FBI shuts down 13 websites that operated as consulting companies offering fake jobs to dupe Americans; Full list of domain names

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) have seized 13 websites that allegedly posed as consulting companies and offered fake jobs to Americans in an effort to obtain sensitive government information. According to a release shared by the Justice Department, the websites targeted “US persons, including current and former security clearance holders with access to classified and sensitive US government information”. Authorities said the operators used fake identities, AI-generated photos, social media platforms and online job boards to make the companies appear legitimate. The websites advertised consulting and analyst positions and allegedly offered money in exchange for reports and information that could benefit foreign intelligence interests.

FBI says fake job offers targeted security clearance holders

Federal authorities said the operation began in November 2023, when the conspirators created at least 13 fake consulting company websites. The websites advertised positions such as “Senior Analyst” and “International Affairs Consultant” and claimed to be recruiting experts for unspecified clients. As per the release, these fake job postings are related to topics of interest to the government of the People’s Republic of China.According to court documents, recruiters contacted potential targets through social media, hiring platforms and freelance websites including Upwork, Expertia AI, Hubstaff Talent, Wellfound and Post Job Free. The scheme used fake personas, stolen identities and AI-generated photographs to gain trust.The Justice Department said recruiters often pressured candidates to provide “exclusive” or “insider” information and used contracts and confidentiality agreements to make the fake consulting companies appear legitimate.“These domain seizures offer a glimpse at how foreign actors can use promises of easy money to lure Americans into revealing sensitive or classified information that they are duty-bound to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.“Anyone approached online with offers of easy income for vague ‘consulting’ work should treat those overtures with extreme caution and remain vigilant for warning signs of malicious targeting,” he added.FBI officials said the operation was linked to efforts to target Americans with access to sensitive government information.“The fake consulting company domains seized by the FBI illustrate the lengths the Chinese government’s intelligence services will go to as they try to use AI-generated content to trick, recruit, or coerce current and former U.S. security clearance holders into sharing sensitive information,” said Roman Rozhavsky, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.

Full list of seized domains

The following 13 domains were seized by US authorities:

Following the seizures, the FBI replaced the websites with warning pages stating that the domains had been taken over as part of a law enforcement action.“For too long, the Chinese government has tried to exploit U.S. government employees behind the cover of fake companies and phony job postings,” said Daniel Wierzbicki, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Counterintelligence and Cyber Division. “Today, we shut them down,” he added.