Australians Lose $13.7M to Fake Job Ads Amid Cost-of-Living Strain

The report reveals scams grew 151 percent in a year targeting financially vulnerable Australians.

Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock

A major crackdown has removed 29,000 scam accounts and 1,850 fake job ads, the National Anti-Scam Centre’s new report revealed.

Reported job scam losses jumped 151 percent from 2022 to 2023. In 2024 alone, Scamwatch logged over 3,000 reports, with $13.7 million in losses—around 5 percent higher than the average scam.

The joint taskforce, active from September 2024 to March 2025, included police, government agencies, academics, and tech companies. It was launched in response to a spike in job scams targeting financially vulnerable Australians.

“Scammers are increasingly preying on people seeking relief from cost-of-living pressures,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe.

“These scams disproportionately impact people on low incomes, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, international students, non-resident visa holders, people with caring responsibilities, and others with limited employment options.”

Targeting Health, Crypto, and Government Impersonation

The Taskforce partnered with Meta to remove thousands of scam accounts and referring 836 cryptocurrency wallets for investigation. Many were blocked or blacklisted.

Nearly 2,000 scam-hosting websites and fraudulent job ads were also flagged for takedown.

Authorities said scammers impersonated well-known Australian government departments, including Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and APSJobs, to appear legitimate.

Healthcare providers were another key target, with fake job offers used to harvest personal data or solicit upfront payments.

To tackle it, the Anti-Scam Centre gave targeted advice to over 40 healthcare providers, helping eliminate most scams in that sector by March 2025.

It also ran awareness campaigns and forums in universities to help vulnerable groups spot fake job ads.

AFP Warns of Sophisticated Crime Networks

The report follows a recent Australian Federal Police (AFP) operation that exposed a similar scam network.

The AFP reported that in January 2025, over $4.2 million was lost to job scams.

“These job ads offer hope to people who are struggling, only to leave them worse off and in some cases entangled in serious criminal activity,” said AFP Commander Graeme Marshall.

The AFP’s cybercrime team found criminal groups offering fake “side hustles” promising generous monthly incomes and commissions, but rarely deliver.

Criminals are preying on Australians looking for flexible or remote work, offering so-called that turn out to be fraudulent.

Fake ads offering quick cash—like “$1000 a month for 1-3 hours a day”—are designed to exploit financial desperation.

Victims are often asked to invest upfront, sometimes receiving small payments to build trust, before being asked for more money to access “better” tasks.

Others are tricked into paying fake training or equipment fees or handing over sensitive information like bank and passport details—data later used to commit identity fraud and financial crimes.