"I felt a mixture of disbelief and anger"
Jobseekers are being warned to watch out for recruitment scams as scammers target people on job listing websites to trick them into downloading bogus interview tools.
One victim lost £18,000 in savings after being approached on LinkedIn by a fake recruiter who invited them to take part in a job interview.
The candidate was sent a potential offer and took part in a video call about the role.
They were then asked to download a document containing instructions.
However, the document was laced with malicious software and it allowed hackers to access the victim’s cryptocurrency accounts, stealing £18,000 worth of savings.
The victim said: “It’s a horrible feeling to be out a substantial amount – something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
“I wiped my computer and changed all my passwords and was exhausted emotionally and mentally drained.
“I felt a mixture of disbelief and anger – at the hackers and at myself. I was also confused until I figured out how they had got me.”
Cyber-security researcher Charlie Kelly from Have I Been Squatted analysed how the attack worked and said the latest recruitment scams can be difficult to identify.
She told BBC: “This wasn’t a badly written email with a suspicious attachment – this person was walked through what looked like a real job interview, on real Google pages, behind a real Google login, and the software they were asked to install was digitally signed like any legitimate app.”
The case comes as professional recruitment platforms LinkedIn and Indeed have warned about growing numbers of job scams.
LinkedIn recently published data highlighting what it called The Gen Z “Scam Gap”, suggesting younger professionals face particularly high exposure to recruitment scams.
The platform found that 32% of younger professionals reported exposure to scams, while nearly a third admitted to ignoring red flags because of the competitive job market.
LinkedIn said that “many young people feel they can’t afford to be skeptical… because they feel opportunities are so scarce”.
The platform has advised jobseekers to verify that companies and advertised roles are genuine and to carry out thorough research before engaging with recruiters.
Similar attacks have also been reported through Indeed, where criminals have used the pressure and excitement surrounding job interviews to persuade candidates to download malicious applications.
Cyber-security company Malwarebytes said fake recruiters had used messages including: “Complete your interview by installing the Indeed app” and “salary agreement available after app installation”.
The malicious applications can allow criminals to access private information, which can potentially be used for extortion or financial attacks.
Indeed issued its own warning in July, stressing that legitimate interviews through its platform do not require candidates to download a separate application.
The company recently posted online: “Interviewing through Indeed’s platform happens entirely in a browser and never requires downloading a special app.
“Any message asking a job seeker to download an app to participate in an interview is not legitimate.”
