Employment scams double in 2025, hitting Gen Z hardest
Americans are facing a surge in employment scams as job seekers navigate a tough labor market. Reports of such scams doubled in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to a study by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Gen Z applicants have been particularly affected: about 32% of Gen-Zers report having been victims of a job scam, compared to 15% of Gen-Xers.
Experts warn that scammers are using artificial intelligence to make fraudulent messages more convincing and harder to detect. “Before AI, there was quite a bit of labor in these scams, meaning they were often generic, filled with typos and easier to detect,” said Pardis Emami-Naeini, a computer science professor at Duke University. “Now everyone can turn out a highly effective and sometimes personalized [false] job message very quickly and use it at scale.”
Vulnerable job seekers targeted
Josephine Wolff, a cybersecurity policy professor at Tufts University, highlighted the vulnerability of unemployed individuals. “It’s one thing to say ‘don’t open attachments’ and ‘that email is dangerous’, but if I think this email might be my shot at getting a job, it’s a different risk,” she said. “Unemployed job seekers are in a very vulnerable position and susceptible to this type of manipulation.”
Sally, a 22-year-old graduate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, received a suspicious interview request while job-hunting. The email, purportedly from a real biotech company, used sophisticated language and a professional logo. “I didn’t want to look silly in the interview, so I tried searching for my original application,” Sally said. They soon realized they had never applied there and found the same fraudulent email on Reddit. “You think you’ll spot the warning signs. But you’re not the exception, you’re prey to it too. That’s the reality of this hell job market.”
How scammers operate
Scammers posing as employers often guide victims through a fake hiring process before requesting bank account details under the guise of a $1 background check or setting up direct deposit. Others embed malware in links or attachments. Hruthik Narayan Sarva, 25, a software engineer in North Carolina, applied to over 1,500 jobs since October and received few responses. He received an email for a data analyst intern role that seemed perfect. “I only became suspicious when in the Teams interview, there was no name attached to the interviewer and he explained it would be conducted via chat,” Sarva said. High pay and flexible hours also raised red flags. After contacting the company, he learned the job offer was fake. “I am living in this country alone and away from my parents. I didn’t know what job scams were or that they could happen,” he said.
Warning signs and expert advice
Katie Miller, 47, a senior graphic designer in Oregon, was laid off in October. After sending over 400 applications, she received a quick interview response from someone impersonating a Frontier Senior Living executive. “It’s just a really frustrating job market and now add this to the pile,” she said. Priya Rathod, a workplace trends expert at Indeed, advises job seekers to be wary of promises that seem too good to be true. “The scammers promise you the world: high pay, flexibility, great benefits, but ultimately the actual job is extremely vague. That is a red flag.” Requests for personal or financial information are another telltale sign. “Recruiters will never ask for personal information or money,” Rathod added.
Companies are aware of impersonation attempts. A Frontier Senior Living spokesperson said, “It is upsetting to see scammers attempting to impersonate a Frontier employee.” Platforms like Monster and Indeed monitor job postings and remove fraudulent listings, but scammers often contact candidates directly. “These scams really erode job seekers’ confidence in the job search process,” Rathod said.
Job seekers adapt their strategies
In response, many job seekers are turning to alternative platforms. Sarva now uses Handshake, a vetted platform for college students and recent graduates. Sally focuses on local job boards and networking at cafes, keeping a meticulous spreadsheet of applications. “The scammers are not random people in a basement – they are professional groups of people,” Sally said. “What I can do is control what I do: staying motivated, doing my research and being organized.”
Experts recommend reporting suspected job scams to the platform where they were encountered and to consumer protection organizations like the Federal Trade Commission.
