The expert spoke about the growth of fraud with fake offers in IT

The recruitment market, especially in the IT sector, is experiencing an increase in the number of fraudulent schemes with fake job offers. The attackers pose as HR specialists from well-known companies and use real hiring scenarios to deceive applicants. Tatiana Gorbatsevich, a representative of KODE, told RBC about the risks and ways of protection on April 15.

"Fake HR is showing interest in all specialists who work remotely: developers, analysts, marketers, technical specialists. Any profession where remote work is possible becomes a convenient entry point for fraudsters," the expert explained.

According to her, one of the common schemes is related to "remote part-time work," when a candidate is first paid small amounts and then required to transfer money to continue working. In 2025, one of the applicants thus lost about 75 thousand rubles after interacting with scammers posing as employees of the marketplace.

Another scenario is aimed at IT specialists: under the guise of a test task, a file with malicious software is sent to the candidate. After installation, the attackers gain access to the device and bank data. According to experts, in just a few months of 2025, the damage from such schemes exceeded 14 million rubles.

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Hackers are enjoying a growing demand for documents due to the holiday season.

Gorbatsevich noted that not only novice specialists fall into the risk zone, but also experienced developers, analysts and marketers. This is due to increased competition in the labor market and longer hiring periods, which is why candidates are more likely to agree to accelerated processes and not check the employer.

Among the most common schemes, there are also requests to pay for the delivery of equipment, undergo paid training before employment, or provide personal information under the pretext of security checks. In addition, scammers actively use domain substitution and create email addresses that look similar to corporate ones.

The expert emphasized that in the legal hiring process, companies do not require money transfers and do not request sensitive data before completing documents. All key stages — from the offer to the signing of the contract — are recorded through official communication channels.

According to Gorbatsevich, important signs of fraud are pressure on the candidate, refusal of video communication, lack of specific information about the project and attempts to keep communication in messengers without switching to corporate mail. The expert recommended that applicants check recruiters through the official websites of companies, social networks and professional platforms, and if fraud is suspected, do not transfer data or make payments. She stressed that transparency, lack of pressure, and the ability to verify information remain key principles of safe hiring.

On April 7, State Duma deputy Dmitry Svishchev reported that fraudsters had begun using a scheme to substitute payment QR codes, which could cause buyers' money to go to the accounts of intruders. According to the parliamentarian, such cases are most often recorded in crowded places, including parking lots, public transport and areas with payment terminals.

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