Job scams and fake applicants are rising. Why a real person in your hiring process matters more than ever

Hiring now has a trust problem on both sides. Jobseekers are being targeted by fake recruiters, and employers are receiving applications polished, or written outright, by AI. A real person reading every application against your brief, from a business candidates can recognise and check, is the simplest way to protect your shortlist and your reputation.

Key takeaways

•       The ACCC received 138 scam reports about LinkedIn in July and August 2026, with losses of up to $254,449 (ABC News).

•       In LinkedIn's Job Search Safety Pulse survey, 16% of Australians said they had fallen victim to a job scam, rising to 25% of Gen Z jobseekers (ABC News).

•       Scammers pretend to hire on behalf of real companies and impersonate well-known recruitment agencies (Scamwatch).

•       Gartner predicts that by 2028, one in four candidate profiles worldwide will be fake (Gartner, July 2025).

•       Only 26% of job candidates trust AI to evaluate them fairly (Gartner, July 2025).

What is happening with job scams in Australia?

Fake recruiters are targeting Australian jobseekers at scale. On 6 October 2026 the ABC reported that scammers are cloning the profiles of real employees at legitimate companies, approaching people who look open to work, then charging upfront fees for resume help or training, or harvesting the personal details in their resumes.

Engineering firm Aurecon told the ABC that fraudsters had misused its brand name in fake job emails and unsolicited offers, and that it runs formal interviews and never asks candidates for upfront payment. Ryan Ko, Director of the University of Queensland's Cyber Research Centre, warned that resume details can be used for identity theft, financial fraud or account takeover attempts.

It is not a LinkedIn problem alone. Scamwatch warns that scammers contact people by text, WhatsApp and other messaging apps, pretend to hire on behalf of high-profile companies, and ask for upfront payments that are rarely recovered.

Why should an employer care about scams aimed at jobseekers?

Because the good candidates you want are now on guard. In the LinkedIn survey reported by the ABC, 61% of Australians had seen suspected fraudulent job ads and 27% had nearly fallen for a scam. People who have been warned, or burned, second-guess every call and email about a job. A genuine approach about your role can be ignored if it looks anything like the scams they have heard about.

Your business name is also fair game. Aurecon is a large firm, but a local business with a good reputation is just as easy to borrow, and far less likely to notice.

The red flags the ABC lists are worth flipping into a standard for your own hiring: recruiters in unusual locations, accounts with no connections, and contact from Gmail, Outlook or Hotmail addresses. The opposite is what a real business looks like: a business email, a phone number someone answers, and people candidates can look up.

What does AI change on the employer side?

A fake job applicant is someone who misrepresents who they are or what they can do to win a job. That ranges from a resume padded with AI-written claims to a borrowed identity, or someone else sitting the interview.

Gartner predicts that by 2028 one in four candidate profiles worldwide will be fake. In a Gartner survey in the second quarter of 2025, 6% of candidates admitted to interview fraud, either posing as someone else or having someone pose as them. A separate Gartner survey of 3,290 job seekers found 39% used AI during their application, mostly to write resume and cover letter text.

Using AI to tidy a resume is not dishonest. The problem for a busy employer is practical: when a pile of applications all read well and all hit the right keywords, the paperwork stops telling you who can actually do the job. A screening process that only matches keywords rewards whoever games them best.

Handing the whole job to software has a cost too. Gartner found only 26% of candidates trust AI to evaluate them fairly, and 25% trust an employer less when AI evaluates their information.

Why does a personal approach to screening matter now?

Because a person is harder to fool, and easier to trust, than a filter.

At Mornington Screening Service a person reads every application against the must-haves you set. Not a keyword count. You get a ranked shortlist with notes on why each person made it, so you only interview people worth meeting.

If you want to see and hear candidates before you give up any interview time, our optional recorded Zoom interviews let you watch your shortlisted candidates answer questions. A conversation on camera is a lot harder to fake than a document.

Candidates deal with real people from a real Mornington Peninsula business, with a business email and a phone number that gets answered. We never ask candidates for money. That matters when the people you most want to hire have been taught to be suspicious.

As Brett Sargeant, CEO of Andreasens Green Wholesale Nurseries, put it: "Every candidate presented is thoroughly screened and well-suited for the role."

It is a flat fee of $700 per role, at any salary level. No commission, no agency markup.

What can you do this week to keep your hiring credible?

1.     Advertise only from your verified business accounts, and say in the ad how you will contact applicants.

2.     State in every ad that you never ask candidates for money.

3.     Contact applicants from your business email domain, never a Gmail or Outlook address.

4.     See or speak to shortlisted candidates before you commit interview time.

5.     Search your business name with "jobs" every few months to spot fake ads using it, and report any you find to Scamwatch.

Frequently asked questions

Is a resume written with AI a red flag?

Not on its own. Gartner found 39% of job seekers it surveyed used AI during their application, mostly to write resume and cover letter text. What matters is whether the person matches the paperwork, which is why a person reading every application, and seeing or speaking to the shortlist, still matters.

Why not just use AI screening software to sort applicants?

Keyword filters reward the applicants who game them best, and AI makes gaming easy. Gartner also found only 26% of candidates trust AI to evaluate them fairly, and 25% trust an employer less when AI evaluates their information. Software alone can put off the candidates you most want.

How can I stop scammers using my business name in fake job ads?

You cannot fully stop it, but you can make the real thing easy to recognise. Advertise from your verified business accounts, contact applicants only from your business email and phone number, and say in every ad that you never ask candidates for money. If you find a fake ad using your name, report it to Scamwatch.

What does Mornington Screening Service do?

We read every application against the must-haves you set and send you a ranked shortlist with notes on why each person made it, so you only interview people worth meeting. It is a flat fee of $700 per role at any salary level, with an optional $300 recorded Zoom interview with your shortlisted candidates.

Got a role to fill?

Send us your brief and a real person will read every application. You get a shortlist of people worth interviewing, for one flat fee. Submit your hiring brief or call 1300 665 362.