Online Job Scams Are on the Rise, and Gen Z Is Struggling With Them, Study Says

There are a lot of factors contributing to the hellscape that is the current job market: few open roles, fierce competition, AI automation and terrible global economic conditions, to name just a few. And it’s increasingly a minefield, where promising-looking postings might really just be scams.

Those employment scams have just become “part of the reality of the modern job search,” Oscar Rodriguez, vice president of trust products at LinkedIn, told me.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of job searchers say they question the legitimacy of a job posting before applying, a LinkedIn report released on Wednesday found. Distrust is growing, with 57% saying they are more likely to question whether a job posting is a scam now than a year ago.

Employment scams — fake job postings, scammers posing as recruiters and sketchy job applications designed to steal your data — are all on the rise. Over 132,000 job scams were reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2025, resulting in $636 million in lost money. 

And AI tools are turbocharging these scammers and bad actors.

“It is getting cheaper, faster and easier to credibly pretend to be someone or something that you’re not,” Rodriguez said. 

For job seekers, the promise of a potential job may be enough to propel them to overlook red flags. This happens particularly with younger job searchers. For example, a recent college grad who hasn’t applied to many jobs before might not realize that a random recruiter asking them for a counseling fee before applying isn’t a standard hiring practice. 

Emotions can also play a role in decision-making; if you’re excited and relieved to receive an offer to interview, you may be more inclined to download unknown software to join the call, even if it looks sketchy. Nearly a third (32%) of Gen Z job seekers admitted to ignoring scam warning signs because job opportunities are so scarce, the report found.

How to spot job scams

LinkedIn, for its part, says it removes over 98% of scam content before social media users ever encounter it. This is “necessary, but not sufficient,” Rodriguez said, which is why the platform is building new tools to help them spot fraudsters and scammers.

There are some common tactics you can look out for. LinkedIn found that in 90% of scam attempts, the scammer tried to get the user to move to a private messaging platform, where there are fewer protections. Being asked for sensitive info, upfront payments or being pressured into making decisions quickly are other red flags. 

On the flip side, job seekers are increasingly reaching out to recruiters to verify that a posting is real, checking details on a company’s job board and looking for verification on social media accounts.