How to spot fake job offers

[bitheerani319]

Cybersecurity experts are urging businesses, recruiters and job seekers to remain vigilant due to the emerging cyber threat within the job market . Cybercriminals often prey on vulnerable groups of people and this latest tactic does just that – targeting those seeking paid work with fake job offers.

The trend sees cybercriminals impersonating organisations by sending fraudulent WhatsApp messages to unsuspecting candidates. The messages encourage job seekers to unwittingly reply, click on links, download software or share personal information through the app.

While this also happens via email, WhatsApp is rcs data lebanon used in business settings and fraudulent messages are often harder to detect via the app. Criminals may prefer WhatsApp due to its global popularity and mobile accessibility. Messages are sent instantly and read quickly, which is ideal for taking advantage of urgent situations. WhatsApp’s informal style can reduce suspicion and users often tend to trust messages from known contacts or businesses more than emails.

<< Find out now about all the companies where you can work with Adecco >>

What are cyberattacks like in relation to possible fake job offers?
An anonymous victim whose marketing agency recently suffered such a cyberattack has shared their story. The anonymous business owner comments: “Earlier in the year, a job seeker alerted us to unusual activity involving our company. Scammers had sent messages to several digital freelancers with a link to a fake job portal, asking them to pay a deposit to secure a job with the agency and to share financial information. The applicants were told that their money would be refunded, along with an additional payment once the job was completed. However, this was a clever scheme to steal personal and financial information and there were no such jobs.

The anonymous business owner added: “The criminals targeted freelancers across Europe and after clicking on links and sharing payment details, applicants ended up searching for and emailing the correct contact details for the agency, asking where their payments were.

“Upon receiving these emails, the company knew that something was seriously wrong and that they had been impersonated in a sophisticated cyber attack. The challenge at that point was to track down all the victims. Fortunately, the organisation had an action plan and process in place for any cyber breach, thanks to their local business resilience centre, and so they had support to help navigate the attack.