We've had several Members flag phishing and scamming emails naming CIOL and ITI. We're working with ITI on a joint approach to tackle this, but in the meantime here some things to watch out for from the people who have been in touch with us:

Check the company name – scammers use names which are real or similar to real companies, but it's worth double checking for plausibility.

Fake emails – if they're not from the company why not? Look out for gmail and odd endings on emails that don’t match web addresses.

Similar names/roles – passing a person off as someone who does exist.

Odd remuneration and 'training periods'.

Flattery such as "We have recently reviewed your impressive profile" or "Your qualifications and experience seem to be an excellent fit for this role." etc.

Citing CIOL or ITI as the source of the contact ('...profile on The Chartered Institute of Linguists etc).

Poor English or English errors which are not credible given the purported country of origin/language pairs.

Promises that the full job description and additional details will be 'provided during the interview' so no actual information can be checked in advance.

There is a link, which is the REALLY dangerous part, allegedly to set up an 'interview' or register interest but which may draw down personal info and upload malware, etc.

The crucial thing is not to click any link.
 

There are literally thousands of malware attempts on most organisations every day, and scammers are skilled, opportunistic and smart. Please take care, as we can seek to block and report but the speed of response and rapid iteration of the phishing attacks will always outpace the authorities.

Software which blocks links and cyber insurance are both well worth the investment, but the golden rule is never click an unknown link...