I almost fell for an AI job scam because the usual red flags weren't there. Here's how I caught it.

• Daniel Harnack nearly fell for a personalized AI job scam that used stolen LinkedIn information.
• He said AI tools are enabling scammers to create highly tailored and convincing fake job offers.
• Harnack advises other job seekers to be wary of scams and avoid sharing financial information.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Daniel Harnack, a data analytics professional. It has been edited for length and clarity.

About a month ago, I was almost tricked into falling for an elaborate AI scam. A scammer stole a recruiter's LinkedIn picture, linked to her profile, and created a fake email address for her so they could send me a job listing created with the help of AI.

The role was perfectly tailored to my experience, and it sounded like a dream job. Also, the pay was double the reasonable salary for that kind of role.

All the person needed was my résumé to submit to the hiring manager. When, instead of taking my résumé and suggesting I apply for the role on their career site, they suggested I meet with a "career consultant" to suggest changes to my résumé, that sealed the deal in my mind that this was definitely going to be a scam where they asked for payment.

This is just a reminder to everyone that AI is making these very individualized scams much easier to pull off.

The usual red flags weren't there

This was such a surprising scam because of how personalized, tailored, and realistic it was.

The red flags that I'm used to — vague promises, fake names, fake companies, and fake-sounding job titles — had all been addressed or covered up. Unless someone really pays attention, it would be easy to get caught up in a scam like this.

The person used a real recruiter's name, organization, and LinkedIn profile. They put together a job description that matched my experience and looked reasonable, and they responded to my questions without typos or grammar mistakes.

People on the job market unintentionally make themselves targets of such scams

I really think that the current way job seekers are putting themselves out there — noting they are open to work, applying to large numbers of jobs, and publicly posting about the difficulties of the job search — makes us exposed to these scammers who are seeking out vulnerable and eager people looking for jobs.

The unfortunate thing is that I don't think there's a good way to avoid this in the current job market. The fact that the job market requires us to apply for so many roles before finding one that connects means our information is likely out there for scammers to harvest.

What you can do to avoid being scammed on the job market

Because there is no great method of prevention, the best course of action is awareness and scrutiny over folks reaching out to you.

The core of any scam is the scammer's desire to get either your money or your information (so they can exploit that information for money). The best thing we can do is to never send banking information or payment to these people.

No recruiter should be asking for payment to find you a job. Recruiters should be paid by organizations to fill positions, not by job seekers for the opportunity to be seen. Services exist to review your résumé and help you draft applications, but those services should be transparent that the service is the résumé review, not the allure of a dream job.

My professional background has exposed me to the type of tools these scammers are using

My background leading data analysts and scientists helped me identify the scam relatively fast.

I reached out to the real person on both LinkedIn and by sending an email to their work email, but she never responded. I took that to mean that the scammer and the real person were definitely not the same.

Do you have a job-related scam you fell for or avoided that you'd like to share? Email this editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].