In March of last year, con artists publicized many job postings at a reputable Singapore-based IT services company, posing as representatives of a reputable recruiting agency and using a fake website with the company logo and an office in Kochi. They conducted two rounds of interviews and issued appointment letters on fictitious letterheads in exchange for each paying Rs 3 lakh for agency fees, visa applications, and a program to assimilate them into the local culture. After then, they vanished.

This wasn’t the only instance of pretend headhunters deceiving people. The market is experiencing a slowdown in hiring and widespread downsizing in several industries, which has led to an increase in employment scams employing false job postings and phony onboarding procedures to take money from job seekers.

The Kochi fraud was exposed after the candidates met with top executives of the legitimate recruiting firm and learned they were unrelated to the fictitious agency, according to the newspaper.

According to reports, the CEO of a financial app was detained in Bengaluru in April for allegedly defrauding job applicants. After 22 victims filed accusations against him, CS Sudheer, the founder, and CEO of the IndianMoney Ffreedom app, was placed in judicial prison. The company’s staff promised the victims part-time employment with a monthly salary of Rs 15,000 provided they paid Rs 2,999 for a subscription to the IndianMoney app.

A guy was detained by Delhi police in April for defrauding individuals by making false promises of employment with private airlines. This arrest was made as a result of a lady who lost almost Rs 9 lakh in 2022 after responding to an Instagram employment post.

A similar employment fraud victimized a 29-year-old working professional who lost Rs 14.25 lakh not long after she was duped in May. She received a WhatsApp message from a business claiming to represent Leo Burnett in the hiring process for a social media specialist position. It was a home-based internet job that offered a daily salary between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000.

Fraudsters are doing well. According to Alok Kumar, president of ManpowerGroup India, these incidences have almost quadrupled since six months ago, as reported by ET.

The majority of employment firms, including Manpower, Foundit (previously Monster), Randstad, and Adecco, are on high alert to stop fraud by phony employment firms.

The labor market recession and fewer job vacancies are attracting many hopefuls to believe phony employment offers, according to Kumar, who was quoted by the newspaper. Manpower has increased efforts to educate individuals on social media, highlighting warning flags to watch out for and emphasizing that they do not ask for money in exchange for work, in an effort to combat employment scams on their platform.