15
votes
North Korean Career Coaches
I keep getting messages in my email inbox or LinkedIn like:
Alexander
> Hi,
> I’m seeking a genuine partnership where only a USA software engineer can truly collaborate with me.
> I value transparency and real results.
> Things to do are very simple and I guarantee 3K~10K/month income for you.
> I’m ready to prove my credibility and discuss a win-win business.
> Thank you!
Hello $their_name,
Why do you need a USA engineer and what do I need to do?
- $my_name
> Thanks for reaching me out.
>
> I run a software development team with five talented developers who specialize in frontend, backend, full stack, AI/ML and blockchain technologies. Although we have a strong team, we are struggling to find enough jobs right now. As you may know, the economy in Europe is tough and low salary as well, so we are trying to find more opportunities in the US and Canada. However, this is challenging for us because of time zone differences, language barriers, and many US clients preferring to hire local people like you.
>
> To solve these issues, I'm actively looking for someone who can help us in getting more jobs in the US. Since you are a US citizen, you can create accounts on job platforms like Indeed, Dice, Upwork and Wellfound. I think you may have already heard about Upwork. It's a world famous freelancing platform. After setting up your accounts, if you allow me to use them, I will apply for jobs by myself. When I receive interview requests from clients, I will notify you so you can attend the meetings. During the interviews, I will support you by quickly sending you the right answers to any technical questions that come up.
>
> Once we secure a job, our team will handle all the development work, including any test projects. We will share the profits from the work we do, with a split of 30% for you and 70% for our team.
> In short, your role would be to connect with clients and help us secure jobs, while our team takes care of the technical work. This is a great opportunity for collaboration and growth.
>
> And there is one thing I need to tell you about using your account. Several platforms have very strict policies with ip addresses. If i use your account on my own machine, your account will be risky because ip addresses are different. And also they detect VPN, VPS, and some cloud services as well. To address this, we need to use your spare laptop. I will use your account on your spare one using a remote desktop application like Anydesk. Anydesk is a secure and safe remote desktop application.
Cuong
> Greeting,
>
> I hope this message finds you well. My name is Cuong, and I came across your information on your website ( WE need it ). I am excited to share that I have a potential long-term collaboration opportunity that I believe could be mutually beneficial.
>
> We’re a fast-growing IT consulting company based in Malaysia, with a talented team experienced in web2, web3, mobile development, and AI. As we expand into the U.S. market, we’re actively seeking a reliable business partner—someone like you—to grow together.
>
> Here’s how we can support you:
> - Proactively apply and schedule interviews on job platforms on your behalf
> - Optimize and refine your resume and LinkedIn profile to stand out
> - Provide technical guidance to help you succeed in interviews
> - Take care of the actual development work once new projects are secured
>
> If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to reach out. We’d love to hear your thoughts and explore how we can collaborate!
>
> Looking forward to connecting with you.
>
> Best Regards
> Cuong
Some of these messages are even from people who are well-connected to former bosses and managers and other talented people that I personally know. They aren't coming out of my spam folder.
I know I'm not special in this. I'm not the only one. They are throwing spaghetti on the wall until the meatballs stick, etc.
But I thought... what if I could use this to my advantage? I would still need to do the interviews but they could do the legwork applying for jobs and reaching out to companies, connections that they already have, and then when they deliver the job contract I cut off contact with these nebulous associates? And I join the company like normal.
Thoughts?
So…
Interesting thought exercise, but I feel the problems are pretty glaring.
Yeah, especially since the FBI are likely on the lookout for this exact sort of thing now too, due to that major bust a few weeks ago. So do you really want to risk being in any way associated with North Korean ops, @xk3? Even if you "cut off contact" after landing a job your ties to them will still be there for others to potentially uncover (or use against you) later.
Especially as there can be crimes that are based around intent or the apparent attempt that getting caught before you prove you ultimately weren't going to work with them won't have a good look. I don't know if that applies in this context as far as being guilty of any crimes, but I surely wouldn't want to take that risk. There's also the possibility, though seemingly remote, that the new employer could find out about how you got the job and I can't imagine that you'll have that job any longer.
In terms of dealing with potential threat actors, do not express commitment either way and contact your security manager. If you're in the US, you can report a tip to the Army CID or DC3. You should not express interest in case it's a.) real or b.) a sting.
That said, it's safe to ignore, delete, or report to the platform you're receiving the messages on, if only so that when the report comes out you're not on the naughty list.
For what it's worth, my North Korean Special Agent only contacts me through used car listings on Craigslist, so for them to use LinkedIn means it's probably just a fed in disguise.
Thanks! I found this page: https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250723-4
I guess I'll just report it on the platform like you said
Add me to the pile of “that’s a terrible idea” votes! But if you’ve ever wanted to dabble in espionage, you could try contacting the FBI. There might be an opportunity to use your LinkedIn account for a sting operation of some kind. Or maybe not, but at least you’d be helping to actually shut down this sort of enterprise, instead of just ignoring it.
Everyone saying "don't do it" are probably the type of people who eat vanilla ice cream and don't even put pepper on it first. You should absolutely 100% work with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea government agents to get a tech job. What CEO wouldn't appreciate your think-outside-the-box strategy for landing interviews?
And I can promise you, from personal experience, Democratic People's Republic of Korea agents know how The Game is played. If you cut off contact with them after landing a job, they absolutely will not send a sleeper agent to murder, kidnap, kidnap-murder, or murder-kidnap you in your sleep.
Carpe diem! I look forward to hearing about your future successes with your new (temporary) friends.
Very insightful comment, comrade. You make the Motherland and Our Glorious Leader proud.
Really awful idea honestly. If these really are North Koreans, it's absolutely a government operation. Regular citizens don't have the access to pull something like this off. At a minimum, it's a way for them to secure funding to run their country, oppress their people, and threaten the rest of the world. It could be a way to steal IP, or an attempt to gain a foothold to deploy malware. Either way, it's illegal. The issue with what you're proposing is that even if you're planning on reneging on the deal and scamming them, you're still knowingly entering into a business arrangement with a sanctioned country, which is very illegal.
Even worse, these guys know this is illegal and that you're participating, so now they have leverage on you to blackmail you into doing what they want. It's pretty likely that you'd have to just continue going along with this charade if you wanted to avoid the possibility of jail time, and the longer you participate, the more serious the crime you're involved in is.
On a technical basis, assuming you're a US citizen, this would be treason, which is one of the most illegal things you can do, and it carries a remote, albiet real risk of the death penalty.
Good thing this setup never goes south… This was recently and did not work out well for the US citizen. Not entirely the same thing, but I think it’s close enough to get into real trouble.
We should be actively exploiting the apparent split among factions of our reptilian overlords. By all means, use the free career placement and get your soul back at their expense. Let the British Royal Family, the CIA, the Merovingians, and the Kim dynasty eat each other, instead of us and our kittens. Trust that the Greys will protect you!
I think what you have here is an excellent creative writing prompt.
Or an invitation to be a pawn in one of the most tense relationships in international politics. Dealer's choice.
All of you are banned from ~pyongyang. All of you! /s