Job scams are on the rise as criminals become more sophisticated in their approaches and use AI to steal personal information. In 2023, reports of these scams had jumped by 118% from the year prior.
The Identity Theft Resource Center shared the Trends in Identity Report which highlights information from victims collected throughout the year.
The job and employment scams were found to be primarily carried out through websites like LinkedIn and job search platforms.
Typically, scammers will pose as recruiters and create fake job listings to attract people looking for work. The information inputted during the application process is then stolen.
The rise of AI has contributed to the scams as the report says: “The rapid improvement in the look, feel and messaging of identity scams is almost certainly the result of the introduction of AI-driven tools.
“A.I. tools help refine the “pitch” to make it more believable as well as compensate for cultural and grammar differences in language usage.”
The organization explains how the primary defense against the new advanced technology is much more low-tech as they suggest people pick up the phone and verify the contact directly from the source.
This has been further backed up by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as they say tens of thousands of people have reported business and job opportunity scams.
According to data from the year prior, in 2022, people told the FTC they lost $367 million to these scams which was an increase of 76% from 2021. The median loss was found to be $2,000.
Aside from the fake listings, another commonly reported scam is pyramid schemes which typically present as a way for people to start their own business or gain financial freedom from working from home.
Promoters claim people can make good money by selling their products, but the revenue actually comes from how many new participants can be recruited.
Featured Image: Via Ideogram
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