Job hunters are being urged to be on the alert after an apparent scam asking people to pay £60 for a criminal record check targeted a man in Bath.
Andrew Pike, who is 52 and lives in Batheaston, signed up to the Indeed recruitment website in a bid to find a new job after recently closing his business.
He was contacted by two separate organisations offering him jobs without the need for an interview.
However, it was stipulated that he had to pay for a £60 CRB check before the position could be secured.
Mr Pike was immediately suspicious, especially because the two jobs were offering unusually high pay and good hours, so refused to hand over the money.
He said: "It would be very easy for someone to be taken in by something like this, especially when people are desperate to find a job and the pay being offered in these cases is very tempting."
Mr Pike has contacted Indeed to report the suspicious e-mails and has been told it will investigate.
The firm's response also said: "For your privacy and protection, we recommend never giving out sensitive personal information, providing credit card or bank account information, or performing any sort of monetary transaction when applying to a job online.
"If you do not feel comfortable with a particular employer or company, we recommend moving on to other job listings on the site."
Bath and North East Somerset Council's trading standards team have looked into the incident.
And they said it had "all the hallmarks of a scam".
They have said that if they receive more complaints, then they would refer the case to a regional team, which looks at national and international cases.
Indeed has not responded to a request from the Chronicle for a comment.