How to Avoid Resume Builder Scams

UPDATE: Let me be clear: I don't want you to be discuouraged by this post. LinkedIn is a very good tool for job seekers! My last 4 jobs have all come from LinkedIn, so it does work. You just have to know what to watch out for and use your common sense. I respond to every message I receive, and I will always lend a helping hand to those who ask! Original Post: 🚨 SCAM ALERT – Job Seekers, PLEASE READ 🚨 I need to raise awareness about a very convincing scam that is spreading fast on LinkedIn. If you are not sure, PLEASE message me, I'm happy to review with you! These are FAKE recruiter profiles posting “surveys” that ask something like: “Are you open to new job opportunities? Please complete this quick survey.” ⚠️ Do not be fooled — many of these posts DO list company names and the profiles are intentionally built to look legitimate. 🚫 These are NOT real recruiters. Their only goal is to collect your personal information. What they’re harvesting: • Full Name • Phone Number • Email Address • Resume / Employment History • ❌ In some cases — HOME ADDRESS (please, please stop putting this on resumes) Once you submit your resume: ❌ No real job ❌ No real hiring manager ❌ No interview ❌ Your information is now compromised 🚩 Red Flags (even when a company name is listed): • Brand-new or thin profiles • No genuine engagement history • Vague “multiple opportunities” language • “Survey first, details later” • Requests for resumes before ANY conversation ✅ What a real recruiter will do: ✔️ Clearly identify themselves ✔️ Have a verifiable employment history ✔️ Share specific role details ✔️ Speak with you directly ✔️ NEVER collect personal data via surveys 🔒 Protect yourself: • Remove your home address from your resume • Verify the recruiter’s profile history • Confirm roles on the actual company website • Ask questions BEFORE sending anything If something feels off — it is. Please share this. These scams are getting smarter, and job seekers deserve to be protected. 💜

Be careful out there, job seekers. There is a RAMPANT scam going on where a legitimate-looking recruiter on LinkedIn contacts you about an opportunity. When you reply, they'll ask for your resume and then refer you to a well-known resume writer on LinkedIn. The trick is that instead of giving you the person's profile, they refer you to a Gmail address with the person's name. Then this person pretends to be a resume writer and tries to get you to pay for a professionally written resume. Where it's so convincing is that they use a legitimate resume writer from LinkedIn and they steal their name, likeness, headshot, etc. (See below) I've had 3 job seekers reach out this week after being contacted by a recruiter who referred them to work with me offline. Thankfully, they messaged me to check first. But I worry how many job seekers took it at face value and didn't double-check? If someone reaches out to you about a job opportunity, then tries to refer you to me off this platform using a Gmail address - it is a scam! Please be safe out there!

Don’t let this happen to you! 🚨 If a “recruiter” tells you that you must pay to fix your resume before you can be considered, stop right there. 🚨 I’m seeing and experienced a disturbing scam targeting job seekers across all levels, from recent graduates to senior and executive leaders. Here’s how it usually starts: You’re told your experience is “strong” or “exactly what the employer wants.” Then comes the catch… ➡️ “Your resume won’t pass the ATS.” ➡️ “We can’t submit you unless it’s reformatted.” ➡️ “Here’s a resume writer we recommend, for a fee.” Let me be clear: legitimate recruiters do NOT require candidates to pay money to apply for a job. EVER! Yes, ATS systems are real. Yes, resumes matter. But pressuring you to spend money, especially through a recruiter-recommended service, is a massive red flag, unethical and a flat out SCAM. Job searching already comes with enough stress, uncertainty, and vulnerability. Scammers know this, and they exploit it. If something feels off: 🔷 Validate the recruiter and the role 🔷 Check email domains, LinkedIn activity, and company presence 🔷 Trust your gut 🔷 Ask a trusted HR leader, recruiter, or career coach before taking action To help protect this community, I’ve created a carousel breaking down: 🔍 Common warning signs 🛑 What legitimate recruiters won’t ask you to do 🧭 What to do if you’ve been contacted or already engaged Please save this carousel, and share it with someone who may need it. Let’s work together to expose these scams, protect job seekers, and make sure people aren’t taken advantage of during one of the most vulnerable moments in their careers. 👀 What have you seen? Have you experienced this or something similar? Drop a comment, share this post, or tag someone who should see it. Awareness is protection. #FelipeCofino #FelipesFive #JobSeeker #SCAM #ResumeWriters

