Fake DBS Checks & Certificates - How To Spot Them!
As recruitment largely moved online during the pandemic, scammers were quick to capitalise and flooded the jobs market with fake adverts. At the height of the pandemic, over 70% of job-seekers had applied for non-existent roles. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) recently announced a joint campaign with employment non-profit group JobsAware to boost the awareness of job scams.
Speaking on the rise in job fraud, Keith Rosser, chair of JobsAware, said:
“With the way we work and look for work continuing to evolve, job scams are becoming increasingly common and sophisticated. We know how damaging it can be to fall victim to such scams now more than ever. That is why it’s important to educate and arm job seekers with the understanding and support they need to recognise and report suspected fraud.”
An increasingly common way for scammers to deceive job-seekers is through fraudulent requests for DBS Checks. In this article, we will give you some of our top tips for spotting when a DBS Check request might be fake.
DBS Checks
DBS Checks are a tool for employers that enables them to recruit safely in industries where they regularly engage with vulnerable people. This could be children, the elderly, disabled or other vulnerable groups. DBS Checks provide a range of criminal record information on an applicant which helps employers make appropriate recruitment decisions.
As part of a DBS Check, you have to provide quite a lot of personal information, which is why they are often used to gain access to personal data. Once scammers have this information, they can use it to commit all sorts of identity fraud including taking out loans and credit cards. However, there are a few things you can be aware of to help you identify scammers:
Asking for details before an interview
DBS Checks are intended to help employers make a recruitment decision on someone they intend to employ. They should only be running DBS Checks on people that they have a legitimate interest in doing so. Running a DBS Check on someone who isn’t a potential employee is actually illegal.
If you are contacted by someone about a job role and they want to perform a DBS Check on you before you’ve even got to the interview stage, you should be cautious.
Not being asked to complete an application form
If the person who has contacted you is asking you to provide ID but you haven’t completed an application form, this is a big red flag. They might tell you that they’ll use your ID to complete the application form, but the information on your ID is rarely enough to complete a full DBS Application form.
While you can give someone else consent to complete a DBS Application on your behalf, we would not recommend doing this. It can leave you vulnerable to scammers or simply errors on the form which would mean you have to do it again.
Being asked for money
If you are asked to pay for your own DBS Check, it's worth investigating further even though it isn’t illegal. Many people wrongly assume that if an organisation asks you to pay for your DBS Check, they aren’t acting legitimately.
It is not illegal for companies to ask new employees to pay for their DBS Checks, but it is widely recognised as best practice. Most companies that do ask new employees to pay for their own DBS Checks usually offer a reimbursement scheme once a probationary period has been completed. But this is down to the company's discretion.
Are they a Registered Body?
Any organisation that carries out DBS Checks, either for themselves or as an umbrella body must register with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). These organisations are referred to as Registered Bodies. The DBS provide a full list of every organisation that can legally carry out DBS Checks, you can find it here.
If you are asked to complete a DBS Check it's always worth asking which registered body will be processing the application. If they can’t give you a name, or the companies name doesn’t appear on the list, you should be wary.
The advice here should help you spot fake requests for DBS Checks and stop you from being the victim of a scam. However, you should always be cautious when applying for jobs online.
If you have fallen victim to an employment scam or believe you have been contacted by someone with fraudulent intentions, make sure you report it. The JobsAware platform has a dedicated reporting function allowing you to submit your own experiences. You can find it here. This information helps identify scammers and can help prevent these experiences from happening to others.
If you have parted with money as part of a potential job scam, be sure that you contact the police, and they will take the matter further.