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.
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