Fake job postings on social media leave India Inc. worried

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai/New Delhi: A fake job post on LinkedIn forced Nestlé India Ltd chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan to debunk the scam. The menace, however, is far bigger, as multiple companies have reported such sham advertisements.

On target are gullible aspirants willing to go to any lengths to get employed in a muted market. “We are aware of several instances of fake job postings on social media platforms about Nestlé India and other players across industries," the company’s spokesperson said in response to Mint’s emailed queries. “We have been reporting such posts on the platform, explaining that the post is fake and directing interested candidates to official channels like Nestlé's LinkedIn page and Nestlé India Career website." Kroll, a global financial and risk advisory firm, found rampant false advertisements.

“Today, at least 2 out of 10 job postings are fake and in a sluggish job market, such fraudulent cases are more prevalent," said Tarun Bhatia, regional managing director and co-head, Asia Pacific, investigations at Kroll. “Our clients now are asking for social media mining and tracking to monitor where all the firm’s name's cropping up." Also read | How flunking a personality test can cost you your dream job Indian companies have reduced hiring over the past couple of years amid global uncertainties. That has cooled the job market compared with the galloping pace after the pandemic when firms across sectors went digital.

So when a job posting pops up, the number of candidates applying shoots up. That makes aspirants vulnerable to scams. On LinkedIn, one of the most-sought-after platforms by job seekers, fraud is becoming more sophisticated.