Safer Internet Day: LinkedIn shares tips to avoid job scams
What's the story
On Safer Internet Day 2025, February 11, LinkedIn has offered essential tips to help job seekers navigate the increasingly risky online job market.
With over 82% of Indian professionals seeking new employment this year, the platform stresses the importance of staying vigilant against sophisticated job scams.
These scams, from fake recruiters to offers that seem too good to be true, are becoming more elaborate, often tricking job seekers into sharing personal information or sending money to malicious actors.
Trivia
First, let's understand what is Safer Internet Day
Safer Internet Day, a global initiative, is celebrated on the second Tuesday of February each year. It aims to promote a safer and better internet, especially for children and young people.
The day was originally initiated by the EU SafeBorders project in 2004. The Insafe network, a European network of Safer Internet Centres, later adopted it as an annual event.
Information control
LinkedIn's advice for safe job hunting
LinkedIn advises job seekers to be wary of the personal information they share and never reveal bank details before the onboarding process.
The platform also cautions against falling for suspicious requests such as downloading encrypted software for an interview or accepting jobs with high pay for little work.
Job offers after just one remote interview are very rarely a legit deal, LinkedIn notes.
Red flags
Warning signs of job scams
LinkedIn also urges users to be wary of job postings that seem too good to be true or demand upfront payments.
Common scams include roles like mystery shopper, company impersonator, or personal assistant.
The platform also advises against sending money, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or making investments at the request of potential employers.
Safety measures
LinkedIn's tools for enhanced user safety
To help job seekers make informed decisions, LinkedIn has taken steps to highlight verified details about job postings, companies, and recruiters.
A verification badge on a job posting highlights verified information about the company or job poster.
The platform also provides an optional automated detection of harmful content and lets users filter their job search to show only jobs with verifications.
Security enhancements
Additional security features on LinkedIn
LinkedIn also encourages users to add an extra phone number or email address to their account for recovery purposes.
The platform also recommends setting up a passkey using device unlock features like biometric authentication on phones or laptops, and turning on two-step verification for added security.
These measures are designed to protect users from fraudulent activities like phishing and ensure a safer job search experience.