‘Surely AI shouldn’t be used so carelessly so as to ruin the hopes of people and companies?’ Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/AlamyView image in fullscreen‘Surely AI shouldn’t be used so carelessly so as to ruin the hopes of people and companies?’ Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/AlamyLettersHow AI job scams are destroying people’s hopesSasha Cooklin, Darryl Dixon and Niall Leonard respond to an article by Victoria Turk about the boom in AI-driven fraud in recruitmentArtificial intelligence isn’t just being used by scammers to promise fake roles and trick job-seekers, it is becoming increasingly prevalent in responses and screening processes for real jobs (AI job scams are booming – and I was fooled by one. Here is how to avoid them, 21 April). Not only are good people losing out on jobs, but companies are losing out on better candidates.As a prospect researcher, identifying potential donors for organisations, I’m aware of the benefits with which AI can support my work, but I will only use it when there are no more tools at my disposal. With 20 years of experience, I can generate a report with insight that only a human being can provide. It’s what my employers rely on me to do.Having been made redundant last year, I have sent out nearly 200 applications, and I quickly began to recognise a pattern of automated responses, some of which had nothing to do with my application and which were confusing and offensive. Most of them weren’t even signed off by HR. An extreme case was receiving a rejection on the sole ground that I’d used AI to write my CV – which was definitely not the case. I contacted the HR department and they apologised – confessing that they themselves had used AI to scan the CVs and cover letters received. The irony defeats me. Surely AI shouldn’t be used so carelessly so as to ruin the hopes of people and companies? People have families to feed.Sasha CooklinTunbridge Wells, Kent Victoria Turk’s article is a timely reminder of the expansion of online fraud and how AI will make them harder to spot. False adverts targeting citizens is only part of the picture – online fraud targeting migrant workers seeking opportunities in the UK, which turn out to be false adverts for nonexistent jobs, is increasing.The article advises that “If you’re unsure about a company, you can research it by looking it up on Companies House”. Good advice, but here’s the problem: in work that I have undertaken for the International Organization for Migration, focused on raising awareness to prevent migrant workers falling for online scams in the UK, the scammers have used the identities of UK companies, whether active or have ceased trading.Faced with such documents, applicants rarely take steps to check the ad and contact the actual company. Even if they attempted to do so, it is more difficult if the only contact is the registered office address, with no website or other method of contact. While trying to contact the firm and simultaneously under pressure by the fraudster with the threat that others may secure the vacancy, the worker will not wait, will assume it is legitimate and become a victim of fraud.Darryl DixonNottingham Minor self-published authors like me are getting flooded with similar scams, where executives in publishing or TV arts shows profess to be fascinated by “your unique storytelling”. The executives named are real people and you can Google them. The main giveaway is that the ones praising you always seem to be writing from a Gmail address rather than a company one.A related scam is fanmail from established authors who “found you on Facebook” and are desperate to know about your writing process. I’ve had “Ian McEwan”, “Ken Follett” and “Colleen Hoover” gushing over my work. When “Agatha Christie” joined in, I smelled a rat.Niall Leonard Ealing, LondonExplore more on these topicsJob huntingScamsAI (artificial intelligence)ComputingImmigration and asylumWork & careerslettersShareReuse this content