This past week, scammers stole my identity. They used my name, my professional credentials, my headshot, my LinkedIn headline, and my branding banner to replicate my signature block and build a fake identity designed to extract thousands of dollars from executive-level job seekers. The target in this case was Charles, a chief technology officer. The fake job was at Intel. The fake compensation package was $650,000 to $1.3 million. The fake version of me, the one soliciting payment via a fraudulent Gmail account, almost pulled it off.
I only found out because Charles did something that not everyone does: he tracked me down to warn me. Because of him, we have information about the perpetrator and a document trail. My longtime business and trademark counsel, Darren Heitner, issued a cease and desist, and I’ve already filed reports with the FBI, FTC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria.
But here’s what’s been keeping me up at night: how many others fell for it and lost hundreds or thousands of dollars? How many executive recruiters, career coaches, and resume writers have been impersonated and will continue to be impersonated? How can we create a touchpoint across all professional channels to warn unsuspecting job seekers of the red flags?
Anatomy Of A Modern Job Scam
What happened to Charles was a multistaged, tactically engineered fraud operation, made simple by AI and public information on LinkedIn. Understanding how it works is the first step toward not falling for it.
Here’s how it went down:
- A fake recruiter using the name “Amy Miller” (the real Amy Miller is an internal recruiter at Amazon, whose identity was also stolen) contacted Charles via email. She told him he was qualified for a senior executive role at Intel ranging from $650,000 to over $1 million. The job description had been pulled and tailored from his LinkedIn profile, but it was never published on Intel’s careers website when Charles checked it.
- Charles was informed he had been “shortlisted” for an interview and given a 72-hour deadline to prepare supplementary application materials. The deadline was a pressure tactic.
- He was told that all serious candidates use a professional to prepare these materials, and was referred to “Wendi Weiner” for immediate executive resume and branding support.
- Someone using a fake Gmail address, displaying my headshot, LinkedIn headline, LinkedIn banner photo, and my name as listed on LinkedIn, reached out and sent a fee schedule. The signature block was so complete (headshot, professional tagline, branding banner, and logos from publications where I’ve been featured) that it would fool virtually anyone familiar with my real materials.
- Payment was directed through Payoneer. When the transaction was attempted by Charles, the bank flagged it as fraud. Charles received a declination email that identified the purported recipient as “Uthman Abiodun,” located in Nigeria, with an email address associated to that name, claiming to be my “financial manager.” Charles immediately contacted me via my website inquiry form.
This scheme works because it mimics the architecture of executive job search support. Executive recruiters frequently refer executives out for resume writing and professional branding, which is precisely why it’s so effective as a delivery mechanism for fraud.
This Is Not An Isolated Incident
Job scams targeting professionals have skyrocketed in recent years. According to the FTC’s 2024 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, a 25% increase over the prior year. Job and employment scams accounted for $501 million in reported losses, nearly tripling in the number of reports filed since 2020. The emergence of AI tools has made it easier than ever for bad actors to scrape LinkedIn data, generate personalized outreach, and clone professional identities at massive scale.
What makes this scheme particularly insidious is that it targets people at their most professional vulnerability: the job search. Scammers have learned to exploit every one of those characteristics — the emotions, the urgency, and the dream opportunity. However, there are several red flags that can help you immediately identify a job search scam.
How To Spot A Job Search Scam
The following warning signs apply whether you’re a lawyer, an executive, or a young professional:
Red Flag 1: The recruiter’s contact information cannot be independently verified. Legitimate executive search professionals at established recruiting firms have a verifiable corporate email address. However, the email domain alone is not the definitive red flag. Many independent career coaches and resume writers have used free email platforms. The real red flag is the combination of a free email domain, an unverifiable website, no live video presence, no confirmed business address, and a high-pressure timeline. No single red flag tells the whole story. It’s the cluster of them that signals danger.
Red Flag 2: The compensation range is unusually high and vague. Fraudulent jobs frequently use wide compensation ranges to generate intrigue and reduce skepticism. A legitimate recruiter can tell you specifically what the base, bonus, and equity components look like. Vagueness is a signal.
Red Flag 3: There is a tight artificial deadline. Legitimate opportunities do not disappear in 72 hours. If you feel rushed, that pressure is by design.
Red Flag 4: You are asked to pay for application support before an interview. Legitimate recruiter referrals to career services professionals are always the job seeker’s choice. The moment a paid service is presented as a prerequisite to moving forward, treat it as a fraud mechanism.
Red Flag 5: The payment platform is unusual and has a narrow payment window. Legitimate professional service providers accept standard payment methods and do not pressure you with a narrow payment window. In this case, Charles was told payment needed to be confirmed within two hours. The FBI has warned that job scammers commonly request money via wire transfer, nontraditional payment platforms, and other methods that are difficult to trace or reverse. If you cannot verify the service provider’s identity through their official website, a live video call, and a confirmed business domain, do not send payment. The payment method and the pressure around it are often the most visible red flags.
Red Flag 6: The job description matches your LinkedIn profile suspiciously well. Scammers are scraping LinkedIn profiles to lure you in. If a job description reads as though it was written specifically around your resume, run. For example, the Intel job description never actually existed when Charles searched for it. That single detail illustrates how a job scam can unravel under even minimal scrutiny. Always verify independently that the job posting exists before engaging further.
If you believe you have been targeted, do not send money. Preserve all communications. Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov, the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and notify the professional being impersonated directly through their verified website. Your report may protect the next person.
A Word To My Above The Law Readers
I’ve spent more than 20 years building my professional brand as both a lawyer and career expert. The people who run these scams know that job searching is a high-stakes, emotionally charged process. They exploit that deliberately and without remorse.
I’m angry about what happened to Charles. I’m angry that my name, my face, and the credibility I’ve spent decades building were weaponized against someone who was simply trying to make a thoughtful career move. This isn’t a first-time occurrence or an isolated incident. Korn Ferry has publicly warned of this pattern, and the Wall Street Journal recently reported on the growing number of recruiters being impersonated in job scams targeting professionals at every level.
I’m sharing this because no one at any career level or industry is immune. You must remain vigilant, skeptical, and on your guard. Lawyers are uniquely positioned to both protect themselves and to advise their organizations and colleagues on this emerging risk.
I ask that you share this article. Send it to your peers, network, and recruiter contacts. The best defense against job search scams is knowing exactly how they work and how to shut them down.
My final ask: if anyone contacts you claiming to be me from any address other than my website domain, please reach out to me directly. I want to know.
Wendi Weiner is an attorney, career expert, and founder of The Writing Guru, an award-winning executive resume writing services company. Wendi creates powerful career and personal brands for attorneys, executives, and C-suite/Board leaders for their job search and digital footprint. She also writes for major publications about alternative careers for lawyers, personal branding, LinkedIn storytelling, career strategy, and the job search process. You can reach her by email at wendi@writingguru.net, connect with her on LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter @thewritingguru.
The post They Stole My Identity To Run An Executive Job Scam. Here’s What Every Professional Needs To Know. appeared first on Above the Law.