JOB hunters across the borough are being targeted by bogus job adverts in an effort to gain personal details.

South Yorkshire Police have confirmed that victims applied for the bogus jobs online – believing the to be legitimate – and entered personal details including National Insurance Numbers, bank details and copies of their driving licence and passports.

The reports deal with a company called Apex Pharmacy.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: “"It's only when they've received an email from the DWP, informing them that it is not a genuine application, that they realise they have been tricked. This obviously leaves them very vulnerable to such crimes as identity theft.

"We know there will be many people struggling to find work at the moment due to the impact of the pandemic, so it's really sickening that these criminals are exploiting people who find themselves in this situation.

"We are also aware of reports of other fraudulent job advertisements, not just for 'Apex Pharmacy', so if you are applying for jobs online at the moment, please do make sure you double check the ads are genuine before sending away any of your personal details."

The police have urged the public to check job postings for poor spelling and grammar, and to beware if the employer provides a email address such as @yahoo or @hotmail as a point of contact.

You should also be suspicious if the job advert asks for payment such as administration fees.

If you think you have been a victim of a job advert scam, contact Action Fraud on 0300 1232040.