'This trust deficit threatens legitimate hiring efforts,' report warns
More than four in 10 Singaporeans have reported declining trust in recruitment platforms and agencies due to job scams, according to a new report, which warned about their impact on hiring.
A new survey by Reeracoen Singapore, in collaboration with Rakuten Insight Global, found that 40% of jobseekers had moderate or significant loss of trust in job platforms and recruiters.
"This trust deficit threatens legitimate hiring efforts — creating a need for visible credibility markers and proactive reassurance," the report read.
The decline in trust comes as 35% of the respondents reported encountering job scams in the past year, with more than half of them targeted more than once.
As a result, more than 50% of the respondents said they are concerned about encountering job scams, even on reputable job platforms.
"Even in Singapore's trusted hiring environment, jobseekers are feeling the impact of impersonation scams," said Shoichi Sunaga, Branch Manager, Reeracoen Singapore, in a statement.
Kenji Naito, Group CEO of Reeracoen Group, noted that it's becoming harder to tell what's real and what's a scam, especially amid evolving artificial intelligence technology.
In Singapore, police data show that scam cases went up by 46.8% in 2023. Job scams were among the top five scam types that year, costing victims more than S$20 million.
"This is no longer just a tech problem; it's a human one," Naito said in a statement.
To address the problem, the report highlighted the role of organisations in ensuring safe recruitment.
"This underscores the importance of employers working with verified recruitment partners who can provide secure, pre-vetted candidate engagement channels," the report read.
According to jobseekers, they also want the following measures implemented by job platforms and recruiters:
"Verified listings, stronger employer branding, and human-led screening are no longer optional – they're essential," Sunaga said.
Meanwhile, the report also advised employers, platforms, and regulators to implement the following:
"The value of human involvement and verified interactions is becoming even more important. We must build hiring ecosystems where people feel safe and trust comes by default," Naito said.
