Happy Hump Day {{first_name | Toaster}} 🐪 ,

The job market has created the perfect environment for scams: urgency, layoffs, ghost jobs, endless applications, and people desperately trying to get noticed. Scammers know job seekers are vulnerable right now. Instead of obvious fraud, many scams now imitate real hiring processes.

Here are some of the ones circulating right now that you should be aware of:

Recently, a few members of our community shared with us that they got contacted about a real job posting at a reputable marketing software company. The role was legitimate, it was posted online, and the recruiter sounded professional.

However, the “recruiter” reaching out didn’t actually work with the company. Instead, after building trust and discussing the opportunity, he redirected candidates to a “career consultant” who would help them complete an “aptitude assessment document” required for the hiring process (i.e., a paid resume-writing service).

Instead of creating fake jobs, these individuals are piggybacking off real ones. The goal isn’t necessarily to steal your identity immediately, sometimes it’s just to monetize your hope by tricking you into paying for career services.

Red flags to watch out for: the ‘recruiter’ using a personal email, pressure to act urgently, any type of paid service entering the conversation, or you can’t verify them on the company website or LinkedIn.

Someone reaches out on LinkedIn with: “Your background is perfect for this opportunity,” and then after chatting with them and providing some information, you never hear back. Sometimes they’re harvesting resumes; other times, they are gathering data for phishing or identity fraud.

Red flags to watch out for: avoiding specifics, never sending a job description, asking to move to WhatsApp immediately, asking for sensitive information or documents early on, background checks before interviews, company has little online presence or they refuse to share company details.

A company advertises entry-level jobs, especially targeting new grads, immigrants, career pivoters, and women re-entering the workforce.

They tell you, “You’re not quite ready yet, but for $799 we can enroll you in our bootcamp/certification program.” The actual job either never existed or was never realistically attainable.

Red flags to watch out for: redirecting back to paid training, interviews focus more on a course than a role, guilt or scarcity tactics, promises of guaranteed placement, and reviews online mention bait-and-switch experiences.

Real recruiters do not require you to pay to apply for a job - ever. A legitimate recruiter may suggest improvements to your resume or recommend resources, but they shouldn’t solicit payment for it.

Job scams are evolving faster than most people realize. When people are exhausted, laid off, or just trying to survive, they’re far more likely to overlook red flags in the hope that this might finally be the opportunity that changes things. The job market is hard enough without people turning career anxiety into a business model.

Team Toast 🥂

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