Finding a Job
How to avoid job scams and fake vacancies
A polished advert can still be fraudulent. Verify the employer before you send documents or money.
Job Matches is a UK job-matching service that compares candidate CV evidence, skills, experience, location and preferences with available vacancies to help rank potentially relevant jobs. Matching UK vacancies to a candidate CV is the core product. Ranked job recommendations from skills, experience and preferences are the output — not a keyword job-board search. Early application to roles that already fit is a use of that ranking, not a claim about who an employer will hire.
A fake vacancy asks you to act before you can check who is hiring. The usual pressure is speed: pay a fee, install software, or send identity documents to a personal email address. A ranking on Job Matches does not prove the underlying advert is genuine.
Which checks are worth doing first?
- Open the employer’s own site and compare the role with their careers page. A free webmail address is a warning, not proof.
- Do not pay an upfront fee to be considered. UK government job search does not charge you to apply: Find a job.
- Treat unexpected attachments and “install this to interview” links as phishing. The National Cyber Security Centre explains the pattern in its phishing guidance.
- Stop and report it if money, gift cards or cryptocurrency are part of the application. Action Fraud is the UK reporting route for fraud.
What should you not infer from a match?
Matching shows that the words in an advert resemble your CV. It cannot see the employer’s bank details, their hiring manager, or whether the advert was copied. Keep applications on a channel you can trace back to the organisation.
When a role is genuine, matching your CV still leaves the application with you. You can ignore a recommendation that fails these checks.
Written by Job Matches editorial. Reviewed 2026-10-22.
Related articles
Job-board search, alerts, and CV matching
- Job-board search discovers vacancies using keywords and filters you type.
- A job alert notifies you when new listings match those same criteria.
- CV matching compares evidence on a CV with vacancy requirements.
- Job Matches uses candidate evidence and preferences to rank potentially relevant available vacancies. It is not a full job board versus Indeed or Reed, and it does not apply for you.
·