Cautionary Tale for Job Seekers from Backpacker Regarding Delivery Driver Scam

A backpacker is warning job hunters not to fall for online employment scams, with a key red flag being jobs seeming to offer high pay for little effort.

Jake, who didn’t want to give his last name, almost fell victim to a scammer.

The Brit, who has moved to Sydney from the UK, thought the delivery driver position which claimed to pay $320 per shift would be the perfect job.

It claimed to be for big firm, Aramex, and even included a photo of a delivery van.

He said he had done a similar job before so messaged the person advertising it on Gumtree.

“I messaged the guy and he phoned me back within an hour,” Jake told 9News.

“He asked my experience I said ‘I was doing this back home’ and he just said, ‘OK the job’s yours if you want it’.”

“I was like ‘yeah I’ll take it’.

“Straight away he asked for me to send my email address, ABN number, photo of driver’s license and BSB and account number.”

However, Jake said he purposely sent a little used bank account with no money in.

The man got back in touch to ask about the bank account, which was when red flags started to show.

“I said it’s an Aus online bank and he said ‘it’s no good, it needs to be Commonwealth only as that’s all the company deals with.'”

Jake was told he needed to open a bank account immediately.

“This is when I realised it was probably a scam,” he said.

The man called him back eight times before texting him at 2am saying: “U don’t wanna work goodbye then.”

Gumtree issued a warning about potential job scams on the site last year, while Scamwatch has also warned of similar rackets.

“One sign of a job scam is the promise of high pay for minimal work,” Gumtree said.

“Poorly written job postings or emails can signify a scam.

“Be cautious of job offers that ask for sensitive information, such as bank account details or social security numbers, before a formal offer is made.”

Many similar ads popping up on Facebook are also likely scams.

More than 6000 Aussies reported losing $58.3 million to social media scams in the first 10 months of 2024, including to those related to jobs.

“Scammers use fake or hijacked profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps to steal money and personal information,” Scamwatch said.

A job scam crackdown in the last three months has taken down over 200 dodgy websites, Scamwatch said.

9News has contacted Aramex and Gumtree.