Wave of layoffs and mysterious job ads

Lesser claims that some companies publishing recruitment ads were “part of a wider network of fake consulting and headhunter companies aimed at government employees and AI researchers.”

According to Reuters's investigation and Lesser's research, there is not much publicly available information about four consulting and recruitment companies allegedly involved in the network.

Four companies' websites are hosted at the same IP address as Smiao Intelligence, a company providing internet services. Her website, after Reuters reports, has become inaccessible. The agency was not able to determine the nature of the relationship between Smiao Intelligence and four companies. Attempts to track down these companies encountered numerous blind alleys, including missed telephone calls, non-working phone numbers, false addresses, non-collapsed emails and deleted job offers from LinkedIn and other websites.

Lesser, who discovered the network and shared his research with Reuters before the publication, said that the campaign follows “well -established” techniques used by previous Chinese intelligence operations. “What makes this activity significant is the fact that the network tries to use the financial susceptibility of former federal employees affected by recent mass dismissals,” said Lesser.

Reuters was unable to determine if companies were associated with the Chinese government or whether former federal employees were recruited. Three intelligence analysts told the agency that the network seems to be a great example of how foreign -related entities try to collect intelligence information from employees dismissed or forced to go to pension by the president Donald Trump and billionaire, technological tycoon Elon Musk, who heads Doge – the Department of State Performance.

Intelligence analysts believe that there were government employees USA They may be persuaded to provide more and more confidential information about the government's activities or to recommend additional people who can voluntarily or unconsciously participate in the entire procedure after employment.

Embassy spokesman China In Washington, he informed the Reuters agency that China did not know about any of the entities allegedly involved in the campaign. He also added that Beijing respects privacy and data security.

A representative of the White House said that China is constantly trying to use the “free and open system” of the United States through espionage and coercion. – Both present and former government employees must be aware of the danger that these governments create, as well as the importance of protecting government information – he added.

– CNN reported on February 28 that American intelligence believes thatRussia And China has been targeted by dissatisfied US government employees for years. Companies that posted job ads on the web can be a specific proof that such operations are in progress – said Lesser.

One of the companies allegedly belonging to the network – Rivermerge Strategies – advertises on its website as a “professional consulting company for geopolitical risk”. She published two job offers, which were removed in mid -February. “Advisors for geopolitical consulting” with experience in government agencies, international organizations or multinational corporations were sought for work. Over 200 applications were submitted.

The company also searched for a human resource specialist who could “use in -depth knowledge about the talent pool in Washington to identify candidates with experience in politics or consulting” and “use connections with local professional networks, analytical centers and academic institutions.”

The Rivermerge Strategies in the US, mentioned on the company's main page, is no longer active. A separate Chinese phone number, until recently mentioned on the website's contact page, is the same number that Shenzhen Si Xun Software provided – an IT company focusing on online retail sales, trade and catering automation.

Reuters was unable to determine the nature of the connection between the company's network, Smiao Intelligence, and Shenzhen Si Xun Software. Connections to the phone number mentioned on the company's website have not been established. Until recently, Rivermerge Strategies gave two addresses on its website, one in Singaporeand the second in Colorado. The address in Singapore led to the hostel building on the Management Development Institute of Singapore campus, but Reuters failed to locate the company there.

The person mentioned at LinkedIn as a Rivermerge employee who spoke provided that anonymity was maintained, said the Reuters agency that a friend whom she met at a networking event in China, contacted her and asked for help in promoting job offers for Rivermerge Strategies.

Another company on the web, Wavemax Innovation, has placed an advertisement on February 6 offering “job offers for recently dismissed US government employees”. Employees were sought with experience in research, technology, communication, policy analysis or project management. The announcement is no longer active.

Reuters points out that the e-mail sent to the address provided in the advertisement remained unanswered. At the address in Singapore, given on the website, there was no trace of the company, only an empty field. Searching for the Singapore corporate register in search of a company was equally ineffective.

In response to the questions about Reuters, the FBI spokesman warned that Chinese intelligence officers could introduce themselves as Think Tanka, academic institutions and recruitment companies to attack “current, former and future” US government employees.

The Chinese government agents had similar tactics in the past.

Reuters reminds that in 2020 a Singapore citizen named Jun Wei Yeo confessed to the Federal Court of the USA to the allegation of acting as an agent of a foreign power since 2015. Prosecutors accused him of working on the detection and assessment of Americans with access to non -public, confidential information and paid them for writing reports for anonymous Asian clients,, Without revealing that this work was actually performed for the Chinese government.

According to court documents, this operation was based on a false consulting company and job advertisements – the agency adds. At that time, the Chinese authorities also denied that whatever they knew about Yeo's actions.

The former prosecutor of the Department of Justice, David Aaron, explains that foreign intelligence services often use fraud related to recruitment of employees to recruit informants who do not even realize that they work for a foreign government.

“I would expect Chinese intelligence services to increase efforts in the face of a wave of governmental workers, suddenly forced to look for a new job,” Aaron told Reuters, adding that although many former government employees are guided by patriotism, some may be susceptible to fraudulent tactics.

The State Performance Department (Doge) was established on January 20, 2025. Although it has the word department in the name, it is not formally. Doge was headed by the owner of Tesla and Platforma X Elon Musk. As the White House explained, its role is to “eliminate fraud, waste and abuse” in federal administration and limiting employment among state employees.

The reduction of employment, initiated by Doge, affected many public sector employees. The cuts caused concerns about economic instability and disturbances in basic government services and influenced federal agencies, contractors and even military installations. As the reduction, political, economic and legal battles on the legality and influence of these cuts intensify.

It is estimated that 62530 federal employees were released in the first two months of 2025.

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