Notice of Fraudulent Hiring Practices by Unauthorized Individuals Posing as Arrakis Personnel

Arrakis has received reports that unauthorized individuals who are posing as Arrakis personnel have placed false ads for jobs at Arrakis on internet sites and have contacted job applicants to collect sensitive personal information about them. The unauthorized individuals have contacted the job applicants who believe that they are applying and interviewing for a job at Arrakis by email, text or the application Telegram and have extended fake verbal or written job offers. During this fake “hiring process,” the unauthorized individuals have requested the job applicants provide sensitive information such as Social Security Number, driver’s license number, and other information that typically is included on the IRS W-4 employee withholding certificate form.

These false job advertisements and the fake hiring process are not part of Arrakis’ official hiring process. The Arrakis electronic systems are secure and have not been breached in connection with these fraudulent practices. To protect individuals who would like to apply for jobs with Arrakis, we have provided these questions and answers:

How do I know if I am being contacted by an unauthorized individual posing as an Arrakis executive or manager or am part of a fraudulent hiring practice?

Fake interview requests, often sent by email or text and fake offer letters have logos and executive signatures that look like the Arrakis logo and Arrakis executive signatures and appear to be authentic. However, the only legitimate business email domain we use is @arrakistx.com and our employees will never use a Gmail or other personal email address to contact you. Unless you apply directly on the Arrakis website and provide us with consent to text you regarding hiring updates, we will not contact you via text message. Arrakis will never contact applicants through the application Telegram or conduct an interview through a chat feature on the internet. Legitimate Arrakis personnel will never ask you to provide personal or identification information via email, text, or telephone as part of our hiring process, or ask you to make any purchases in connection with the hiring process. You should not, under any circumstances, provide any personal information to anyone using these communication methods or make any purchases at their request. If you applied for a job at Arrakis on any website other than the Arrakis website Careers page, you may have been a target of the scammers and not involved in an actual Arrakis hiring process. You should promptly contact the Arrakis Human Resources Department at [email protected] to verify the legitimacy of the job posting.

What should I do if believe I am the victim of a fraudulent hiring practice?

If you believe that you have been subject to a fake hiring process, provided any personal information or made any purchases in connection with a fake hiring process, we recommend that you immediately:

• Cease communications with any individuals connected with the fake hiring process and avoid clicking any links that the individual has sent to you;
• Contact local law enforcement to notify them that you may have been the victim of identity theft;
• Contact the Attorney General in the state in which you reside to report possible identity theft. In Massachusetts, you should contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance and Response Division at (617) 727-8400;
• Contact the Federal Trade Commission to report possible identity theft at: www.identitytheft.gov;
• Make a list of all the creditors and other financial institutions where you do business, such as credit card companies, banks, and phone and internet companies. Report to each of these companies that you are the victim of identity theft and ask each company to place a fraud alert on your account. You should close accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
• Retain a copy of all documentation relating to the fake hiring process to assist law enforcement in its investigation; and
• Contact us at: [email protected] so that we may assist in the investigation if contacted by law enforcement.

If you have been a victim of this scam in connection with seeking employment at Arrakis, we sincerely regret the discomfort, inconvenience, and grief this incident may have caused you, as well as the time it has wasted in your job search. We have reported this scam to the appropriate authorities. We sincerely appreciate your interest in Arrakis, and we encourage you to view our legitimate job postings on our Careers Page at: https://arrakistx.com/careers.