SCAM ALERT ... For Job Seekers ..... I wanted to share a recent experience to help others in the tech community stay vigilant against sophisticated recruitment scams. I was contacted 4 months ago by a "Global Employer Engagement Officer" regarding high-level Lead Cloud Architect roles. The process seemed professional at first, involving detailed role descriptions and an "internal alignment review" of my CV. However, the red flags appeared quickly: 1. The recruiter used a personal Gmail account instead of a corporate domain. 2. After the "review," they claimed my CV had several "gaps" in quantifying impact and leadership. 3. They immediately pressured me to use a specific, paid "independent document alignment specialist" to refine my profile before they would submit it to the hiring manager. This is a known tactic where the "job opportunity" is merely a front to funnel candidates into paying for resume writing services. Legitimate recruitment firms do not require you to pay external third parties to "qualify" for an application. I knew this was a scam from the start, but wanted to see how low and far these scammers can go. Please be careful out there—if a recruiter insists on you using a paid service to "fix" your CV for a specific role or email from a personal account instead of an official one, it is likely a scam ( below is the reference ). #RecruitmentScam #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #TechHiring

Greed, despair and opportunity = SCAMS. Even savvy job hunters are being taken in. "Sarah, I've spent over $1,000 on a resume service with no results." "He said I'd land a job within 3 months. It's been 6. He took my money and I can't reach him." "They asked for my DOB & SSN# to submit applications for me. It seems obvious now, but I feel so stupid." (You can get my cheat sheet on how to avoid scams while job hunting here: https://lnkd.in/eKupBup3) The stories I'm hearing of job hunters being scammed are heartbreaking and infuriating. Some of these are outright scams, and others are blatant overpromising and underdelivering. Job hunters need to beware and watch for the signs: 🚩Replies to your LI comments offering a "new opportunity" 🚩You see copy/pasting the same reply to others on LI 🚩Evasive behavior and failure to answer normal questions 🚩Directions to install a new video/teleconference app (malware) 🚩Requests to send a resume to a Gmail (or non-corporate) address 🚩A recruiter profile page with no or very few connections 🚩The job posting isn't on the company website 🚩Any request for personal data (DOB, SSN#) 🚩Pressure to accept an offer immediately 🚩Text based or chat "interview" 🚩Vague job descriptions Any of these can point to the common scams I'm hearing about:  ➤"Recruiters" requesting a fee for an ATS-friendly resume  ➤ Fake job offers to get banking details for "direct deposit"  ➤ "Resume Services" that use outdated templates  ➤ Fees requested to help with background checks and visas  ➤ "Work from home" offers that promise big money  ➤ Upfront fees from training, equipment & materials  ➤ Phishing via emails & calendar invites  ➤ Application and exam fees To avoid these: 1️⃣ Cross‑check the job and company ↳ Find the job on the company’s careers page ↳ Search “[Company] + scam/reviews/complaints” 2️⃣ Verify the person ↳ Look up the recruiter on LinkedIn; legit recruiters have active pages ↳ Get a phone number from the company’s official site (not from the email) and ask HR to confirm the recruiter and role. 3️⃣ Slow things down ↳ Ask questions about the role, reporting structure, and company ↳ Take your time to research the organization 4️⃣ Control the communication ↳ Insist on a video or phone interview via standard tools ↳ Avoid chat or text, and requests to move to WhatsApp or Telegram What to do if you’re unsure or targeted: ↳ Stop sharing information and don’t pay ↳ If anything feels off, pause; do not send more documents, IDs, or money. ↳ If you clicked a suspicious link or shared data, change passwords, enable two‑factor authentication, and monitor bank/credit accounts. ↳ Report fake postings or recruiters to the job board (LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.) and to agencies like the FTC or your country’s consumer protection body. 🔖Save this so you have it handy when you need it. 🔔Follow Sarah Baker Andrus for career strategies and job search tips.

