Most Vulnerable: New Grads, Fed Workers & Military Spouses in the Job Scam Crossfire

Verify First: How Professionals Can Stay Safe in a Scam-Saturated Job Market

I announced last week during this event, which is this week’s podcast, that the summer newsletter will be open to the public, not just paid subscribers. I want everyone to stay up to date on all things job scams. Mindy Stern invited me to share job scam tips with her “Accelerator Career Group mostly made up of job seekers, some of whom are actually her clients. Each month she invites any job seeker to come and listen to a speaker. She invited me to discuss “Clarify. Verify. Don’t just apply.” I believe this group’s questions overall are what most people want to ask at this moment. Having been in multiple discussions on and offline and off-line, most have yet to grasp what I’ve shared here on “The Job Scam Report.” People are generally vigilant for a moment, but the landscape changes often. Spotting and avoiding fake jobs, recruiters, career service professionals, and companies is essential to conducting a safe and strategic job search. AI is still new. Everyone has access to it. People will be somewhat vigilant, but won’t notice changes in deviant behavior or deceitful presentations by bad actors. Here are the questions I answered during the session. Listen for my answers. I’ll be answering many of them more deeply throughout the summer. Here are the questions participants asked: * “Are job scams actually getting worse, or are we just hearing more about them?” * “What is the most convincing job scam that you’ve seen lately that even smart professionals could fall for?” * “What are the first red flags that job seekers should be aware of before they ever hit apply?” * “I’m in tech, so I see a lot of recruiting companies that may or may not be real, and I’ve recently started seeing AI recruiters. So how do I know an AI recruiter is from a legitimate company or from one of these fake companies that just popped up overnight?” * “Can you speak to [stolen profiles] a little bit?” * “If we find that we have been scammed, what is our next step? What do you recommend us doing?” * “Are you referring to the green banner or the one visible [Subscribe to LinkedIn]?” * “Should I or should I not [use the Open to Work banner]?” * “Is the LinkedIn verification check mark helpful? Is it harmful? What do you recommend?” * “Mark, do you have something that you would like to share with our group here that you wanna leave them with so that they walk away with some actionable next step?” * “How can we confirm if the jobs presented are legit roles?” If you want to watch the entire presentation, go to YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmoDd0uNsNU]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe [https://markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Most Vulnerable: New Grads, Fed Workers & Military Spouses in the Job Scam Crossfire

I have just opened the floodgates: I’ve made this newsletter public for the summer. Before, you had to subscribe to my Substack to see the posts after 14 days. Now, everything is visible from May 13, 2024, to today and for the rest of the summer. Please share with your network, friends, and family. In the last six months, I’ve published a couple of excerpts from this show, but this week I decided to release the full 46 minutes with the whole crew. As always, we are trying to make sense of job scam trends, yet our understanding is the surge continues as uncertainty grips the job market. We’re all here: Ashley, Jay, Russ, and I are included in this episode. Highlights from our discussion: * We talked about LinkedIn’s “Open to Work” badge and how it’s no longer searchable. * The ROI for scammers to pay for LinkedIn Recruiting to see users using the “Open to Work” tool with the “visible only to recruiters” setting. * The deepfake bird video going around, and many people can’t tell it’s AI-generated. * Russ mentions the overwhelming number of candidates using AI to interview. * Scammers may have up to 98% of their targets’ personal information. * Ashley said, “ I’ve even started advising my clients, don’t even go to LinkedIn, don’t even go to the regular job boards.” * We discussed the personal cost victims face, not only from money stolen from them, but also they unknowingly become part of the crime. * Jay brings up the point scams are more gamified now. You know the mantra: Clarify.Verify.Don’t just apply. Vet everything and everyone. Today’s modern job search requires a safe, strategic, and well-informed approach. Just a reminder… Join me today as I share with Mindy Stern’s Career Accelerator group on how to spot and avoid job scams! https://www.linkedin.com/events/clarify-verify-don-tjustapply-h7456666407209041920/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe [https://markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

