Thought Leadership
An American has tracked down roughly 60,000 fake job listings and 7,000 suspicious profiles on LinkedIn over two years.
Jay Jones from the Chicago area, who goes by the name “The Profiler,” has been hunting fake job listings, fraudulent recruiter profiles, and hijacked LinkedIn accounts for nearly two years. Since losing his job in advertising at the end of 2023, he says he has contributed to the removal of nearly 60,000 fake job listings from the internet, mostly from LinkedIn, and reported around 7,000 profiles that he considers job scams.
From Job Outlook to Full-Time Project
According to Jones, the fraud is not limited to obviously fake accounts. Some scammers create entire series of recruiter profiles using copied profile pictures and similar details. Others take over inactive, already verified LinkedIn accounts and link them to real companies. Still others post job listings on legitimate company pages that redirect applicants to external websites or email addresses.
AI Makes Scam Tactics More Personal
According to Jones’s observations, the methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to tailor job offers specifically to the resume and career history of individual applicants. A supposed recruiter might inform an applicant that their resume needs revising and offer corresponding help for a fee. Other scams target even more valuable information, such as driver’s license or Social Security numbers.
When Scammers Impersonate Employees
Jones recently came across several accounts under the name Linda Anthony that used the same profile picture, had been created recently, and listed similar positions at a company called “Confidential Jobs.” The profile URLs also followed the same pattern according to his observations, indicating mass creation. After he made the accounts public, the corresponding links were deactivated. Another case documented by Jones involved hijacked, already verified LinkedIn accounts: Users verify their identity on the platform, receive a verification badge, and then stop using their profile.
Scammers can take over such accounts, change the work experience, and identify the account holder as a recruiter for a real company, creating a verified profile with an apparently genuine corporate affiliation. Jones found several such accounts listed as employees of the Colorado recruiting firm Argenta Talent Acquisition, one of which actually belonged to a dentist from Chile. Argenta CEO Kelley Barcus explained that the fake profiles posed a direct threat to her business: “It’s my brand, it’s my reputation.”
Delays in Removing Information
Barcus commissioned Jones to have the accounts in question unlinked from her company’s LinkedIn page. LinkedIn accepted the reports, but according to LinkedIn, the affected accounts had 14 days to update their information or lodge an appeal before the company affiliation could be removed. LinkedIn explained that this process serves to allow inaccurate employment details to be corrected. Jones criticized the delay, saying it gives scammers more time to reach job seekers: “Scammers don’t deserve fairness. This is economic terrorism.”
Fraud on Company Pages Themselves
Jones is also investigating verified company pages themselves for fraudulent content. On Hyundai Motor’s verified LinkedIn page, he says he found around 30 job listings, including positions such as data entry specialist and customer service representative, that were poorly phrased and pointed to an external website not associated with Hyundai; applicants were asked to send their resume to an external email address. He found a similar case at Capital One, where job listings for assistant positions also led to an unlinked external website. Both Hyundai and Capital One stated they were working with LinkedIn to have fraudulent job listings removed.
Response from LinkedIn
LinkedIn stated that its automated systems stop the majority of fraudulent activity before users ever see it. In the second half of 2025, the company reported blocking nearly 90 million fake accounts before they were activated. Additionally, LinkedIn introduced new security features and collaborated with the FBI during the summer to educate job seekers about scams.
Oscar Rodriguez, Vice President of Trust Product at LinkedIn, conceded that scammers adapt quickly to new security measures and that identity verification alone does not guarantee a profile or job listing is genuinely legitimate. Later in September, the company plans to introduce a new tool that will allow verified employers to immediately remove a user’s affiliation with their company. Jones himself summed up the problem: “You turn on the light, and the cockroaches run away.”
A Full-Time Commitment Alongside Uber and Speaking Engagements
For Jones, the work has become more than a side project. He continues to search for permanent employment himself, drives for Uber on the side, and trains security professionals in recognizing scams. He is also seeking paid speaking opportunities, raising funds online, and selling clothing featuring anti-scam slogans. The fraud cases hit against an already difficult job market situation: In August, 27 percent of unemployed Americans had been looking for a job for longer than six months, a rate near the highest level in more than a decade outside of the pandemic period.
(Editorial Team)
