My father has been a contractor for well over 30 years. He’s the classic handyman—he can fix anything and knows how to do everything. Over the years, he’s gotten clients and jobs the old-fashioned way: printing out flyers detailing his services and hanging them up in grocery stores, with his phone number at the bottom for people to tear off and call. (That’s not to say he hasn’t adapted to the times: now he also advertises his contracting services in Facebook groups, too!) He’s never had a résumé, never been to a job interview, and all of his invoices are done on his little laptop in his bedroom office.
Unfortunately, he’s getting older, and his physical and mental health aren’t what they used to be. He’s struggling with the inconsistency and unpredictability of contract work and wants something more stable and sustainable for his future so he doesn’t have to worry about advertising, networking, and keeping track of clients and meetings. So, he’s started applying for jobs doing the same kind of work at properties and apartment complexes—jobs that come with set hours, a salary, and often even an apartment as an added bonus.
He recently found a job that seemed perfect—great salary, great benefits, everything he was looking for. He spent an entire day he could’ve used working for his current clients driving to the listed address (which wasn’t close), circling around a bit when nothing was there, and then finally leaving when he realized the place simply didn’t exist. He wasted time, gas, and a full day of potential income. (This actually happened to me quite a few years ago, too. I applied for a job selling frozen yogurt, and the address led me to… a Trader Joe’s.)
The Proof Is In The Data
There are “thought leaders” online claiming that scam, spam, and fake job postings aren’t a real issue. People who haven’t applied for jobs in 7+ years according to their LinkedIn profiles. I honestly don’t know what the benefit of making these claims is because it’s simply not true. I’ve experienced these kinds of fake job postings firsthand. My husband has, my friends have, and now my dad has.
Beyond personal experience, there’s plenty of publicly available data proving that this is a real and growing problem. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Job scams designed to steal money or personal information have become increasingly prevalent. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), an estimated 14 million people are exposed to employment scams annually, resulting in approximately $2 billion in direct losses each year.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that losses from job scams tripled between 2020 and 2023, with over $220 million lost in just the first half of 2024. The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) observed a 118% increase in job scams in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Types of Fake Job Posts Candidates Might Encounter
There are 3 types of jobs out there causing headaches for candidates.
- Scam Job Post. The goal here is to steal your information and use it for something harmful. Scammers are more malicious, often trying to extract sensitive details from vulnerable job seekers.
- Spam Job Post. The goal here is to get your info and… annoy you. These are typically more about marketing or promotion. They’ll post a fake job—one that might exist in theory but isn’t actually available—just to collect your email so they can flood you with irrelevant junk.
- Ghost Jobs. This is when a company posts a job and doesn’t take it down after they hire, posts a job just to increase investor confidence, etc.
“Ghost jobs” are what fake job postings are called nowadays, and unfortunately 1 in every 5 job postings is a ghost job. A recent survey conducted by Resume Builder in 2024 revealed that 39% of hiring managers admitted their companies had posted fake job listings in the past year. Among those 39%,13% posted 75 or more.”
Further, “40% of companies posted a fake job listing this year — and 85% of those companies interviewed candidates for fake jobs” – and while all of this is bad, the intentions found are worst of all: 60% of those surveyed said they posted fake jobs “to make employees believe their workload would be alleviated by new workers” and 62% of companies said another reason for the shady practice is to “have employees feel replaceable.”
Unsurprisingly, based on seeing my father’s bad luck with job posts, the construction industry has the largest average ghost job rate out of all industries, with 38% of jobs being classified as ghost jobs. Jobs in the art industry came in second place at 34%, and legal jobs came in third with 29%.
Job seekers deserve better than to waste time on scams, spam, and ghost jobs. Awareness is the first step, but knowing how to spot and avoid these traps is just as important. Next week, I’m sharing an audit you can use—and pass along to job seekers in your life—to help them navigate the job market safely and avoid ending up in a bad spot. Stay tuned!
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