Australian jobseekers are increasingly being targeted by sophisticated recruitment scams involving fake advertisements, cloned recruiter profiles and fraudulent employment offers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission received 138 scam reports connected with LinkedIn during July and August, with reported losses reaching more than A$254,000.
Fraudsters are targeting people who publicly indicate they are searching for work, including users who activate the platform’s #OpenToWork feature.
Some criminals clone the profiles of legitimate recruitment consultants or employees at well-known companies before approaching jobseekers with fake opportunities.
Others attempt to charge applicants for résumé services, courses or training as part of the supposed recruitment process.
Younger workers particularly vulnerable
LinkedIn research indicates 61% of Australians have encountered a job advertisement they suspected was fraudulent, while 27% said they had come close to falling for a recruitment scam.
Around 16% said they had actually been victims, rising to 25% among Generation Z respondents.
Cost-of-living pressures may be making applicants more vulnerable, with almost half of people surveyed saying they would be prepared to take greater risks while searching for employment.
Cybersecurity researchers have also warned that résumés can provide criminals with unusually detailed personal information.
Employment history, telephone numbers, email addresses, education, professional connections and security clearances can all be used to create convincing phishing attacks or assist identity theft.
The trend is emerging as Australia’s unemployment rate rises to 4.6%, creating a larger pool of people actively looking for work and potentially giving scammers more opportunities to exploit jobseekers.
