01/26/2025

Recruitment fraud: What you need to know

United States Attorney's Office District of Minnesota

Recruitment fraud (or job scams) has become a real problem across many industries, including the finance sector. Quite simply, it is where fraudsters pose as legitimate employers, recruitment consultants, and so on. It’s not a new problem but a growing one and goes hand in hand with technological advances ranging from smartphones to AI. So, what do you need to watch out for and how do you protect yourself — and what should employers know?

What are the scammers after?

Usually, it’s one of two things. The first is money, and the second is personal information. The motivation for money is obvious. Information is slightly more complex. This is often used for identity theft. People who steal your identity can use it to apply for bank accounts and credit cards, attempt to take over your existing accounts, sell your information on the dark web, or blackmail you. Recruitment fraud (using Cvs, employment records, and so on) can be a particularly rich source of information and allow for very convincing impersonations. Finally, a few scammers have no real motivation — they just do it for kicks.