More than 9 in 10 job seekers encounter fake job offers

India's hiring market has a growing trust problem.

As recruitment scams proliferate, 93% of Indian employees and job seekers say they have encountered suspicious or fraudulent job opportunities, while more than half (51%) admit they are not confident they can tell a genuine recruiter from a scammer, according to Indeed's latest report.

The bigger cost of job scams is losing trust

The fallout from recruitment scams extends well beyond financial fraud.

According to the report, the biggest casualty is trust. Nearly one in three respondents (31%) say scam encounters have made them less trusting of recruiters and employers, while 19% report feeling stressed or anxious during their job search.

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Another 14% say previous scam experiences made them so cautious that they missed genuine job opportunities. By comparison, only 3% reported losing money, suggesting the lasting damage lies less in financial loss and more in eroding confidence and changing job-seeking behaviour.

Young professionals face the greatest risk

The shift to digital hiring has created new opportunities but also new vulnerabilities.

The report shows that Gen Z and respondents with 0–2 years of work experience are significantly more likely to encounter fraudulent job opportunities than other groups, making early-career candidates the primary targets of recruitment scams.

For Gen Z, the consequences of recruitment scams extend beyond fake job offers. More than half (52%) say scam encounters have caused them to miss genuine job opportunities, while 51% report experiencing emotional stress during their job search. Nearly half (46%) say they have lost trust after encountering fraudulent opportunities, and an equal proportion report losing money, underscoring the disproportionate impact of recruitment scams on young job seekers.

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The findings suggest that candidates are no longer waiting until the interview stage to judge credibility. Instead, many begin assessing whether a recruiter is genuine from the very first message or even the job advertisement itself.

The caution is already changing hiring behaviour. At least 75% of candidates say they sometimes, often or very often ignore job opportunities because they fear they may be fraudulent, making it harder for genuine employers to connect with talent.

Verification matters more than ever for candidates

As recruitment scams become more common, candidates are looking for stronger signals that a recruiter or employer is genuine. Half of respondents say the ability to verify a recruiter's identity is the biggest indicator of trust, followed closely by communication through an official company email address. The findings highlight the growing importance of transparent hiring practices and authenticated communication in building candidate confidence.

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“As hiring becomes more digital, trust has become a critical part of the recruitment process. Candidates are taking extra steps to verify every opportunity they come across, so employers need to make it easy for them to know they're engaging with a genuine opportunity. Transparent communication through official channels and other credibility signals can go a long way in building candidate confidence,” says Rohan Sylvester, Talent Strategy Advisor at Indeed.