Jobseekers are being urged to watch out for scammers, with new figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealing Australians lost over $8.7 million to recruitment scams in 2022.
Deputy Chair of the ACCC, Delia Rickard warned young people in particular to protect their personal information when applying for jobs and to beware of job offers made through social media platforms or messaging services such as Whatsapp.
“Thousands of young Australians have finished school and graduated from university, with high-hopes about their future careers and the intention to look for work in the new year,” Ms Rickard said.
“Unfortunately, they are being targeted by scammers,” she said.
“We know younger people are particularly vulnerable, with Australians aged between 25 and 44 reporting the biggest losses to job scams.”
Ms Rickard said more than 3,194 reports of job scams were made to ACCC’s Scamwatch last year, with many of the victims lured on the promise of making money quickly.
She said that in the final months of 2022, the ACCC saw a significant uptick in reports and losses associated with recruitment scams, “we are concerned these scammers will continue to ramp up their efforts as people look for work in the new year”.
“If you are job hunting and you are offered work that requires little effort for a big financial reward it is most likely a scam,” the Deputy Chair warned.
“This might include repeatedly clicking a button on a website or app to purchase products or submit reviews.
Ms Rickard said scammers would often ask for a payment in exchange for a guaranteed income.
“They pretend to be hiring on behalf of high-profile companies and online shopping platforms and impersonate well-known recruitment agencies.”
Further information on jobs and employment scams can be accessed at this PS News link.
