Haringey Council issue warning over bogus council jobs scam

Haringey Council has issued a warning about a bogus recruitment agency offering fake council jobs to extract job seeker’s personal information.

People using legitimate job search sites to find work are being targeted by an agency called Haines Employment which claims to be recruiting for council positions.The hoax organisation has a link on genuine recruitment sites – including jobcentreplus’ - which asks people to submit their details via a CV. Individuals are then sent an email from ‘hainesemployment@googlemail.com’ to say they have been offered a position as a receptionist or office assistant at the council.The emails, sent by ‘James Haines’, also contain a genuine council extra information pack and tell the job seeker they are required to start work in April.The recipient is asked to fill in a fake application pack which asks for bank and credit card details and personal details, including information about parents and former names. The email also asks for a £6 payment via credit card for a fast-tracked CRB check.

Haringey Council stress that they would never ask for bank details or credit card details at the application stage. There is also no way to fast track CRB checks by the payment of any advance fee.

If anyone has been affected they should contact police. If they have filled in the false application pack and sent it off they should also contact their bank and credit card company immediately and take steps to protect their identity using the Home Office website link below.

Identity theft

People should be vigilant about contact from any individual or organisation claiming to be working on behalf of Haringey Council which asks for in-depth personal information or bank account and credit card details.