Indeed scam texts are on the rise again as job market stalls

Scammers constantly change and adapt tactics. When E-Z Pass toll scams became a trending topic, scammers started sending DMV and speeding ticket collection texts instead. The latest ploy: sending scam texts from job services like Indeed, offering jobs and quick cash.

In June, we reported that searches for the term “indeed scam texts” increased 550 percent in the past 12 months, with a sharp spike beginning around May 11, according to Google Trends data. More recently, searches related to this scam are on the rise again, beginning around Aug. 24 and continuing to the present date. (One Mashable editor recently received two of these scam texts in 48 hours.) This time, scammers appear to be taking advantage of a real problem — the weak job market in the United States.

For job seekers, the situation is bleak. A Reuters Ipsos poll reveals that 71 percent of respondents are worried that AI will lead to job losses. Yahoo Finance recently reported that unemployment is at the highest level since October 2021, and in June, the U.S. recorded "the first monthly net job loss since December 2020." It's in this environment that scammers are sending texts promising jobs and quick cash.

To be abundantly clear: These Indeed texts are scams, and you should not respond, click any links, or call or message any phone numbers included in the text. The scammers have nothing to do with Indeed itself, a popular online job search platform, and the company has an FAQ for people with questions about Indeed text scams.

What is the scam and how to spot it?

Typically speaking, the scams have surfaced as texts. The sender poses as someone with the career service Indeed and offers the receiver a job or asks for personal info. Here's an example text of the scam received by an editor at Mashable. (We've redacted the sender's info, but it was from a sketchy email address with a relatively generic name.)

Credit: Screenshot: Mashable

Remember: the folks at Indeed will almost certainly not be randomly offering you a job over text, even if you've recently applied for a job there. These scams have become prevalent enough, however, that Indeed has an entire page devoted to them on its site. In general, Indeed notes that folks may pose as an Indeed employee or a potential employer. Indeed also warns users that the scammers often create a false sense of urgency (e.g. claiming your account may be deleted), ask for personal credentials, or ask you to click a link or communicate via a non-Indeed channel. Some of these scams have asked folks to contact a number via WhatsApp or Telegram, which is also a red flag, since those platforms are harder to trace.

To be clear: Indeed will not contact you in this manner, and all potential employers should be communicating through Indeed, unless you give them your phone number. It's worth noting that the Indeed scam isn't the only job offer scam out there. Look around online and you'll see other apparent examples that are very similar in nature.

These types of job offer scams are particularly insidious because they take advantage of people who may be struggling financially. A job offer promising quick cash for product testing or data entry is very tempting, yet it can leave the victim even worse off.

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In general, to spot these scams, take a beat and look at the message. They're often from a very sketchy source, either a random phone number or email address. It has that in common with other SMS scams, like the super-common, fake E-ZPass texts. The messages often promise a job for no reason, which, frankly, is too good to be true — another hallmark of scams.

What to do if you get the scam Indeed text

First and foremost, do not click any links or communicate with the scammers. They're looking to steal your info or trick you into sending money, and clicking links is the easiest way to do so. You should simply delete the text and report it as junk. Indeed also recommends blocking the number and reporting the issue with the Federal Trade Commission.

Overall, these scams are preying on folks' need for a job. And it makes sense that you'd hand over personal info to a potential employer. But be warned: the Indeed job offer texts, and others like it, are scams.