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Scams & ImpersonationImpact: Document theft + ₹1 Lakh loss
LinkedIn Job Offers: Not Every Opportunity Is Genuine
Threat Type: Corporate Impersonation & Identity Theft
What Happened
A recent engineering graduate applied for a remote analyst role on LinkedIn. He received an official-looking offer letter with the logo of a multinational IT conglomerate. The 'HR Manager' conducted a text-based interview on Telegram and demanded scans of his Aadhaar card, PAN card, educational certificates, and a ₹15,000 'laptop security deposit.' Weeks later, he discovered loans had been taken out in his name using his stolen identity documents.
✅ How It Was Resolved
- •Avanzo verified with the real IT conglomerate that the recruiter was an impostor using a lookalike domain name (.net instead of .com).
- •Guided the victim to file an identity theft report with the credit bureaus (CIBIL/Experian) to freeze fraudulent loan disbursements.
- •Assisted in drafting formal legal dispute notices to the instant loan apps that disbursed funds without proper KYC verification.
⚠️ Red Flags to Watch For Next Time
- •Interviews conducted entirely over text chat (Telegram/WhatsApp) without formal video or in-person rounds.
- •Recruiter email addresses originating from free domains (gmail.com) or slight misspellings of corporate domains.
- •Requests for refundable equipment deposits or onboarding fees before the official joining date.
🛡️ Steps to Protect Yourself
- •Cross-check recruiter email domains against official company career portals and call corporate switchboards to verify job openings.
- •Watermark all identity documents ('For Job Verification at [Company] Only - Not for Loan/Bank Use') before sharing.
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