Recruitment fraud It has come to our attention various individuals and organizations are contacting people offering false employment opportunities in Whitbread businesses. We are taking this matter extremely seriously, and currently working with the appropriate legal authorities to terminate this fraudulent scheme. By making you aware, we hope to avoid and ultimately stop victims falling for this scam. What is Recruitment fraud? Recruitment fraud is a sophisticated fraud offering fictitious job opportunities. This type of fraud is normally done through online services such as bogus websites, or through unsolicited e-mails claiming to be from Whitbread and/or its businesses. These emails request recipients to provide personal information and ultimately payments to progress false applications.
How to identify Recruitment fraud - The perpetrators often ask recipients to complete bogus recruitment documentation, such as application forms, terms and conditions of employment or visa forms. The Whitbread name and logo is often featured on the documentation without authority
- There is an early request for personal information such as address details, date of birth, CV, passport details, bank details etc.
- Candidates are requested to contact other companies/individuals such as lawyers, bank officials, travel agencies, courier companies, visa/immigration processing agencies etc.
- E-mail correspondence is often sent from (or to) free web-based e-mail accounts such as Yahoo.com, Yahoo.co.uk, Gmail.com, Googlemail.com, Live.com etc.
- The perpetrators frequently use mobile or platform telephone numbers beginning with +44(0)70 instead of official company numbers.
- The perpetrators may even offer to pay a large percentage of the fees requested and ask the candidate to pay the remaining amount.
- There is an insistence on urgency
What should I do?
Do- Save messages from the perpetrator for further investigation if necessary. Save the original subject line, complete headers and complete message body.
- We would advise you to contact your local police and provide them with all information you may have from the senders.
Do not- Respond to unsolicited business propositions and/or offers of employment from people with whom you are unfamiliar
- Disclose your personal or financial details to anyone you do not know
- Send any money. Whitbread does not ask for money transfers or payments from applicants to secure a job, either as an employee or as a contractor.
- Engage in further communication if you believe the communications may be fraudulent
Lottery fraud We are aware of another fraud involving an online lottery. Please note Whitbread does not run such a lottery.
If you have been notified you have won a large sum of money in an online prize lottery you should assume this notification is fraudulent.
If you wish to determine whether an individual or organization offering such prizes is genuine, please contact us at the email address above.
We are taking this matter extremely seriously, and are passing all information relating to these frauds to the legal authorities for appropriate action.
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Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group
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