In September, a separate engineer received messages through a legitimate job-hunting platform he was using. The message came from an individual posing as a project director looking to hire new employees. The purported project director arranged a first-round interview with a supposed HR representative and a second-round interview with the purported CEO of the fictitious company.

During the first interview, conducted over a video platform, the purported HR representative shared a social media account that included personal photos and videos. The second interview took place over a social chat app. During it, the engineer was instructed to download an “assignment” that linked to a code repository containing…