They offer you a job, but it’s a hoax: these are the new job scams to steal money and data

Criminals are no longer limited to sending poorly written emails or easy-to-identify messages. Current campaigns are presented as professional selection processes, they use names of well-known companies, profiles of supposed recruiters, websites that imitate the originals and even tools of artificial intelligence to make the deception more convincing.

The modality expanded mainly through WhatsApp, Telegram, LinkedIn and other platforms where millions of people look for jobs or maintain job contacts.

The target It changes depending on the case: obtaining a deposit of money, capturing users and passwords, installing malicious software or even accessing corporate information when the victim uses their work computer to apply.

The phenomenon is also reflected in the statistics. A study of Randstad Employer Brand Research showed that LinkedIn It is the platform most used by Argentines to look for work: 55% of those surveyed said they used it for that purpose and 23% said they had found work through this social network. That massiveness also made it an attractive target for cybercriminals.

At a global level, a report from Check Point Software Technologies placed LinkedIn among the brands most used in phishing campaigns during the first quarter of 2026. These are attacks that seek impersonate companies or legitimate services to deceive users and obtain sensitive information.

Specialists warn that the labor fraud It also evolved. These are no longer just isolated messages sent at random, but massive campaigns that appeal to the urgency and vulnerability of those seeking work. The proposals are usually deliberately broad, with few requirements and very attractive salaries, to capture the largest possible number of victims.

In many cases, furthermore, the attackers’ interest goes beyond money. If the person responds from a work computer, criminals may try to obtain corporate credentials or access information about the company where you work. They also look for passwords of email, bank accounts, social networks and other services that they can then use in new attacks.

The artificial intelligence accelerated that transformation. Today it allows you to write offers practically without errors, generate fake profiles with hyper-realistic photographs, clone corporate pages and create documents that, at first glance, appear authentic. That reduced one of the main signsthat previously made it possible to detect a scam: writing errors or poor translations.

Sophistication has reached the point that some fraudulent processes include virtual interviews, seemingly legitimate forms, and websites designed to imitate real companies. They can even use internet domains very similar to the official ones to generate trust and convince the victim to advance in the supposed selection process.

Faced with this scenario, cybersecurity experts agree that It is no longer enough to check whether an offer seems attractive. It is also essential to confirm that the company exists, that the search was published on its official channels and that whoever presents themselves as a recruiter really works there.

In this context, there emerged different types of fraud. Some seek to get the victim to transfer money with the promise of greater profits; Others try to keep your personal data or install malicious programs.

Although they use different strategies, they all share the same objective: take advantage of the need to get work to generate trust and reduce the chances of the person becoming suspicious.

One of the labor scams that has grown the most in recent times is the so-called task scam, or “homework scam”.

The mechanism is simple: criminals offer a alleged part-time remote work with minimal activities that anyone can do from their cell phone, such as liking posts, following accounts on social networks, writing reviews, watching videos, subscribing to channels or rating applications and businesses.

In return they promise much higher daily income to those of a conventional job and ensure that payments are immediate. The combination of simple tasks, flexible schedules and quick earnings seeks to awaken the interest of people who need extra income or are unemployed.

The first contact usually arrives unexpectedly WhatsApp or Telegram. On the other side appears a supposed recruiter who claims to have obtained the user’s phone number through a consulting firm, a job board or a human resources company. In other cases they claim to directly represent recognized companies.

The operation follows a fairly defined pattern. first They assign very simple tasks and, to build trust, they pay small sums of money. That initial reward It makes many victims believe that they actually found a legitimate job.

Once that trust is earned the real fraud appears.

Scammers offer access to “premium” tasks that promise much higher profits, but explain that before A deposit is required to “activate the account”, unlock commissions, release payments or recover the money supposedly accumulated.

After the first payment they arrive new orders: taxes, verifications, additional deposits or supposed guarantees to continue working. Each transfer opens the door to a new economic requirement until, finally, the supposed advisor disappears, the group stops responding or the platform blocks the access of the victim, who loses all the money sent.

The key to deception is that, During the early stages, the experience feels authentic. Precisely because they have received a first payment, many people continue to transfer money convinced that they will recover a much larger sum.

Although WhatsApp concentrates a good part of these contacts, scams also reached LinkedIn, the main professional network used to search for employment.

Specialists warn that criminals publish ads practically identical to those from real companies or they copy legitimate searches to attract applicants. In some cases they create fake recruiter profiles; In others, they use compromised accounts or clone existing posts to give greater credibility.

One of the first warning signs is usually the economic offer. The ads promise salaries well above average for positions with few requirements or extremely simple tasks. There are also many proposals that ensure high income simply by interacting with publications on social networks or forwarding messages.

Another common indicator is the writing. Although artificial intelligence reduced the spelling and translation errors that previously revealed many frauds, there are still publications with unnatural texts, inconsistencies or descriptions that are too generic that seem designed so that anyone can apply.

