In recent years, many people have applied for jobs online through recruiting websites or recruiting emails. Unfortunately, cybercriminals will take advantage of this to create social engineering scams with fake job offers and recruiting messages. These scams can be a form of social engineering and phishing. Anyone is susceptible to job offer scams. Therefore, it is important to learn to identify them and protect yourself.
Fake job offers
Cybercriminals will post fake job offers on recruiting websites, such as LinkedIn. To start this scam, cybercriminals will create an anonymous account and create fake job offers for a real organization. The job offers will appear legitimate, but in reality they will lead you to a malicious website. This website will ask you to enter personally identifiable information, such as your name, email address, and phone number. Cybercriminals can use this information to try to steal even more sensitive information from you.
Fake recruiting messages
Cybercriminals will send you fake recruiting messages via email or through a job recruiting website, such as LinkedIn. With this scam, cybercriminals will hack real email addresses and pose as recruiters for an organization. They will then send you an email or message from a job recruiting site. These messages will appear legitimate, with details about the job and a link to apply. By clicking on this link you will be redirected to a malicious website that steals your personal information.
What can I do to stay safe?
Follow the following tips to stay safe from fake job offer scams:
ยท When you receive an email, stop and look for red flags. For example, be wary of emails sent outside of business hours and emails that contain multiple spelling or grammatical errors.
ยท Avoid applying for a job on a recruitment website platform. Instead, find the organization's official website and look for its careers page.
ยท Cybercriminals could also use this scam to target people in a specific organization. Be sure to follow your organization's specific guidelines when applying for internal positions.
Stop, look and think. Don't be fooled by scammers.
