Searching for a job can be a difficult and frustrating process. Therefore, when we are in the middle of the process, we are likely to grasp at straws. And if we have been added to a WhatsApp group called Adecco Hiring , we may be delighted to think that perhaps through this means we will finally find the opportunity we deserve. However, not everything that glitters is gold. And as many imagine after seeing offers that seem too good to be true, it is a scam.
In this scam, we are added almost out of nowhere to a WhatsApp group of the Adecco company, in which job offers are shown . In principle everything is normal and nothing that could make us suspect that it is a scam.
At one point, we see that a very attractive offer is posted in this group. It is a remote job, with flexible hours and a fairly high salary . And when we click on it, it takes us to a page very similar in appearance to that of Adecco, where we are asked for some information to apply for the position, such as our ID, telephone number or address.
But at the end of this registration process, the supposed Adecco Contracting website asks you for a registration fee or a deposit to continue in the process. Since you are supposedly going to start working soon, paying a small amount is not a major problem for you.
But once you have paid you no longer know anything about the job offer . The page you registered on had nothing to do with Adecco and you have not actually paid this company either. You have been the victim of a scam that takes advantage of the need to work of people who are unemployed to try to steal a few euros from them. This is a case of phishing, online scams in which scammers impersonate a company, which has become very popular in recent weeks, so if you are looking for work you should be alert.
How to avoid falling for the Adecco Hiring scam
The company Adecco has already been informed about the scam and has made a statement regarding the matter. It has assured that at no time do they use WhatsApp to recruit staff for their job offers. Therefore, if out of the blue you are added to a group supposedly managed by this company, you should know that they are trying to scam you.
Furthermore, neither Adecco Hiring nor any other serious company is going to ask you to pay to start taking part in a selection process .
You can also detect that it is a scam by looking at the website that the WhatsApp messages take you to. It is true that phishing professionals are able to reproduce an interface very similar to the one found on the real Adecco platform, but in general the design is much less polished . If you also notice that there are some spelling mistakes or grammar errors, it seems clear that it is not the real page.
And if you have doubts about whether the offer is real or not, it is best to contact Adecco directly to ask them about it.
If you have already been a victim of this scam, the first thing you should do is report the WhatsApp group. Then, especially if you have paid, file a police report stating what happened and how much money you paid. Even if it is a small amount or you have little faith that you will ever be able to recover it, we always recommend that you report it, as it will help the authorities to be on the lookout and prevent other people from falling for the same scam.