The Instagram ad looked real: A popular cosmetics brand was having a (rare) sale with discounts too good to pass up. This should have been the first clue that something wasn’t right but the response is primal.
The scam website—same logo, same branding, same images, and even the same customer reviews—was a doppelgänger for the real thing. But it wasn’t the real thing. The sale didn’t exist.
The ubiquitous brand impersonation scams can make a person feel foolish, but there’s another thread that’s causing even more damage: fake job postings designed to lure in people searching for work.
‘We are hiring!’
Job offer scams are on the rise and “opportunities” are coming directly to a phone near you. Job seekers are particularly vulnerable given the difficult job market; even the most savvy generations are susceptible to fraud.
According to the Cox Business 2025 Workplace Technology Survey, a majority of Generation Z (86%) and Millennial (88%) employees say they feel confident adopting new technology at the workplace. And while 60% feel good about the growing role of AI at work, 50% of Gen Z workers worry their jobs could be replaced by AI, and 51% of Millennials are worried about personal data security. Furthermore, 63% of workers in these groups occasionally or frequently use personal tools or software for work, creating possible vulnerabilities. Just because they’re comfortable with technology doesn’t make them immune to fraud, and scammers play to these blind spots.
They build convincing recruiter profiles on LinkedIn, send polished emails, and text colorful fliers to entice would-be employees to “join our professional team.” All you have to do if you’re interested in this “positioy” (more on this in a moment) is reply YES, and you could be earning $100–$600 for only 1–2 hours of work each day.
The scams are…creative: Some involve fake checks for “equipment purchases.” Others convince job seekers to set up crypto wallets that will be used for “training.”
In Phoenix last year, one woman lost more than $110,000 in a single week after responding to a job offer that promised to pay her for watching movie trailers. The scammers began by sending her small payouts to gain her trust and later convinced her to deposit increasingly large sums of money into a fraudulent crypto account. By the time she realized it was a scam, her money was gone.
Whether it’s a consumer product or the consumer is the product, even people who consider themselves careful can be deceived, because current scams are designed to look legitimate.
What’s at stake
• For individuals: Victims of scams may lose money, have their personal data stolen, or succumb to identity theft. And that doesn’t account for the emotional toll. Job seekers may only realize they’ve been duped weeks after celebrating the new job they landed never actually existed.
• For businesses: Scammers impersonating real companies cause damage to real companies’ reputations. This can be especially devastating for small businesses, which may lose customer trust. Employers also waste resources untangling fraudulent applications and trying to win back lost customers.
• For everyone: Trust in platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and hiring websites erodes when scams are allowed to go unchecked, creating a riskier economy.
For all of these reasons, it’s important to be aware and protect yourself during cybersecurity month and beyond.
How to protect yourself
Even seasoned professionals are vulnerable to scams, but there are some precautions that can help:
• Verify before acting. If a recruiter or an offer comes out of nowhere, do your own sleuthing. Don’t click any links. Don’t offer any personal information. Don’t show up for an interview. Visit the company’s official website or call HR directly.
• Pump the breaks when you feel pressured. Be skeptical of urgency and any “act now” language. Scammers thrive on your FOMO. Don’t let them.
• Scrutinize details. Keep an eye out for typos. If a job offer includes a “positioy” (an actual typo in an actual scam job offer text received by an actual person), delete and block. Double-check a sender’s email address and look for slight differences in a brand’s logo. All of these are red flags.
• Beware of platform shifts. Any recruiter who wants to move you away from LinkedIn and onto WhatsApp or Telegram is likely a scammer.
• Never pay upfront. Real employers don’t ask you to buy equipment or transfer funds.
• Use safe payments. When shopping online, stick to credit cards or trusted platforms that offer fraud protection.
• Report and share. Before delete/block, forward scam texts to 7726 in the US, and flag suspicious accounts on social platforms. Letting folks in your network know about scams helps everyone.
Cox’s tips to stay safe from scams
A leader in the telecommunications industry, Cox Communications offers top tier security for its business and residential customers alike. In addition to the actions above, the following tips can help people protect themselves:
• Strengthen your passwords: Use strong, unique passwords for every account, and consider using a password manager to keep them secure.
• Turn on two-factor authentication: Like a housefly, 2FA can be annoying. But not as annoying as getting scammed out of thousands of dollars or having to repair credit after identity theft. Make the scammers cry.
• Keep your devices and WiFi secure: Update your router and device software regularly. Encrypt your home network. Use a firewall.
• Breathe before you click: Phishing emails, texts, or fake job offers can look very real and tend to play on a sense of urgency. Before you click through on anything, slow down, take a breath, and ask yourself if this seems legit. If it seems too good to be true…
