Watch for Employment Scams

According to a recent report, hunting for a job just got a lot harder. That’s because the study, from the Identity Theft Resource Center, found that job scams are rising at historic rates. 

Job Scams on the Rise

The report found that job scams rose a whopping 118 percent from 2022 to 2023. The main reason for the quick increase is that thieves are using artificial intelligence to create scams. It makes things easier for the scammers and harder for the victims. 

How Employment Scams Work

A typical job scam involves a scammer using AI to produce a realistic job listing, complete with fake company names and addresses. The scammers then reach out to victims online, usually via job listing sites. During the “interview,” the scammers ask for and then steal vital personal information from the job seekers. Sometimes they invoice the victim in advance for a bogus “training session.” The typical victim of a job scam loses about $2,000. In 2023, Americans reported losing a total of $3.6 million to employment scams, an increase of 76 percent since 2022.

Protect Yourself

Here are some ways to protect yourself from becoming a victim of a job scam:

• Always independently verify that a company exists and is hiring. 
• Be wary of any company or recruiter asking for any financial information.
• Trust your gut: If a job seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Do One Thing: Never give financial information to a job recruiter. Interviews should only require disclosing benign info, like your name, phone number, and employment history.