Business owners in Woodbridge have been left frustrated after fake job posts were made to the website, Indeed.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jules Button said the experience had been upsetting for businesses and job hunters Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNJules Button said the experience had been upsetting for businesses and job hunters Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

Posts were made to the recruitment website Indeed which appeared to advertise roles at a number of businesses in the town, including the book shop the Woodbridge Emporium.

An advert for the Woodbridge Emporium shop suggested a shop manager role was available.

But on closer inspection, it became clear that the poster is for an Oxfam store in the town and is completely unrelated to the emporium.

Jules Button, from the Woodbridge Emporium, said: “It’s not only us that upset but also the people looking for jobs.

“We had people coming in, thinking there was a job. When they found out there wasn’t, it’s another rejection.”

Another listing, this time for a flower shop in the town, also appears to advertise a role that doesn’t exist.

Instead of showing a poster of a job advertisement, a picture shows a vacancy sign for a nearby hotel.

In other examples, job adverts reportedly suggest people apply in store even when it isn’t possible, with job-hunters also said to be pointed to incorrect websites for applications.

All the listings came from Indeed’s Job Spotter app, which encourages people to upload postings they see that aren’t online.

Users then get paid through Amazon cards for their work.

A spokesman for Indeed said that the spotter posts are reviewed and vetted by a dedicated team.

He said that investigations were underway into how the Woodbridge posts came to be on the website.

“Job Spotter was launched last year in an effort to get all offline jobs online and we needed a community of people to help us with that goal,” the spokesman said.

“We reward them with gift cards for helping us with our mission.

“We take complaints very seriously and apologise for any inconvenience experienced in this instance.

“We have strict policies in place and are investigating the circumstances around these postings.

“Users deliberately posting with clear malicious intent will be banned from the app.”