Top Tips to Safeguard Yourself Against Job and Employment Scams

Share this @internewscast.com

Australians searching for employment are increasingly being preyed upon by scammers pretending to be genuine employers, resulting in financial losses for victims.

These scammers deceive individuals into applying for what seems to be legitimate jobs by posing as reputable companies and recruitment agencies, subsequently stealing their money.

Employment scams are among the fastest-rising types of scams in Australia, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) noting a 150 per cent rise in 2023.

Here’s how these scams operate and strategies to safeguard yourself against them.

Job ad scams rising & Donald Trump's market influence image

What is a job scam?

Job scams come in various forms but ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe told SBS that the greatest financial losses were being caused by those in which “scammers go to quite elaborate lengths to create the illusion of a real job”.

“A person might apply for a job that involves online task-based employment. They might have what seems to be a group chat with other employees. They’ll go through a process that looks like a recruitment process,” she said.

Scammers then ask for upfront payments to “unlock” the income they’ve promised.

“This is a carefully planned scheme designed to prompt individuals to make small payments initially, followed by larger payments to access supposedly earned funds from completing tasks.”

“But in fact, it’s all an elaborate ruse to obtain those payments, and it’s only when a person stops paying that it becomes clear it was all a scam.”

According to ScamWatch, the scammers often impersonate well-known recruitment agencies or pretend to be hiring on behalf of high-profile companies and online shopping platforms.

There are also two other types of job scams to watch for:

Bank mule scams: Where victims are unknowingly used to move money through their bank accounts.
Fake qualifications: Where victims are encouraged to make payments to receive certifications for jobs that don’t exist.

“There’s no job, there’s no checks being done. It’s just another way, unfortunately, of obtaining money from scam victims,” Lowe said.

Why experts are concerned

Jobs and employment scams are not only growing rapidly — they also disproportionately target vulnerable job seekers.

“Additionally, the aspect of employment scams that underscores their urgency for intervention is that job seekers, particularly in tough economic times, are already in a vulnerable position,” explained Lowe.

“We see some particularly vulnerable members of our community being disproportionately impacted by this scam.”

“It might be international students, people on low incomes, people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, and people that might otherwise find it difficult to secure employment.”

How to protect yourself

The first step is knowing the warning signs.

“The key one is if you are being asked to pay money to make money, that is a really big red flag that what you’re dealing with may, in fact, be a scam,” Lowe said.

She also advises being suspicious of unsolicited contact.

“That could be a text message. It could be a WhatsApp message or someone reaching out unexpectedly,” Lowe said. “That’s a sign to be on your guard about the message that you’ve received.”

Other red flags include:

Offers that promise “substantial returns for relatively simple work”.
Messages claiming to be from “high-profile, well-known recruitment businesses”.

“If you think it could be a legitimate offer or opportunity, the very best thing to do is to independently check.”

“Don’t click on links, don’t call the numbers that might be in that message. Go to that company’s website or separately find their phone number and make sure that what you are dealing with is legit”.