Job Scams Increasing: Safeguard Yourself with These Essential Tips to Avoid Falling Victim.

As job-seekers navigate a difficult employment landscape, many are falling prey to job scams that promise high pay for simple online tasks. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), these scams often begin innocently, typically through personalized texts or WhatsApp messages from supposed recruiters. Scammers invest time in building trust with potential victims before exploiting that relationship. Kati Daffan, the assistant director of the FTC’s division of marketing practices, noted that many individuals who lose money to scammers act rationally, as these scammers are increasingly sophisticated and continually adjust their tactics.

Reported losses due to job scams have surged more than threefold from 2020 to 2023, exceeding $220 million in just the first half of 2024. A significant portion of this growth stems from gamified job scams, which saw roughly 20,000 reports in early 2024 compared to 5,000 throughout all of 2023. Daffan emphasized that these numbers likely underestimate the true scale of the problem, as only about 4.8% of victims report their experiences to authorities. The scams usually start with an unexpected message from a “recruiter” offering attractive online work.

The scam may involve tasks such as “product boosting” or “optimization,” where individuals are led to believe they can earn money through likes or ratings on various platforms. However, once individuals are asked to deposit their own money, often in cryptocurrency, to access their supposed earnings, they find themselves scammed. Scammers frequently target new job-seekers, those re-entering the job market, and immigrants unfamiliar with the employment landscape. They may present appealing offers with simple application processes that can draw in more vulnerable individuals.

Tips for spotting these scams include ignoring unsolicited job messages, never paying to secure employment, and questioning offers that lack transparency.