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The Fake Interview Scam Targeting Engineers: “Just Clone This Repo and Run It”
A scam aimed at job-seeking engineers nearly got me to execute malicious code on a call. Here’s how it works and how to spot it.
Job hunting as an engineer means a steady stream of recruiter messages, intro calls, and technical screens. Scammers have noticed, and they’ve built an attack that fits neatly inside that routine. I ran into it recently, and I want to walk through it so you recognize it faster than I did.
How the scam works
It starts with a company that looks real. The outreach is for a role that matches what you want. Nothing about the first contact looks off, which is what makes the rest work.
Then comes the GitHub link. During the conversation, they send a GitHub URL in the chat. Engineers receive repo links all day, so this feels normal.
Then comes the ask. On the call, they ask you to share your screen, download the repo, and execute it. The framing sounds like any other technical interview step. But the repo is dangerous, and getting you to run it is the real goal of the call.
What tipped me off
Two things felt wrong.
The first was being asked to share my screen without a reason that made sense…
