If it feels like scams are becoming ubiquitous in daily life, it’s because, in many ways, they are. A 2023 analysis from the Federal Trade Commission revealed that consumers lost $8.8 billion to scams in 2022, a more than 30% increase over 2021.

While imposter, online shopping and award-type scams were near the top, the fifth most common scam involved a realm that directly touches employers and HR pros: business and job opportunity scams.

The loss associated with these job opportunity scams was estimated to be about $490 million, Zulfikar Ramzan, chief scientist and EVP of product and development at Aura, a digital safety platform, told HR Dive.

Ramzan, who has focused on online fraud for nearly two decades, said that along with other types of fraud, job opportunity scams are on the rise. FTC data showed a significant spike in such scams in the months after the pandemic broke out — a phenomenon Ramzan attributed to people being much more online and engaging more through text messages.

How they work

Job opportunity scams initially look very similar to recruitment efforts that HR professionals and headhunters undertake when filling positions. Scammers reach out to prospective “employees” via emails, direct messages and text messages, encouraging them to apply to a job opportunity and often suggesting they’ve already seen the target’s resume or other information and been impressed.

The rise in artificial intelligence technology has made the scam all the sneakier, Ramzan said. With the use of AI tools, scammers can craft more elegant, believable messages. “The email will have impeccable grammar. It’ll be convincing. It’ll sound right and look professional. And the same trust cues that we’re so used to using in the past no longer apply now,” he said, referring to the poor grammar or strange language that often led potential victims to dismiss messages.

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