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I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

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Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#21

Post by Juliate »

ryandrake wrote: post #6

> The scary part? This attack vector is perfect for developers. We download and run code all day long. GitHub repos, npm packages, coding challenges. Most of us don't sandbox every single thing. Embedded into this story about being attacked is (hopefully) a serious lesson for all programmers (not just OP) about pulling down random dependencies/code and just yolo'ing them into their own codebases. How do you know your…

That's why from my perspective, almost everything is f'd up in tech at this point.

Any update I may do to any project dependencies I have on my workstation? Either I bet, pray and hope that there's no malicious code in these.

Either I have an isolated VM for every single separate project.

Either I just unplug the thing, throw it in the bin, and go make something truly lucrative and sustainable in the near future (plumber, electrician, carpenter) that let's me sleep at night.

Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#22

Post by throwaway48476 »

silexia wrote: post #2

I own a company and get contacted daily by tons of applicants who scammers took advantage of using fake similar domains and such. My opinion is that scammers, wherever they are in the world, should get bombed. Criminals only stop when the risks are higher than the rewards. And we need to stop victim blaming companies and individuals.

Scams are de facto legal. In many countries the economy is dependent on scamming.

Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#24

Post by koakuma-chan »

devy wrote: post #16

The pseudonym "Mykola Yanchii" on LinkedIn [1] doesn't look real at all. Click "More" button -> "About this profile", RED FLAGS ALL OVER. -> Joined May 2025 -> Contact information Updated less than 6 months ago -> Profile photo Updated less than 6 months ago Funny things, this profile has the LinkedIn Verified Checkmark and was verified by Persona ?!?! -> This might be a red flag for Persona service itself as it migh…

You can click on the verification badge and see if the person has job verification. If not, that's a red flag. I never paid attention to this myself but I will in the future.

Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#26

Post by ge96 »

silexia wrote: post #2

I own a company and get contacted daily by tons of applicants who scammers took advantage of using fake similar domains and such. My opinion is that scammers, wherever they are in the world, should get bombed. Criminals only stop when the risks are higher than the rewards. And we need to stop victim blaming companies and individuals.

More Jim Browning type people needed or Kit Boga

Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#27

Post by atropoles »

I had someone who was targeting junior developers posting on Who Wants to Be Hired threads here on Hacker news. They reached out saying they liked my projects and had something I might be interested in, then set up an interview where they tried to get me to install malware.

Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#28

Post by kirubakaran »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #18
jzebedee wrote: post #7

The article never really addresses if it was a totally fake setup or a real crypto company scamming interviewees. Does "Symfa" exist? Does the "Chief Blockchain Officer"?

I think it's a real company. https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchRe... ~~Scammers probably got access to the guy's account.~~ (how to make strikethrough...) He changed his LinkedIn to a different company. I guess check verifications when you get messages from "recruiters."

> (how to make strikethrough...)

Unfortunately(?) you can't: https://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc

Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#29

Post by quentindanjou »

IAmBroom wrote: post #10
netsharc wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read somewhere that if all of online scamming was calculated as a country's production, it'd have the 3rd largest GDP in the world. Edit, link: https://sponsored.bloomberg.com/quicksight/check-point/the-w... But then again, aren't there obviously scams, and scams that are deemed legal? Like promising a car today that will be updated "next year" to be able to drive itself? Or all the enshittified industry's dark pat…

You're making a "perfection" kind of fallacy. If we extend the term "scammer" to mean "anyone who didn't 100.0% deliver on every statement they ever made", congrats: EVERYONE is a scammer.

Actually they are right, while "a car today that will be updated 'next year' to be able to drive itself" is not a scam it is actually "deception" which can lead to legal consequences. And if the company knew in advance that they would not be able to deliver such updates while advertising that, we would indeed be in the scam territory.

Let's not downplay dark pattern strategies of some companies that actually do not benefit anyone in society.

Re: I almost got hacked by a 'job interview'

#30

Post by ohman876 »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #24
devy wrote: post #16

The pseudonym "Mykola Yanchii" on LinkedIn [1] doesn't look real at all. Click "More" button -> "About this profile", RED FLAGS ALL OVER. -> Joined May 2025 -> Contact information Updated less than 6 months ago -> Profile photo Updated less than 6 months ago Funny things, this profile has the LinkedIn Verified Checkmark and was verified by Persona ?!?! -> This might be a red flag for Persona service itself as it migh…

You can click on the verification badge and see if the person has job verification. If not, that's a red flag. I never paid attention to this myself but I will in the future.

Interesting, I didn't know there is such thing on Li! Is this done by past employers?
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