UNEMPLOYED Scots are being targeted in an elaborate scam offering fake jobs in an attempt to con them out of cash and get them to divulge personal details.

Scores of people looking for work have been tricked into believing they had secured new jobs with a Glasgow warehousing firm.

However, successful applicants are told they must pay for a criminal record disclosure check costing up to £200 before they can start and are directed to a website where they are encouraged to part with money using credit card and other personal details.

A number of desperate people looking for work are believed to have fallen for the ruse and only found out there was no job when they turned up for work at a city centre address and discovered the firm, Waterland Warehousing, did not exist.

Our reporter visited the address in Glasgow and spoke with other businesses there who confirmed Waterland Warehousing had never at an office at that location.

One victim Mark Wallis, 37, from Glasgow, spoke out about his nightmare experience in a bid to stop others being duped.

The 37-year-old had a lucky escape and did not part with any money because he became suspicious and told the "recruiters" he already had a disclosure form.

Wallis revealed that he was working as a temp for a firm when he received an email from Waterland Warehousing informing him that an applicant for a job as a warehouse operative had pulled out at the last minute and asking if he would be interested in taking up the post at short notice.

At the time, he thought it was a genuine offer because his contact details were already on various job- seeking websites where the firm claimed to have seen his CV.

He was told to fill in an appointment form online and that someone would call him for an interview which involved him answering three questions.

Wallis was told he had the job and a contract of employment was emailed to him after he had given personal details including his National

Insurance number. Now he is worried that this information could now be in the wrong hands.

Wallis, who has now secured a new job, reported what had happened to his local police station but was told that it wasn't classed as a crime because no money had been taken from him.

He said: “I went into my local police station and was told there was nothing they could do if I hadn’t parted with any money. They advised that I should contact the Jobcentres and welfare offices to warn them about this company, which I did, and to watch out for my NI number which is now in third-party hands.

“I am a bit worried someone will use my personal details but nothing has happened so far. I am annoyed the police didn’t seem that bothered and these people are getting away with it.

“I just want to highlight this because it is pretty bad that they are targeting people who are desperately looking for work.”

The company at the address the fake firm was using said at least 20 people, many of whom said they had parted with cash, had turned up to start work with Waterland Ware- housing over the past year to find out that the company did not exist.

When The National tried to contact Waterland Warehousing via a number on its website for its "headquarters" in Kent and on a number sent to

Wallis in various emails, they were out of service. There is no contact phone number for them in Glasgow. No-one has responded to our emails sent to the customer services department on the website either.

Waterland Warehousing is using a company number and similar name to a reputable firm that went out of business three years ago in Ireland. The scammers are also using the name of one of the directors on their fake contracts of employment.

The National tracked down the former director of Waterlands Shipping and Warehousing, Margaret Good, who confirmed she had nothing to do with Waterland Warehousing in Glasgow.

She said: “This must be a scam and they need to stop doing this. It has nothing to do with our company. Our company has gone. We have never owned any company out of Ireland. We were not aware of anyone using our company details.”

A number of people have also gone online to warn about the scam. A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “If you have been duped into sending or parting with any money then you should contact your local police office and report all the details.”

Wallis explained how the scam worked: “I got an email from them when I was looking for a job. I was doing temporary administration work at the time. It was in my junk mail but sometimes I get a lot of valid stuff in my junk mail.

“It explained the company dealt with logistics and were going to be moving offices from England to

Glasgow. It said one person had pulled out of the recruiting process and they needed to fill the vacancy fast. They got my CV off the internet from job websites.

“I told them I was keen and was given instructions to go on to their website and click a date and time for a phone interview. The call came in and he asked three questions.

“The next day I got an email and was amazed to see I got the job.

“There was a print-out contract and they got in touch to say I would need a disclosure criminal record check to work with them.

“They sent a link to a disclosure company which showed the prices and told me what ones to buy. The basic was £130 and it went up to about £200.

“I sent a message back confirming my name, address and National Insurance number and told them I already had a disclosure which covers Scotland. They never got back to me and all their numbers were out of service. A few friends checked the phone number for this company online and found there were warnings about them saying it was a con and the company didn’t exist.”