Graduate job worries leading to scams

09/11/2009

False job sites are being set up by criminals to take advantage of the current tough employment market for recent graduates.

Young Britons, many of whom are suffering from personal income worries and debt problems, could be falling for too-good-to-be-true offers made by the con artists, the Observer reported.

Many of the scams are thought to be perpetrated through a graduate applying for an attractive-sounding job.

A representative from the site then gets in touch and tells the youngster that they are a good match - but that their CV needs to be improved before proceeding.

They are then offered a CV service in exchange for handing over their card details and other personal information to pay a fee or confirm their identity.

However, the job often does not exist at all and the information is used to perpetrate fraud and drain the victim's bank and credit card accounts.

Speaking to the newspaper, recent graduate Oliver Mernick-Levene said that he had been targeted by a suspected con artist over a £28,000-per-year, entry level position.

"He wouldn't tell me any more about the job or what was wrong with my CV," the graduate said.

"He was quite insistent about the money. He also asked lots of questions about my private data on the pretext of confirming my details."

Unemployment in the UK has hit a 14-year high, with Britain's youth bearing the brunt of the job losses.

The overall jobless total stands at almost 2.5 million people according to latest official statistics.

Tags; Job loss, Recent Graduate Debt,

Regional Debt Advice; Debt Advice Leven,

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