Job boards can be targeted by scammers looking to dupe unsuspecting job seekers. In this post I’ll talk about how to spot and prevent these spammers from ever reaching you.
But first here’s a couple of recent studies to see what these spammers are up to…
A new report from Heimdal reveals key insights into the growing threat of job scams, based on an analysis of 2,670 social media posts and comments from victims in 2023 and 2024. The report highlights common scam tactics, targeted industries, and key red flags job seekers should be aware of.
These findings provide important insights for job seekers, as well as businesses and platforms working to counter these scams.
Key findings of the study:
- Most targeted industries: The finance and IT sectors are the hardest hit, accounting for 35.45% and 30.43% of scam cases, respectively. The healthcare industry follows at 15.41%.
- Remote work risk: Remote positions are increasingly targeted, with 43% of scam posts mentioning remote jobs, followed closely by on-site (42%) and hybrid roles (15%).
- High-value roles: Managers and entry-level candidates are the primary targets, with 35% of scams focusing on managers and 34% on entry-level roles.
- Contact methods: Email is the top method scammers use, responsible for 30.75% of cases, followed by social media (20.19%) and websites (19.79%).
- Scam characteristics: The most common job scam tactics include suspicious contact information (41.1%), unrealistic salary offers (25.7%), and misleading job descriptions (10.6%).
Red flags for job seekers:
The study identified several red flags commonly associated with job scams, including:
- Upfront payment requests (25.08%)
- Phishing attempts (18.81%)
- Requests for confidential information (17.49%)
- No interview process (15.84%)
- Fake job offers (12.21%)
- Poorly written job descriptions (10.56%)
Also a new survey commissioned by the Institute of Job Aggregation (IJA) has revealed growing concerns among job seekers regarding the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the recruitment process. Nearly half (48%) of respondents reported seeing an increase in fake job advertisements since AI tools have become more prevalent. In comparison, an overwhelming 90% expressed a lack of trust in AI to manage recruitment processes fairly.
These findings highlight significant challenges for the recruitment industry as technological advancements like AI, bots, and automated systems reshape job search traffic globally.
The institute has identified key threats to future job traffic, which include bot traffic inflating job views and creating fake listings, making it harder for genuine job seekers to find opportunities and AI-driven applicant tracking systems may unintentionally introduce bias while fake job listings and stolen identities present growing risks for personal data theft and financial fraud. Rapid technological advancements like AI are also contributing to a growing skills mismatch between job seekers and employer demands.
Mike Wall, Chair of the IJA, emphasized the importance of tackling these emerging issues: “The results of our survey clearly show that job seekers are feeling the negative impacts of AI-driven technologies in the recruitment process. We are seeing an increase in fake job ads and concern about AI’s role in hiring decisions. Addressing these issues will require collaboration among industry leaders, regulatory frameworks, and advanced technological solutions.”
Spotting Job Spammers
The most frequent attempts I’ve seen are exactly what the study above mentions;
- Upfront payment requests (25.08%)
- Phishing attempts (18.81%)
Scammers use fake job ads to try and get money from job seekers by claiming there’s a fee or some other form of payment to continue, or use fake job ads to steal people’s identities.
Some job board software platforms like Jobboard.io allow owners to filter out Gmail accounts which are often used by spammers to create fake company profiles. So if an “employer” signs up with a Gmail account be highly suspicious. Vet that company by checking to see if there is a real LinkedIn page, check all their socials, make sure they have actual employees and look for that persons name on LinkedIn to verify they work there.
Call the phone number too that the company signed up with, Many times it will just be a Google voice number and not go directly to a real person or say the company’s name on the recording.
The spammers are out there so be vigilant. You should be checking signups every week to ensure all employers are REAL.