Experts also recommend distrust when the supposed selection process advances with a unusual speed. If a company offers to hire a candidate without interviews, references or minimal evaluations, the likelihood that it is a scam increases.

Another common practice is to take the conversation off LinkedIn almost immediately. After the first contact, the supposed recruiter proposes continuing the process through WhatsApp, where it is more difficult to detect suspicious behavior and communication is outside the platform’s control mechanisms.

In some cases, the ultimate goal is to get money. The criminals They request payments with different excuses: reserve the position, buy the work computer, pay for mandatory training or take the pre-employment exam.

In others, they look for personal information from the first moment. You can ask ID photographs, bank details or images of cards with the argument of verifying identity or preparing the deposit of a supposed welcome bonus.

Fake profiles also have common characteristics. They usually havevery little activity, poor network of contacts, incomplete or non-existent work history and excessively perfect photographs, often generated with artificial intelligence or taken from image banks.

The objective, however, is not always to financially defraud the applicant. Cybersecurity specialists warn that some campaigns seek compromise equipment from which the person connects.

If the candidate uses the company’s computer to search for a new job, attackers can try obtain corporate credentials, install malware or access internal information. In other cases, they try to steal users and passwords from email, home banking or different digital services.

There are also maneuvers that use fake forms. The post may appear completely legitimate and even copy the content of a real search, but the link leads to a site that imitates well-known services, such as Google Forms, with the aim of capturing access credentials or distributing malicious files.

To these modalities are added other more complex ones, such as proposals for receive money into a bank account and forward it to third parties in exchange for a commission. Behind this apparent administrative work, money laundering maneuvers may hide that, in addition to the economic damage, could legally compromise those who participate without knowing the true origin of the funds.

In parallel, the artificial intelligence raised the level of sophistication of these frauds. Today, cybercriminals can create corporate pages almost identical to the originals, generate very convincing fake profiles and even use synthetic voices or videos to simulate job interviews and reinforce the appearance of legitimacy of the process.

Although employment scams have evolved and are much more difficult to identify today, they still exist. signs that allow you to detect possible fraud before sharing information or making a payment.

• One of the most frequent is the promise of disproportionate income for very simple tasks. Specialists recommend being wary of any proposal that offers high earnings for activities such as watching videos, liking, writing reviews or forwarding messages.

• It is also worth paying attention to how contact comes. If the offer appears unexpectedly via WhatsApp, Telegram or from an international number, without the person having previously applied, it is advisable to verify its authenticity before responding.

• Another risk indicator is the urgency. Criminals often claim that there are few spots left, that the proposal expires in a matter of hours, or that an immediate decision needs to be made. This pressure seeks to prevent the victim from having time to verify if the search really exists.

• The request for money It is another unmistakable sign. No serious company should require payment to participate in a selection process, access an interview, purchase work equipment, carry out mandatory training or unblock the collection of a supposed salary.

• It is also advisable to be suspicious when they request sensitive information too early, such as photographs of the DNI, bank details, verification codes or access credentials to personal accounts.

Before moving forward with any proposal, specialists recommend check that the search appears on the company’s official channels, review the profile of the supposed recruiter and verify that the organization has a real presence on both LinkedIn and its corporate website.

If the offer seems too attractive, another alternative is contact employees directly from that company to confirm that the selection process exists.

It is also important review the domain of the links received before clicking. Many campaigns use addresses almost identical to the original ones to trick users into fake forms or pages designed to steal credentials.

The artificial intelligence It also requires extreme care. Impeccable profile photographs, perfectly worded messages or virtual interviews are no longer a guarantee of authenticity. Technology has made it possible to eliminate many of the errors that previously made it easier to detect fraud.

Faced with this scenario, the main recommendation is stop for a few minutes before acting. An unexpected contact, lack of information about the position, or pressure to respond quickly are usually enough reasons to verify the offer before proceeding.

When the person has already interacted with a fraudulent post or provided personal information, time becomes a key factor.

If you clicked on a suspicious link or entered your credentials on a fake site, the first thing is to change immediately compromised passwords. If you reuse the same key in other services, you will also need to modify it in all those accounts.

Specialists advise carrying out this procedure from another device other than the one that may have been compromised, especially if there is a possibility that it has installed malicious software. In parallel, they recommend scan your computer with security tools before using it normally again.

If you have made a money transfer, it is also important Immediately contact the bank or financial institution to report the situation and learn about the available options.

Another recommended measure is report the post or profileused for scam within the platform itself. On LinkedIn, for example, job postings and profiles can be reported from the options menu of each post for review.

The companies whose names are used for these scams also insist on a warning that is repeated in practically all cases: the selection processes are published only through its official channels and never require payments, passwords or financial information to participate.