OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — From the emergence of artificial intelligence to economic uncertainty and everything in between, younger Americans are having a harder time finding a job.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds climbed to 10.5 percent in August. It's the highest level in nearly four years and more than twice the national unemployment rate.
While looking for jobs younger Americans are having to look out for something else.
"Traditionally, scams go after the elderly population because they’re not as tech savvy. This situation is the reverse,” GuidePoint Security Federal Chief Technology Officer Jean-Paul Bergeaux said.
He’s talking about fake job scams. According to the Federal Trade Commission, reported losses from job scams tripled between 2020 and 2023 — and cost Americans more than $220 million dollars in just the first half of 2024.
"They’re very prevalent right now and they’re growing,” Bergeaux explained. “I think a lot of it comes from the virtual work environment we live in. Now that many expect white collar jobs to be remote it allows the bad guys to hide.”
He continued, “They really want to get your personal information. The golden goose for them is to convince you that you have a job and ask for your bank account information, so that they can say they’re going to pay you, and then they just take your money.”
Bergeaux says there are things to look out for.
“It has to be a job that offers some sort of remote work,” Bergeaux said. “If there’s a refusal to go into a physical meeting where you can talk to somebody or a live video meeting where you can see and interact with people, those are serious red flags.”
Another red flag is if they take your conversation off offical platforms and to platforms like WhatsApp, Snapchat, etc,.
Bergeaux says its usually foreigners targeting young Americans in these cases, and the emergence of generative AI has made it more difficult to spot the scam, since it can write the message for the cybercriminals and eliminate language barriers.
He also stressed the importance of familiarizing younger Americans on the HR process — something many have not experienced.
If you do fall victim of a scam — report it to the FBI at ic3.gov.
Also, be sure to lock your credit report, bank account and anything that may have been compromised.
