Yahoo Finance $150 an hour: The job you should always turn down
Scammers are impersonating job recruiters, offering major cash incentives for little work.
If you’ve received a message from someone claiming to be a job recruiter offering you a lot of money for very little work, think twice before taking the bait.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch warned Aussies against a text message scam doing the rounds, offering a “too good to be true” opportunity.
“Beware of 'recruiters' offering jobs that pay very well for doing little work. Sometimes the saying ‘if it seems too good to be true, it probably is’ is spot on the money,” Scamwatch said.
“Ignore, delete, and block the messages.”
The scam text claims to be from human resources and offers a wage of $70-$150 an hour for one to two hours of work at a time. It also offers complete control over what hours the recipient wishes to work.
What is a recruitment scam?
Scamwatch figures reveal Aussies lost more than $8.7 million to recruitment scams last year.
“We know younger people are particularly vulnerable, with Australians aged between 25 and 44 reporting the biggest losses to job scams,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.
“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. This might include repeatedly clicking a button on a website or app to purchase products or submit reviews.”
There were more than 3,194 reports of job scams made to Scamwatch in 2022, and many of the victims were lured on the promise of making money quickly.
Scammers will 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.
How to protect yourself against recruitment scams
Scmwatch said it was important to never send money or give personal information, credit card, online bank or cryptocurrency account details to anyone you didn’t know - especially if you had only met them online, through email or over the phone.
“Avoid any arrangement that asks for up-front payment via bank transfer, PayID or cryptocurrency, like bitcoin. It is rare to recover money sent this way,” Scamwatch said.
“Protect your personal information. Only give your information to legitimate recruitment firms and ensure you understand their privacy policy. Be careful how much personal information you put in your resume, such as your physical address or date of birth.”
Scamwatch said a big red flag was if a job had been offered to you without an interview or discussion about your suitability for the role.
“Be cautious of recruiters that contact you via encrypted message platforms like WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram. These platforms are commonly used by scammers,” Scamwatch said.
“Know who you are dealing with. Research the recruiter and the business or individual offering the position. Contact the recruitment agency via phone numbers sourced from an independent internet search.”
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