An incident exposing personal data in bulk — often the source of the details that make job-scam approaches feel personalized.
When a company is breached, names, emails, phone numbers, and employment details leak onto the market. Scammers buy this data to craft targeted, believable job outreach that references real information about you.
You can't prevent others' breaches, but you can limit the fallout: unique passwords, 2FA, and skepticism toward unsolicited offers that seem to “know” you.
Frequently asked questions
How do scammers know my details before I've applied anywhere?
Often from data breaches. Leaked personal and employment data is bought and used to make cold job offers feel personalized and legitimate. Treat unsolicited, oddly-informed outreach with extra caution.