New Japanese AI tool will detect suspicious job listings 

AI will be used to weed out shady recruitment listings in Japan. The Tokyo-based dip Corporation, which operates a number of job-hunting sites, have announced that they will start using a generative AI tool to assist in identifying fraudulent part-time job listings. Starting on January 10, “Yami Baito Chekku AI” will be used to detect so-called “dark” part-time jobs that are often fronts for criminal activity. 

These jobs recruit unsuspecting people to act as “receivers” in bank transfer scams or to perform other criminal activities. Shady jobs have become a significant social issue in recent years, being linked to a number of robbery and murder cases. According to the National Police Agency, many of these hiring attempts target young people (especially those who are vulnerable, like runaways). They also reported that 17,570 bank transfer scams were identified in 2022 (an increase of 21.2%). Of the 473 juveniles arrested in association with these scams, 349 had been hired illegally as “receivers.”  

For recruitment sites, it can take a lot of man hours for staff to check every single job listing that is posted. dip Corporation’s AI tool is trained through machine learning using small datasets. The AI learns the characteristics of shady jobs from case studies posted on social media and internet forums, which enables it to detect employment listings with these traits. The tool is expected to reduce the time it takes to screen job listings by 80%.  

The kind of suspicious information that the tool will look for includes job descriptions that promise high renumeration without detailing the duties involved, or encourage people to apply by direct message. However, this detection tool has its limits, as it can only screen a job based on the information in the text. In mid-January, dip Corporation will also set up a consultation service, which will allow people to report fraudulent part-time jobs. According to IT Media it is dip Corporation’s policy to have its employees check up on jobs that have been flagged or reported as shady. It seems that this AI tool will be used to help employees deal with their workload more efficiently.