This one frustrates me because it is happening more often than people realize. A job seeker recently told me about an experience here on LinkedIn. They applied to a Director-level role, and a recruiter reached out shortly after. The conversation started normally, but then shifted into a pitch to hire a “recommended resume writer” before they could move forward in the process. When the candidate asked whether they were actually a fit for the role, the recruiter said yes, but still insisted they use the resume writer first. Shortly after, the conversation disappeared from LinkedIn, the recruiter on the posting changed, and it became clear the entire exchange was really about selling a service, not filling a job. Here are some signs candidates should watch for to avoid scams like this. Red flags during a recruiting conversation: If a recruiter asks you to pay for resume services to be considered, walk away. Legitimate executive search firms do not require candidates to pay for resume rewrites. If a resume needs to be reformatted or aligned to a role, I never cared how or where that got done. The firms where I've worked have handled that internally at no cost to the candidate. If the conversation quickly becomes transactional or urgent, be cautious. Scammers often push candidates to buy something before discussing the role, qualifications, process, or compensation. If messages disappear or details change suddenly, something is off. In this case, the recruiter name changed on the posting and the message thread vanished. Real recruiters do not need to erase conversations. If they cannot clearly discuss whether you are a match for the role, it is not a real hiring process. A legitimate recruiter can explain where you stand and why. What to do if something does not feel right: - Ask whether you are being considered without purchasing anything. - Research the recruiter, email address, and firm across multiple platforms. - Look for professional email addresses, websites, and an established LinkedIn profile + network. - Trust your instincts. If it feels like a sales pitch disguised as recruiting, it probably is. Have you seen this happening lately? If you’re comfortable sharing, drop your experience in the comments so others can learn from it.

Job seekers, beware. If you’re searching, networking, or just active here on LinkedIn, you’ve probably seen them: ✨ The “too good to be true” recruiter ✨ The “HR manager” who insists on WhatsApp or another chat app ✨ The brand-new account offering remote work and a signing bonus today Like many of you, I’ve reported and blocked more scammers than I can count. They’re getting more creative and subversive, but their patterns, if you're familiar or informed enough to see them, rarely change. Here are common red flags to watch for: 🚩 They ask for money or bank info early. Legitimate employers never charge you to apply, train, or onboard. 🚩 They push you to use Telegram/WhatsApp/Signal. Real companies use official emails, LinkedIn, or an ATS, not encrypted chat apps. 🚩 Their email isn’t from the company domain. Look closely at the email domain. @company.com vs. @companyjobs.com. Google the domain to confirm. 🚩 Too flattering, too urgent. If they act like you’ve as good as landed the role before a real interview, it’s bait. 🚩 Vague job descriptions. Scammers often paste generic text with no substance. 🚩 The role isn’t on the company website. Always cross-check on the official careers page (not the link they send you). 🚩 They get defensive when questioned. Legit recruiters want you to feel informed. 🚩 Suspicious profiles. Check “More > About this profile.” Is it brand new? Low activity? Repetitive posts? 🚩 They ask you to install software. Don’t. Ever. Not every scammer is a bot. Some are real people with real reputations, using real profiles to make a quick buck at your expense. If they rely on fear, exploiting myths, urgency, or fluffy promises instead of transparent information, you can bet it’s not legit. If something feels off, trust your instincts. Take a screenshot or ask a trusted connection. Report it and block it. It’s not embarrassing to be targeted. By speaking up, you protect yourself and others. Your safety matters more than any job lead.

Is there anything more disgusting than taking advantage of another human being when they’re at their most vulnerable? Especially when they’re job seeking. That’s exactly what’s happening - and it’s happening right here on LinkedIn. After Friday’s Job Seeker Café, a member of our Talentology AU IT Talent Community shared their experience. They’d been approached by a recruiter named 'Eloise' claiming to “help professionals connect with opportunities.” All seemed fine - until the recruiter asked for their resume. A few minutes later came this: “Please allow me a few minutes to run your resume through our advanced ATS, CMS and DRT scanning tools.” Sounds impressive, right? Except “Dynamic Radiant Techniques” doesn’t exist. It’s made-up jargon designed to sound legitimate. Then came the real motive: “Your resume scored 21% out of 100%. I work with a specialist who can fix this for you.” Followed by - you guessed it - a Fiverr link. This isn’t recruitment. This is a scam designed to exploit job seekers. Fake recruiters. Fake ATS reports. Real people being manipulated while trying to rebuild their careers. And here’s something even more concerning - it looks like the LinkedIn profile being used in this case may have been hijacked. I’ve personally seen this several times before: real profiles taken over or cloned, then used by scammers to appear credible and target job seekers. So how can you to be vigilant and protect yourself from these types of scams? • Check the recruiter’s profile. Do they look like a recruiter? Are they based in Australia? Do they have connections, followers, or a visible network? • Check their email address. If they’re using a @gmail.com, @outlook.com, or @hotmail.com address - red flag. • Ask the recruiter for the client and role before sending your resume. • Never pay a recruiter for resume advice. • Ignore “ATS scores” and “algorithmic scans.” They’re bait. • If they send you a Fiverr or Upwork link — block and report immediately. At Talentology, we’ll keep calling this behaviour out. #recruitmentscams #resumescams #atsscams #scams #CareerAGILITY #CareerAGENT #linkedinscams PS, I'm not suggesting that genuine recruiters, LinkedIn, Fiverr or Upwork are directly involved in these scams, but scammers are using these platforms to scam job seekers.

