Online job scams are on the rise, and Generation Z is struggling with them, study says

There are a lot of factors contributing to the current job market hell: few open jobs, fierce competition, AI automation, and terrible global economic conditions, to name a few. It’s increasingly becoming a minefield, where promising posts may just be scams.

These hiring scams are just becoming “part of the modern job search reality,” Oscar Rodriguez, vice president of credit products at LinkedIn, told me.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of job seekers say they question the legitimacy of a job ad before applying, a LinkedIn report released Wednesday found. Mistrust is rising, with 57% saying they are more likely to question whether a job ad is a scam now than last year.

Recruitment scams — fake job ads, scammers posing as recruiters, and sloppy job applications designed to steal your data — are all on the rise. More than 132,000 job scams have been reported Federal Trade Commission in 2025Resulting in a loss of $636 million.

And AI tools supercharge these scammers and bad actors.

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

For job seekers, the promise of a potential job may be enough to prompt them to overlook red flags. This especially happens with younger job seekers. For example, a recent college graduate who has not applied to many jobs before may not realize that a random recruiter asking them for a consulting fee before applying is not standard hiring practice.

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

How to spot job scams

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

There are some common tactics you can look 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. Asking for sensitive information, paying up front, or pressuring you to make decisions quickly are other red flags.

On the other hand, 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.