As India enters its peak hiring season, Apna.co has introduced a new AI-powered system called Apna Safety to combat job scams, which have become increasingly prevalent during this time. Designed to verify recruiters and enhance trust among job seekers, Apna Safety utilizes advanced technology to assess the credibility of recruiters against official records and digital patterns.
During its pilot phase in August and September 2025, the system successfully verified over 146,000 recruiters, resulting in a remarkable 45% reduction in fraud exposure for job seekers. Moreover, safety-related complaints on Apna’s Play Store listing decreased by 60%, contributing to the app achieving a top rating of 4.7 among job platforms in India.
Enhancing Job Seeker Safety
Apna Safety addresses a significant issue in the job market where freshers and first-time job seekers are often targeted by scams. Over half of the verified cases during the pilot were linked to opportunities for this vulnerable group. By implementing this system, Apna.co aims to foster a safer environment for job seekers, demonstrating that AI-driven verification can effectively scale while building trust within India’s hiring ecosystem.
The verification process involves multiple layers of checks. Recruiter legitimacy is validated against GST, PAN, and CIN records, with additional validation through the Aadhaar system. The AI then cross-references this data with domains and digital activity patterns, creating a credibility score. Recruiters who do not meet these requirements are either restricted or blocked, thereby safeguarding candidates from potential fraud.
Candidates can easily verify a recruiter’s authenticity by entering a phone number on the Apna app or visiting apna.co/apna-safety. The system categorizes recruiters as active, blocked, or unregistered, and users can report suspicious profiles directly through the platform.
Addressing Persistent Fraud Risks
Job-related scams continue to pose a significant threat in India. Fraudsters often impersonate recruiters, soliciting fake registration fees, security deposits, or training charges, and pressuring candidates to open bank accounts or transfer salaries as a condition of employment. According to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), cyber fraud in India resulted in losses exceeding ₹22,800 crore in 2024, with job-related scams representing the largest category of complaints. Estimates suggest that job-related fraud alone may have cost the country around ₹5,100 crore.
Frontline roles in sectors such as e-commerce, logistics, telecalling, customer support, and warehouse operations are particularly affected. These positions often see high demand during the festive hiring surge, making candidates more susceptible to scams.
Commenting on the launch, Nirmit Parikh, Founder and CEO of Apna.co, emphasized the importance of tackling recruitment scams. “Every year, lakhs of Indians fall prey to recruitment scams, and that is simply unacceptable,” he stated. Parikh underscored Apna’s commitment to creating a trustworthy hiring ecosystem, highlighting the responsibility the platform carries as it facilitated over 2.7 crore job applications in Q3 2025 alone.
Apna Safety not only aims to protect job seekers but also seeks to elevate the standards of verification and accountability in the hiring process. By integrating real-time alerts about common scam patterns, candidates are warned about potential red flags, further reinforcing trust in their job search experience.
With the launch of Apna Safety, Apna.co is taking decisive action against recruitment fraud and striving to establish a scam-free job market, where every Indian can pursue opportunities with confidence and dignity.
