The job scene is already scary but now job seekers also must worry about hiring scams. No one expects to fall victim to such a scam, but the LinkedIn feed is teaming with warning stories of how people are falling unexpectedly prey to a fake job posting or a bad actor posing as a recruiter.
A Password Manager survey of more than 1,200 U.S. adults who searched for a job in 2025 stated six in 10 have encountered a fake job posting. Among those, one in four job seekers fell for a hiring scam and half of those victims reported stolen personal data and/or financial losses, according to an October PRNewswire article.
These scammers often impersonated big players such as Google, FedEx, UPS, Walmart and Amazon. Impersonation came in the form of fake job postings and messages from individuals posing as recruiters. The fake postings and messages all had a similar goal, to get job seekers to share their credentials or to transfer funds.
This could come in the form of asking for a Social Security number, passwords or banking details. It could also include a loss of money from services that were not legitimate.
Channels of Contact
- Email (72%)
- Text message 62%
- Phone calls (38%)
- LinkedIn (29%)
Broken Trust
The act of searching for a job, particularly at a time when so many are looking for work, is particularly stressful. The rise in job scams has further increased the stress of applying and it’s also made job seekers less trusting of job opportunities. 52% reported greater stress in the job search process and 38% said the scams have slowed their progress in searching for a new role. One in four said they’ve ignored a job offer out of fear it could be a fake posting.
“Job seekers can verify whether a recruiter or job message is legitimate before responding by taking the time to check for red flags,” said Gunner Kallstrom, Information Systems and Cybersecurity Expert. “Often these messages come from an unknown number or an email domain that’s not affiliated with the real company. Job seekers should avoid clicking on links or replying until they confirm the opportunity is authenticated.
Be Your Own Advocate
Companies are also being targeted by scammers, and many have added a banner message to their website explaining how job seekers can avoid being scammed. This includes looking closely at where the email is coming from. A recruitment company will not be using a Gmail account.
