Young People Most at Risk For Job Scams, Says LinkedIn

According to research from LinkedIn, Gen Z is facing the highest exposure to job scams out of any generation. 

The 2026 LinkedIn Job Search Safety Pulse finds that 32% of younger employees say they have been a victim of a job scam compared to just 17% of Gen X. 

The prevalence of these scams, LinkedIn says, is impacting both job seekers and employers, with 36% of recruiters saying they have been victims of impersonation and 67% reporting that job scams are making it more challenging to build trust with candidates. 

“It’s been striking to see how quickly the landscape is changing and how much more complex the job search experience has become for many people,” says Gina Benvenuto, Chief of Staff to the VP of Product Management, Trust at LinkedIn. 

“It’s especially challenging for Gen Z, who report facing the most exposure to job scams, and nearly one-third admit they sometimes ignore red flags due to limited opportunities,” she continued. “That’s something we’re actively working to change.”

Impacts on job seekers

As the number of scams increase, LinkedIn says questioning the legitimacy of a posting has become a routine part of the job search. Close to three quarters of professionals surveyed report that they stop to think about whether a role is real at least sometimes before they apply – while 29% who say they always do. 

This number is increasing, with 57% of professionals saying they are more likely to question whether a job is a scam compared to a year ago, and 49% of recruiters say that job seekers have reached out to verify that a role is real. 

There are several ways job candidates are checking the legitimacy of a role – around half will search for the company online or check whether the role appears on the company’s own careers site, while 32% will look at the company’s LinkedIn page. 

Recruiters are also changing their approach to hiring in order to support this increased level of caution. According to LinkedIn, 68% of recruiters are actively taking steps to build trust with recruiters, while 70% say that verification of the job, recruiter or company page is a must have. 

High scam exposure 

LinkedIn reports that Gen Z candidates are not only encountering job scams more than any other generation – they’re also more likely to ignore them. Nearly a third of young respondents report that they have ignored warning signs – such as being asked for sensitive information, requests for upfront payment or pressure to act or respond quickly – due to a competitive job market. 

By comparison, 21% of Gen X respondents and just 8% of Baby Boomer respondents report the same. 

This reflects a job market growing in competitiveness – with previous research from LinkedIn finding that more than half of workers globally are looking for a new role. Meanwhile, one million people in the UK between the ages of 16 and 24 are not in education, employment or training (NEET), says the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

Despite this, some business leaders see hiring younger workers as crucial for their business strategy, such as Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Match Group. 

In an interview with Fortune, Spencer shared that he had decided to bring back the company’s internship programme because it “needs” younger workers. 

“We build apps for Gen Z,” he said. “Our main demographic audience is 18 to 22-year-olds – of course, we need as many of these folks around our halls as possible.”