North Korean hackers might be hiding behind excellent candidates’ masks in recruitment drives. This way, they can extract the digital currencies of the entities that hire them.
This trend was determined by various entities back in early 2020, even though it may have been taking effect for a longer time. This criminal behavior occurred when the crypto markets charged into an optimistic cycle, and recruitments happened on a big scale.
When a new developer gets hired, that consultant would recommend a potential candidate. Recruiters in the tech industry would immediately recognize this behavior as a fake intent to get this candidate on board.
The recruiters say they work out the back story of these fake profiles almost in the blink of an eye, but on every fake profile, there are always evident signs that things might get designed to deceive the victims.
The IT recruiters usually make tests to learn how to identify this kind of profile. The way they communicate is the same in every single case. These scammers seem to carry out their activities through a clandestine call center.
Red Flags to Detect a Scammer
The first red flag appears in the profile picture. It is the ultimate giveaway. It is always necessary to take a brief look at the profile picture. The sparkling applicant usually describes himself as a Japanese citizen. But, recruiters can quickly discover that these deceivers are not Japanese. Other recruiters say they look like robots or, at least, people generated by an AI tool.
According to IT recruiters, It is not a regular thing to see a phone number. But if a phone number gets involved, it’s a U.S. number. They can get coaxed onto a call with you. But it usually happens through Skype. And if the recruiter manages to make contact with the party, he has to insist on having a chat with their camera. When these people appear on-screen, they don’t look like real people. This group of “developers” look robotic, like they got generated by an AI.
North Korean Hackers are Living the Dream
These groups of criminals usually highlight that they are Solidity developers, blockchain developers, or something linked to Web3.
The LinkedIn profiles of these groups of scammers always employ a very familiar template. These templates get filled with a set of solid keywords. These are words that recruiters and employers in crypto could only expect to observe occasionally.
When recruiters launch a job ad, these fake profiles will immediately pop up and auto-reply. Solidity developers are not the type of developers that apply for positions. They usually get targeted by recruiters all the time. They have multiple opportunities to exploit in the tech sector.
These deceivers show many unusual signs in their behavior, but perhaps, the most prominent red flag is their insistence on getting a job. Their profile might look outstanding, and they could show years of Solidity experience, but these are clear signs that point to a potential scam.
By: Jenson Nuñez
