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Westpac found people looking for additional income to cope with rising daily cost pressures are being targeted by scammers, with women and those aged between 18-40 most vulnerable.
There has been a 1000 per cent increase in job scams to a reported 20231 this year in comparison to just a few cases in 2022.
Westpac Head of Fraud Ben Young said these scams are costing hard-working Aussies millions of dollars.
“We’ve seen a significant spike in reported job scams since the start of the year, which occur when someone is tricked into making a payment or sharing personal information through a fake employment offer,” Young said.
“Scammers will have fraudulently obtained some of your information like your phone number or address, which can make an offer sound legitimate.
“They also exploit the application process by tricking you into sharing more personal details like your driver’s licence, passport, or tax file numbers.”
Young added scammers use fake job offers to trick people into sending money through some kind of upfront payment like for training or necessary work equipment.
Those most at risk of these scams? Well, Westpac said the data spells bad news for Aussies aged 31 to 40 closely followed by 18 to 30-year-olds.
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Women are also most at risk of being impacted by the scams, representing more than half of the reported cases.
”The job market is in a state of flux and there is a high demand for talent,” managing director of recruitment agency Better Staff Therese Kaley said.
“We are seeing more people considering a potential move to achieve a higher salary or who are thinking about taking on a second job for additional income, largely due to increasing cost of living pressures.
“Unfortunately, this also means we’re seeing more job scams, particularly through messaging apps like WhatsApp, where scammers target candidates and trick them into sending money to secure a role.
“This is commonly under the guise of multi-level marketing opportunities that promise high returns, only if the victim first purchases products to test and review.”
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Kaley said legitimate employees will never ask for details like their bank account without a formal job offer.
Other tips to avoid falling victim to an employment scam include checking if a business website or recruitment officer is legitimate, being cautious if you’re asked to make a payment and being wary of unsolicited calls, texts or emails for a job offer you never applied for.
