Employers urged to 'take action' against fraudulent job ads
Employers are being advised to be vigilant about fake job advertisements that are fraudulently using their company name as more deceptive job postings rise online.
Peter Duris, CEO and co-founder of Kickresume, said scammers can impersonate hiring managers from legitimate companies to trick jobseekers to handing over their sensitive information for fake interviews.
"Check to see if your company's name is being used fraudulently," Duris advised. "If you find that your company is being impersonated, take action by reporting the advert."
The CEO further advised employers to ensure that every job listing on job search platforms can also be found on their company's website.
"As well as using third party sites like LinkedIn, you should make sure job seekers can apply directly on your website too. This can help to reassure jobseekers," Duris added.
Rise of fake job ads
The recommendations come amid growing reports of deceptive job ads online that are victimising interested job applicants.
Fake job ads refer to scam listings posted with malicious intent that are designed to steal personal information or money from applicants.
Recent data from Resume Genius's 2026 Job Seeker Insights Report found that 67% of jobseekers have suspected a job posting of being fake or misleading. Some signs of deceptive job ads include:
- Poor grammar or typos (52%)
- Vague company information (52%)
- A too-good-to-be-true salary (45%)
- Undisclosed salary (41%)
- Request for personal or financial details (39%)
- A provided application that looks AI-generated (33%)
- Requests to move communication off the job platform (21%)
Eva Chan, career expert at Resume Genius, blamed artificial intelligence tools for the proliferation of fake job ads.
"Job scams aren't new, but AI has made them far more widespread – and job seekers are now having to sift through more questionable listings than ever just to find legitimate opportunities," Chan said.
"To protect themselves, job seekers should verify any role on the company's own careers page, look up the recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn, and treat any request for personal or financial details upfront as an immediate red flag."
Ghost jobs on the rise
Meanwhile, Duris also urged employers to immediately remove job ads that have been filled to avoid being accused of publishing ghost job postings.
Ghost job postings refer to advertisements that remain uploaded despite the company not really hiring for a position or already filling the position.
This kind of job postings has been growing more common in hiring recently, with some recruiters using them to assess market interest and the availability of skills for specific positions, according to LiveCareer last year.
But the practice can end up being frustrating for jobseekers, with some HR professionals in LiveCareer's report noting that they have received complaints about ghost jobs in the past.
"Immediately remove any job ads that have been filled," Duris advised. "To avoid being associated with fake jobs or ghost jobs, take down job listings that have been filled. This stops any more job seekers from applying and getting ghosted."