The Really Subtle and Simple Signs of Recruitment Fraud

If you’ve been reading about job scams in the news, on this platform, or in videos, the only conclusion we can all reach is the escalation and frequency of job scams continue to surge, as do other types of scams. The job numbers from any angle lack the comfort needed during these times. If unemployment, or underemployment, were a giant desert you had to walk through, your mind would create small ponds, but it's miles away. You think relief is ahead. The mirage disappears the closer you get.That's what fake jobs do. But, in reality, it’s not real. But presentation isn’t the problem. What your mind creates often is. This is why constant vigilance is a must. That’s why “Zero Trust” is what you must lead with when applying for jobs. There won’t be an easy way to spot and avoid bad actors. It’s counterintuitive to lead with skepticism when things get hard. In this episode, I focus on “recruiting love bombing” and provide reasons not to engage in recruiting communication when it leads with flattery and false promises. I recognize it’s music to our ears, especially when so many rarely get any feedback from interviews, family, or friends during a long job search. Enjoy the episode, and stay scam-free, y’all. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe [https://markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Two Years Later, Job Scams Surge, And I'm Just Starting

This week marks two years since the launch of “The Job Scam Report.” The project began as a direct response to a persistent job-market problem. Over that time, I’ve created more than 150 pieces of content—articles, videos, and podcasts. I’m grateful that more than 3,000 subscribers have chosen to join me on this journey. Many of you found your way here through my work on “The Voice of Job Seekers.” The origins of this project began with my observations there, watching job seekers not just being misled. They were lured and trapped. Job seekers have long been considered prey for scammers wanting to steal personal information. In 2022, as I began to pay closer attention to job scams, I noticed their methods were shifting. The term at the time was “job fishing”—I described it as “…catfishing, but for jobs.” As I began sharing my findings on LinkedIn, Marie Zimenoff—host of the Voice of America radio show and podcast “The Career Confidante”—invited me to discuss the topic. Back then, I didn’t view it as a long-term problem, but more as a temporary disruption. I expected job scams would subside as the job market reset and job seekers improved their strategies. However, instead of fading, job scams evolved into a more sophisticated form of theft. Technologies like AI and video, while revolutionary, also enabled bad actors to scale their efforts. As technology has helped us become smarter and more productive, it has also given scammers new tools for deception. Technology quickly became a double-edged sword. As excitement surged around AI and video production tools, scammers exploited these advances. It began with fake recruiters and HR managers impersonating real professionals, and soon escalated to fabricating entire company experiences—both fake start-ups and large corporations. Bad actors scraped information from companies like Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Facebook, creating fake websites that closely resembled the originals, but with slightly altered URLs. And they didn’t have to create a site to lure victims. They also use real recruiters’ LinkedIn profiles to persuade victims to interview, then extract personal information via WhatsApp, Zoom, and other platforms. There are many layers to job scams—their evolution and current state are worth exploring. Since launching here on May 13, 2024, I’ve had countless rewarding interactions, and thousands (if not tens of thousands) have benefited from my educational efforts on job scams. I’m also fortunate to have dedicated partners who help spread this message, sharing my passion for the cause. Special thanks to my podcast co-hosts—Ashley Price-Horton, Jay Jones, and Russell Irby—whose professionalism and insights constantly challenge and inspire me. Their observations and advice are helping thousands, and together, we make a powerful team. Our collective efforts have also drawn attention from mainstream media. Outlets like The Washington Times, Yahoo Finance, AOL, Newsbreak, Moneywise, and others highlighted an episode last year. We also had the opportunity to present before the Intel Alumni Group. I’ve appeared on numerous national outlets warning about job scams—including Marketplace Tech by APM, NPR, Forbes, the Boston Herald, and others. Two years later, I remain as passionate and motivated as I was on May 13, 2024. This Thursday, I’ll be sharing the five most important shows. Today’s episode is a rebroadcast of my appearance on the Voice of America’s “Career Confidante” from June 27, 2022. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe [https://markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Job Scam Alert: Run Now if Employers Skip This

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is likely the primary tool in the scammer’s arsenal. Not because it is doing everything for scammers, but their scaling the use of AI is causing constant doubt and fear. Both are the kryptonite for most job seekers entering a bare-bones job market. Thanks for joining me for this short episode. In this episode, I continue to discuss briefly two articles: This article about Alaska [https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/anchorage/news/alaskans-report-record-breaking-financial-losses-from-cyber-enabled-crimes] came out after this episode was produced, but the report is recent. Rutgers article warns students to be hyper-aware [https://it.rutgers.edu/2026/03/23/stay-alert-protect-yourself-from-job-and-internship scams/] of job and internship scams. Michigan is also ringing the alarms on campus about awareness. I also dive into the vigilance about background checks. This article [https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/employer-background-checks-and-your-rights]discusses your rights and is a good way to educate yourself. My advice remains the same: clarify, verify, and don’t just apply. Stay safe and strategic out there. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe [https://markanthonydyson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]