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Leslie Meredith
The so-called Great Resignation is still underway as workers are leaving their jobs in hopes of finding better jobs. That could mean less stress, fewer hours, more pay, or an opportunity to pursue their passion. Regardless, the grass is not always greener and a new risk has emerged for job seekers.
Last week marked 25 years of events at the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas, the annual gathering of the nation’s top security researchers. Among the presenters, cyber security experts from PwC warned that the country’s government hackers are using attacks to target job seekers. Sveva Vittoria Scenarelli, principal cyber risk intelligence analyst at PwC, and Alison Wikoff, director of global risk intelligence at PwC, said malicious groups from Iran and North Korea are increasingly trying to recruit existing employees using email, social media and messaging apps. Companies.
The scam includes malicious links that advertise valuable opportunities for remote workers. Click on the links and job seekers are taken to fake websites that secretly install malware on their computers. Their endgame, whether it was stealing money or identity, or cheating, was dangerous and effective.
While many websites are similar to well-known companies, PwC speakers also pointed out that a criminal group used fake companies as bait. These sites use sophisticated AI-generated profiles to represent employees, including recruiters and coaches who respond to candidates.
Nowadays, it’s hard to distinguish a message from a real person from one generated by an AI program. Many legal firms are adopting AI software for their customer service functions with great success, and companies like Zendesk are looking to expand into AI-powered sales and internal employee relations for their clients. It’s no surprise that hackers use similar technologies for their scams.
Job seekers can be especially vulnerable to falling for an opportunity that seems too good to be true, especially if they’ve been on the hunt for a while. The combination of hope and despair makes an attractive target. But how to avoid becoming a victim of such scams?
The steps are no different from those used for other types of fraud. The most important thing to remember is that if it seems too good to be true, it’s probably a scam. Curb your enthusiasm and take the following steps.
A common tactic of PwC vendors is to send file attachments and malicious links to their targets via email or messages. Never open file attachments from an unknown sender and use extra caution when receiving an attachment from someone you know. Emails are easy to download, so it’s best to check with the known sender to make sure the attachment came from them before clicking download.
Likewise, you’ll want to check any links you see in job-related email and job search websites. Hover over the link to make sure it’s a valid web address used by a particular company. If you’re not sure, visit the company’s website under another tab by searching for the company name. These scammers often use a small company URL to redirect to a malicious website.
You can receive job inquiries as a text message on your phone, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter or any other app that has a messaging feature. Again, don’t respond if you don’t recognize the sender, especially if the profile looks suspicious.
If you are a LinkedIn user, be extra careful when receiving messages from recruiters. Before responding, take a good look at the sender’s profile and the associated company’s profile, along with the job description. If you see unusual wording, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors, this is a sign that it may not be from a legitimate source.
Review the employer’s employment history. If past positions don’t match your current one in HR, this could indicate a false profile. If you receive a message from a recruiter, note the conversational style. If it’s too casual, you can probably be pretty sure it’s not from a Fortune 500 company with a simple “Hey.” If the message includes a short response time, it may be a scam. HR staff and recruiters don’t pressurize prospects to respond or click a link within minutes.
Great job offers rarely come out of the blue. Finding a new position that meets your qualifications is hard work—it involves networking with friends and colleagues, following up with leads, and submitting your resume to companies with relevant openings.
Leslie Meredith has been writing about technology for over ten years. As a mother of four, value, usefulness and online safety take priority. Do you have a question? Email Leslie at asklesliemeredith@gmail.com.
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