By Jen Balduf
Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio
(TNS)
Job scams are on the rise, as is the level of sophistication employed by fraudsters to trick job-seekers into handing over money or personal information.
Scammers post fake jobs in online ads, on social media, on job search websites and professional networking platforms, and even through email and text messages. They also pose as recruiters, some using the identities of legitimate headhunters.
“You really have to question everything,” said Steven Wicinski, a Butler Township, OH, contract worker who said he is bombarded with questionable job offers, resume writing services and mass applicant collections.
Wicinski has seen obviously fake jobs such as an offer to edit PowerPoint presentations for $80 to $100 an hour.
Recently, he received information about a $90 an hour job working remotely for Mercor, a California-based artificial intelligence company. When he checked the business website, the job was not posted in the careers section.
“I got hold of a support person at Mercor and he confirmed the fake,” Wicinski said.
A $501M racket
Job and employment agency scams reportedly tripled from 2020 to 2024, with the amount consumers reported losing to these scams jumping from $90 million to $501 million during that time, according to Federal Trade Commission data.
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“To spot a scammer look for promises of guaranteed earnings, big money for little effort and anyone who asks you to pay upfront to get a job. These are all signs of a job scam,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson in a September 2025 video.
After 31 years at NCR, Wicinski found himself out of a job when the company moved its headquarters to Atlanta. Although he was offered a position, his wife also had a career and they opted not to uproot their family.
He then turned his side business of technical writing, building websites and creating other marketing materials into his main job. He joined LinkedIn in 2007 and quickly landed contracts, one lasting nine years.
Now retired, Wicinski said he is still working on a few projects.
Over the last few years he’s seen many changes in the way resumes are scrutinized and the candidate selection process.
“You get a personal notice that you’re a great fit for a position. You send in your resume, portfolio, etc. Next, they want you to fill out multiple forms, download multiple software programs, perform various tasks—all before even talking to anyone about the job,” he said. “Turns out, they’re just trying to get you into a funnel, and then they get all your information.”
Generally, Wicinski said he no longer bothers with recruiters, but he does follow up to make sure they have a LinkedIn profile and their email address matches the company they say they are with.
“Today, my advice to job seekers is this: use LinkedIn to post your profile. It’s a good tool for that. But if you want to apply for a real job, go to the company website and apply,” he said.
When searching for a job, the nonprofit National Cybersecurity Alliance recommends checking the official company’s career listings page. Don’t click on a link provided to be sure it’s not a spoof of a legitimate site. Be on the lookout for typos, strange web addresses or other small discrepancies.
Never send money, especially cryptocurrency, gift cards, or pay by wire transfer or cash apps, and never provide credit card information or agree to cash a check. Legitimate companies will only ask for private information, such as Social Security number and bank information for payroll purposes after hiring you, not before the employment contract is signed, according to the organization’s website.
Stay safe on LinkedIn
Oscar Rodriguez, LinkedIn’s vice president of product management, offers a few tips for staying safe on the popular professional networking platform.
- Check for verified information on job postings: A verification badge on a job posting means there is verified information about the company or job poster. This includes whether the poster is affiliated with an official company page, has verified their association with a particular workplace or has verified their identity through one of our identity verification partners.
- Share with care: Consider what personal information you are being asked for. Never give out bank details before the onboarding process.
- Say “no” to suspicious requests: Scammers can use tactics that legitimate employers would not, like asking you to download encrypted software for an interview or offering jobs with high pay for little work. Job offers after just one remote interview is rarely a legitimate deal. You can report spam and inappropriate content.
- Enable message warnings: Enable LinkedIn’s optional automated detection of harmful content, which may detect potentially harmful scams.
- Look for red flags: Be cautious of job postings that sound too good to be true or require upfront payments. Common scams include roles like mystery shopper, company impersonator or personal assistant. Additionally, be wary of anyone asking you to send money, cryptocurrency, gift cards or to invest.
- Filter by jobs with verifications: You can filter your job search to show only jobs with verifications. The filter allows you to search exclusively for jobs posted by companies with a verified LinkedIn page and job posters associated with those companies. When toggled on, only jobs with these verifications will appear in your search results and the filter will be visible in the search header.
Photo credit: Tim Mossholder/Pexels
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© 2026 the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio). Visit www.journal-news.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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