Employment Scams Cost Victims $363 Million in 2025

Reported losses from job-related fraud rose sharply over three years, with artificial intelligence increasingly involved in the schemes.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Employment

Closed silver laptop and a pen on a plain wooden desk beside an empty chair in a quiet home office under soft daylight. — Reported losses from employment-related scams reached $362.9 million in 2025, up from $264.2 million in 2024 and $70.2 million in 2023. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Victims reported $362,934,762 in employment-related scam losses in 2025, across 24,688 complaints. That total is up from $264,223,271 in 2024 and $70,234,079 in 2023.

Why it matters

The rapid growth in reported losses shows job seekers face a rising financial threat from fraud. Almost $13 million of the 2025 losses involved schemes using artificial intelligence, a tool that can make fake recruiters and interviews harder to detect.

Reported employment scam losses reached $362,934,762 in 2025, up from $264,223,271 in 2024 and $70,234,079 in 2023, based on 24,688 complaints. The figures count only reported cases, so the full scale of losses is unknown.

The details

Some AI-involved employment scams appear aimed at gaining access to private computer networks. Online job interviews may involve voice spoofing or deepfakes, and a possible warning sign is a mismatch between a person's lip movements and the audio.

2023: Reported employment scam losses total $70,234,079.
2024: Reported employment scam losses total $264,223,271.
2025: Victims file 24,688 complaints reporting $362,934,762 in losses.

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Economic Trajectory

Reported employment scam losses rose from $70,234,079 in 2023 to $264,223,271 in 2024 and $362,934,762 in 2025. The increase continues a steep three-year climb in losses reported to federal fraud data.

Job seekers should treat unsolicited job offers and online interviews with caution, especially requests for payment or access to personal accounts. Verifying a recruiter's identity through the company's official channels can help protect against these schemes.

The takeaway

Losses from employment scams have more than tripled in two years, so verifying any job offer before sharing money or personal details is a practical step for anyone job hunting.