Scammers gonna scam. Don’t be a victim. Last weekend I ran an experiment. I put the green #opentowork banner on my profile and created a resume for a made up role: Head of Cucumber Smiles in Belize. Within 12 minutes, 13 recruiter profiles hit me up. Some messaged me directly, others commented on my posts, and a few even tracked me down in the comments section of other people’s posts. Most were obvious fakes. The titles were bloated, the locations didn’t match, activity was thin, and many had little to no contacts. So many job seekers don’t stop to confirm if a profile is real before sending off their resume and/or connecting. That’s exactly what scammers count on. Be diligent people! I know the job market can be brutal but this is the internet. 🤨 Two profiles in particular gave me pause. They had 500+ connections and looked like they had once been legitimate recruiters. Cheryl Onyango in Kenya (who has since blocked me, please report her) and Udeani Franklin ,PhD,R.Eng. . both tried to lure me into their scam. Cheryl even claimed there were “numerous Head of Cucumber Smiles jobs in Belize paying $260,000.” That’s what makes this scam so dangerous. It isn’t always just throwaway profiles created last week. Many are hijacked accounts or long standing networks that have been taken over or sold. That credibility makes them harder to spot and easier to trust. Sometimes they’re not in some faraway land either, they look local and convincing. But if you pay attention, the clues are there: the supposed VP of a company with 500+ connections isn’t cold messaging you about a random role, and their “recruiter friend” using a Gmail account. The scam itself is always the same, convince you they have jobs, then push you to pay for a fake “ATS compliant resume” service, while collecting your personal information from the resume along the way. That data, your work history, email, phone number, sometimes even address, is valuable and often resold. The ATS compliance angle is pure fiction, but it works because job seekers are anxious about being screened out. Scammers know that. The bottom line: real recruiters will never ask you for money, resume fixes, or processing fees. Recruiters are paid by the company, not the candidate. If you see it, it’s a scam. Stay sharp.

*UPDATE* I reached out to the recruiter who "emailed" me on LinkedIn, Sara. She confirmed it was not her who reached out to me, so they were impersonating her. Recruiters and job seekers, be careful out there! ___________________________ Today, I almost got scammed. 🫠 It was a scam preying on job seekers, so I wanted to share the red flags to help you avoid falling victim. Luckily, as an HR and recruiting professional, my spidey senses kicked in early. Screenshot below. At a quick glance, it seemed legit. Maybe a little too much “love bombing,” but hey, recruiters have different styles. I asked for the job descriptions and to set up a chat. That’s when the red flags popped up. Before sharing any JD, “Sara” asked for: - My most recent resume - My current or most recent salary plus expected range - My city and state - Whether I’m open to a hybrid schedule (without ever telling me the office location) Why is that a problem? - In many states (CA, NY, NJ, MA, IL, CO), asking for current or past salary is illegal.  - Scammers pressuring you with urgency and vague promises are trying to get personal info they can exploit. For example,  “Timing is critical. I want to make sure your profile is in front of the hiring panel before the deadline.” - Even if the recruiter’s name is real, scammers can spoof it. How to protect yourself: - Check if the email domain matches the company, beware of Gmail or Yahoo addresses. (This is the first thing I should have done) - Always ask for the job title, salary range, and full job description before sharing personal info.  - Trust your gut: real recruiters don’t rush you before you even know what the job is. Job searching is hard enough without scams muddying the waters. Stay alert, protect your info, and feel free to share this to help others avoid the trap. Resource for pay transparency laws based on state: https://lnkd.in/eGH7XNM8 Accenture, tagging for visibility. There are scammers using your company name. #JobSearch #Recruiting #ScamAlert #CareerTips