Reports of employment scams to the Better Business Bureau doubled in 2025 compared to 2024. Losses from these scams grew from $90 million in 2020 to $501 million in 2024. Nearly 50,000 people reported falling victim to employment scams to the bureau in the three years prior to June 2026.

Employment scams have increased in frequency in recent years. More than 80% of phishing attempts use AI. AI-enabled scams were 4.5 times more profitable than traditional scams.

Mary Ann Morrison, an instructional design manager, described a scam attempt in which the perpetrators asked to meet with her. "They were asking me to meet up with them. They asked the time and everything. It sounded very professional," Morrison said. She added that the realism of current scams is a concern. "It's scary how realistic these scams are getting, because just their mannerisms is a lot less of the idea where people used to just send out a very blanket email with a lot of grammar mistakes and a very obvious email address."

Roger Grimes, a chief information security officer advisor, commented on the attractive nature of these offers. "There's so much fraud out there that if you're not aware of it, if you're not on your toes, it can really be an attractive offer. You get so caught up in the excitement of 'Oh, this is my dream job,'" Grimes said. He added that younger generations may not associate the term "hacker" with a typical scammer. "Our kids and grandkids, when they hear the term 'hacker,' may not think of somebody in a hoodie over top of a laptop trying to scam someone."

Data indicates that nearly one-third of Gen Z individuals reported being victims of job scams. Other data indicates 17% of Gen Z individuals reported being victims of job scams.