers will ask you for your bank details. You should never give these out to a company you don't completely trust.
• Do you have a personal contact? In most money laundering scams, communication will be carried out entirely over email and/or instant messaging, with no telephone or face to face contact.
• Are there spelling and grammar mistakes in the email? Money laundering scam emails often originate from outside the UK and spelling and grammar mistakes are common.

If you're suspicious of any email you receive, please contact us including the subject line of the email you received, and the email address it was sent from.

Phishing:

Phishing emails are an increasingly common method used to try and gain access to personal details in order to carry out fraud or identity theft.

Typically, a phishing email will claim to have been sent by a reputable organisation and ask that you respond to the email with your username and/or password or that you enter your sign in details over a 'secure' connection.

Whilst phishing emails can seem very professional, there are usually a number of clues to alert you to the fraudulent nature of the emails. When reading an email claiming to be sent from myjobscotland, you should always keep the following questions in mind:

• Are you being asked to provide your password? myjobscotland will never ask you to provide your password in response to an email or phone call.
• Are there spelling and grammar mistakes in the email? Phishing emails often originate from outside the UK and spelling and grammar mistakes are common.
• Are you being asked to download something? If you don't recognise a file, don't download it. All myjobscotland account details are stored online, so we'll never ask you to download anything to use the service.
• Are you being threatened with losing access to your account? Phishing emails sometimes make it seem like you'll lose access to your account unless you download something or provide your sign in details. myjobscotland will never ask you to do anything like this in order to keep your account open.

If you're suspicious of any email you receive from myjobscotland, please contact us with the subject line of the email, and the email address it was sent from.

Spoofing:

Spoofing occurs when a criminal creates an exact copy of a website in order to make a fraudulent company look legitimate. A spoofed website will usually look exactly the same as the website of a legitimate company, but with a slightly different web address (e.g., '.biz' instead of '.com' or '.co.uk'). If you're suspicious of any website you're directed to as a result of your dealings with myjobscotland, please contact us and we'll investigate.

Identity theft

Identity theft occurs when an individual steals personal details from someone else, and uses the information to fraudulently impersonate that individual. Victims of ID theft often find that their details are used to open bank accounts and obtain credit in their name.

Identity theft can only take place where a criminal has been able to gain access to enough personal details to create false documents in another person's name. In order to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft:

• Never give out sensitive personal information such as your bank details, date of birth, National Insurance number or a copy of your passport in relation to an email
• Look out for spelling and grammar mistakes in emails you receive
• Never give out your sign in details in response to an email

If you suspect that you've been a victim of identity theft, you should contact the police as soon as possible. Details on how to report a fraud can be found here.

Stay safe with SAFERjobs

To stay safe in your job search we recommend that you visit SAFERjobs, a non-profit, joint industry and law enforcement organisation working to combat job scams. Visit the SAFERjobs website for information on common scams and to get free, expert advice for a safer job search.

What you can do to protect yourself

Account security

Online security risks can be minimised simply by ensuring that your password is always kept secure. We recommend you follow the password security advice below:

• Always use a password which is personal and does not contain your name, email address or the word 'password'
• Ensure your password contains both letters and numbers
• Never give your password out to anyone - we will never ask you for your password
• Change your password at least once every three months
• Take a moment to memorise your password so you don't need to write it down
• Try and use a different password for each different website you use

General advice

It's always important to be mindful of your security and safety online. Look at our top 10 tips to staying safe online to make sure you're not putting yourself at risk.

• If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of offers for jobs paying a high salary for working from home.
• Never provide personal details when looking for a job. There's no need for a recruiter to request your bank details before you've been through the interview process and been offered a role.
• Never agree to process funds through your personal bank account on behalf of a company. Any legitimate company will have corporate accounts, so would never ask you to do this.
• Never provide your personal details over a non-secure connection. If you're being asked to enter sign in details, look for the “https://” at the beginning of the website address.
• Look out for bad spelling and grammar. Email scams often originate from outside the UK so may not contain perfect English.
• Never provide your username and password in an email purporting to be from myjobscotland. We'll never ask you to provide this information in an email.
• Be wary of recruiters with no personal contact. It's very unlikely that a recruiter would offer you a job without a telephone and/or face to face interview.
• Keep your password secure and up-to-date. Passwords should be changed at least once every three months and shouldn't contain your name, email address or the word 'password'.
• If in doubt, report it. If you're suspicious about any contact you receive related to myjobscotland, contact us and our Customer Support Team will investigate.

If you think you have been the victim of online fraud, you can contact Police Scotland on 101 (calls from within Scotland), or visit their website for advice here.

What we're doing to protect you

We've partnered with several industry leaders to ensure you receive the most secure levels of service possible whilst using the site.

SSL encryption

To protect your personal information in specific areas of the site, myjobscotland uses industry standard SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption to encrypt and secure your data. Whenever you enter a secure area of the site, you'll notice the address in your web browser changes to begin with "https://". SSL certificates used on myjobscotland are provided and authenticated by COMODO.