You’re scrolling through LinkedIn when you see it—the perfect job. High salary, full remote, no experience needed. You apply, get a quick interview, and suddenly… they ask for your bank details to “process your work equipment.” Sounds sketchy? It is!
With LinkedIn being the #1 platform for job seekers, scammers are taking advantage. Let’s uncover the most common LinkedIn job scams and how to stay safe while job hunting.
In 2023 alone, LinkedIn blocked or removed over 121 million fake accounts, all of which were trying to reach end users. This raises significant concerns for job seekers and professionals alike.
IT professionals are particularly vulnerable to LinkedIn job scams. After a huge layoff wave in the tech industry in 2024, IT workers find themselves in more need for work than ever and are almost forced to trust even the most shady “opportunities”.
To successfully detect and avoid job scams, it is imperative to fully understand them. In this article, we’ll be focusing on unmasking LinkedIn job scams, teaching you how to spot them, and giving you some tips on how to protect yourself from them, so that you can experience a better job-hunting experience on the platform.
There’s a wide variety of job scams online. However, a few of them are particular to LinkedIn because of the platform’s format. Some of the most common types of LinkedIn job scams include:
In a LinkedIn phishing scam, fake recruiters will reach out to unsuspecting victims to try and obtain sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, bank account details, or login credentials.
Scammers can use different tactics to achieve their phishing goals. They can simply ask unsuspecting IT professionals for their information with the excuse of putting together a contract, redirecting them to a fake website that resembles a genuine company portal, or even requesting that they download malicious software as part of the interviewing process.
– Scammers create job posts that seem too good to be true. Watch out for:
Within the IT professionals pool, some are more susceptible to fake job listings than others. Job seekers who just finished their studies and are searching for their first opportunity, or even professionals who want to switch careers and are desperately trying to find a paid job in their new field are more easily targeted by these scams, as they might not necessarily know what to look for.
Considering their new arrival into the IT scene, these candidates should try to look for entry-level positions to get situated. Openings as trainees, professional internships, or even IT support positions might be best to begin with.
It’s also important to be aware of how much you should expect to earn depending on the IT position you’re applying for. Check out KWAN’s Salary Calculator and see if you’re either getting a fair wage or if you’re being played.
Another type of job scam commonly found on LinkedIn includes data harvesting from received resumes. Here, scammers collect IT candidate CVs to attempt identity theft or to sell personal information to third parties.
Certain businesses also use this tactic for lead generation, in which they gather contact details for future spamming marketing efforts.
Some companies post job listings that aren’t real hires but are meant to build an employer brand, attract investors, or gauge interest. While not always outright scams, these misleading job posts waste applicants’ time and should be flagged.
A study by Resume Builder showed that 4 in 10 companies posted a fake job listing last year. Of said companies, approximately 26% posted one to three fake job listings, 19% posted five, 19% posted 10, 11% posted 50, 10% posted 25, and 13% posted 75 or more.
Certain companies seem truly legit, with great job opportunities, but it all might be an actual pyramid scheme. In these job scams, it’s not the selling of a product (which sometimes doesn’t even exist) that matters. It’s all about recruiting and investing.
Scammers will try recruiting you with the promise of receiving large amounts of money, as long as you work hard. However, once you’re tricked into accepting the job, you’ll quickly realize that the only way to get paid is to become a recruiter yourself, scamming other people into investing in your “business”.
To detect potential IT job scams on LinkedIn there are a few things you should be on the lookout for. Some of the most common indicators that a job opportunity, recruiter, or company might be fake include:
By now, you may have understood that LinkedIn IT job scams are a very prominent and concerning matter. However, there are a few steps that you can take to protect yourself and avoid falling victim to them:
LinkedIn is a valuable resource for job hunting, however, it’s still important to be vigilant and protect yourself while applying for job offers and communicating with potential recruiters. Remember that, if an opportunity sounds too good to be true, it most likely is!
By familiarizing yourself with the most common types of LinkedIn IT job scams, knowing how to detect them, and understanding how you can avoid them, job hunting on this platform will become a lot easier and safer.
Looking for real IT job opportunities? At KWAN, we connect tech talent with vetted, legitimate companies—no scams, just great career opportunities. Check out our Careers Page for the latest openings!