You have just received an unexpected and lucrative job offer online. But is this the real deal or a fake vacancy created by scammers to rip you off?

The "fake Aegon" debate has been a feature on the internet in recent years. Fortunately, this rather complex theory relates to a king in the fictional Game of Thrones series. It has nothing to do with our company.

Aegon is very real. Thousands of our colleagues work diligently every day on our purpose to help our millions of customers achieve a lifetime of financial security. And we are constantly on the lookout for people with the right skills and drive to join the team.

Unfortunately, the Aegon name and logo are occasionally misused by criminals for fake job offers. Aegon is not alone in this. Most big companies – particularly household names - have experienced how their identities and reputations are manipulated by fraudsters for bogus schemes. The aim is to steal your personal information or money.

Our businesses cooperate with the relevant authorities to tackle this sort of abuse. However, it is so prevalent online that the best remedy is for everyone to be on their guard for fake job offers.

You are probably familiar with the phrase: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Fraudsters present you with a sugar-coated offer to increase the chance you will take the bait quickly. The prospect of work-at-home employment for a large international company like Aegon is as sweet as they come, particularly amid the economic hardship caused by the pandemic.

It is important, therefore, to take your time to calmly review any offer before reacting. Here are a few tips:

Aegon posts vacancies on our Career websites and promotes them on LinkedIn or reputable acquisition channels such as Careerguide24, Indeed and Glassdoor. Candidates register interest by using dedicated online forms or email. We then talk further with applicants via phone and email.

While we embrace innovative technologies and new ways of communication in our business, Aegon does not make initial approaches to candidates or ask them to contact us via messaging apps or message boards.

It is important to consider who has made the first move. Did you react to an offer you saw online, or were you approached unsolicited? If you are contacted about employment out of the blue by someone claiming to represent Aegon on Facebook or Instagram, it's a fake!

Is the message from the "recruiter" inconsistent, with an odd logo, strange layout or spelling and grammatical mistakes?

Is it designed to create a sense of urgency ("We need you to start ASAP!!")?

Aegon has been around for over 175 years, so we know when speed is essential and when to take time with important decisions such as hiring new colleagues.

Our corporate offices are currently closed due to the pandemic. This means we are all on our cell/smart phones, but email addresses haven’t changed. We don't use Gmail or Yahoo email addresses. If your dealings with Aegon are by phone, one of our recruiters will call you. Be wary of online messages telling you to contact a certain telephone number. You could be ringing up a very large phone bill.

If in doubt about contact details, go to the contact us page of Aegon.com and send an email or call asking for confirmation that the offer is genuine.

Aegon is a financial services provider, but it should be a red flag if a "recruiter" using the Aegon name tries very quickly to steer the conversation to money. A fraudster may ask you to pay a fee for "training". Alternatively, you may be offered a sum of money via check to cover computer and other costs associated with working from home. Don’t accept the check. Some excuse will be found to have you repay the money from your own resources and the check will bounce.

Likewise, you should not be asked for your social security number, credit card number or other personal details in initial conversations. If you are, be aware that you risk being scammed.

Contact the authorities

You should not interact with a person you suspect may be trying to scam you and don't make any payments in the hope the offer is genuine and you will get your dream job.

Instead contact your local law enforcement agency, and you can report the matter to Aegon. Here's what we say about cyber safety and how to contact us: