Member Article

Warnings over phoney job and training schemes

The Citizens Advice Bureau has warned people to be vigilant about phoney training and job schemes.

22,000 reports of scams were made to the Citizens Advice service in England and Wales the last year, and the organisation estimates scams costs us £3.5bn a year.

Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: “Scammers have never had it so good as they exploit difficult economic times. For most people the recession has been really tough but it’s a different story for rogues and tricksters as they’ve cashed in on other people’s misfortune. We’re seeing people who have been dealt a double blow by losing their job and then losing money while trying to find a new one.

“This month we are warning people to be on the lookout for rogues looking to make a quick buck at their expense and reminding that scams are crimes so it is vital they are reported.”

Amongst a swathe of consumer scams, such as email phishing, pyramid selling, and lotteries, the Bureau also wished to highlight the dangers of job and training ploys.

Work at home and career opportunity scams are said to cost the UK £70m a year, and impact around 330,000 adults each yeah.

Career opportunity scams appeared to be particularly prevalent in the North West and Yorkshire.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .