The U.S. government seized 13 fake job recruiting websites allegedly used by suspected agents of the Chinese government to target American security clearance holders Wednesday.
The suspected agents created the “consulting company websites” starting in November 2023, advertising “generic ‘consulting’ jobs,” according to an affidavit cited by a U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) press release Wednesday. The alleged postings indicated an intent to recruit both current and former American government and military personnel “to provide expertise to unspecified clients.”
Conspirators recruited through social media, job postings and recruiting platforms with postings connected to topics the Chinese Communist Party cared about, according to court documents. The postings used aliases, AI-generated imagery and stolen identities in attempts to recruit individuals, the affidavit alleged.
Fake jobs allegedly included “Senior Analyst” and “International Affairs Consultant” positions. The conspiracy took aim at active and previous security clearance holders as well as other citizens with access to sensitive or classified government information, according to the DOJ.
