Looking for a job? Don’t fall prey to recruitment scams.
Recruitment scams or fraud can happen to anyone across any sector. The increasing use of technology, such as social media and messaging services by scammers, can often deceive people who are looking for work. Those who are vulnerable because they do not speak the local language, are not familiar with local practices or simply need a job to get by, are more likely to fall victim to a recruitment scam and therefore to exploitation, including modern slavery.
What is a recruitment scam?
A recruitment scam, or recruitment fraud, is when an impostor claims to be an employer, brand recruiter or hiring agency and creates a fake job in the hope of collecting money or personal data.
Recruitment scams usually come in disguise. They appear to be genuine, credible job advertisements but they are not. These can include fake branded websites (imitating an official brand website), unsolicited emails, false job posts on social media and job boards, and advance-fee scams where a job seeker can be asked to pay for work visas or application fees in advance.
What is the risk?
Lured by ads promising easy work and attractive perks, job seekers can be tricked to accept a job that can have more severe consequences.
Risks range from collecting money or personal data for the purpose of fraud and identity theft, to more severe risks relating to modern slavery, such as forced labour.
Scams may involve travelling to other countries under the promise of easy work and appealing benefits but can leave employees vulnerable in a foreign country.
How can you avoid being scammed?
Exercise caution when looking for a job. Beware of job postings on social media and carry out research when applying for positions. Check email addresses (professional companies do not use Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail accounts), the company address, company reviews and look for misspellings in job advertisements. Keeping this in mind can help you make a judgement on how legitimate a job advertisement may be.
Do not give out your personal information before or during an interview and make no upfront payments. Professional companies will not offer positions without interviewing job seekers and will not request personal details prior to an offer of employment. They also will not ask you for money.
If the job requires you to move to another country, exercise extra caution and conduct an extensive investigation into the company.
The Fair Work Ombudsman website provides information for you to understand your work rights and obligations. The website is available in 40 different languages and includes an anonymous tip off tool.
Beware of the following red flags:
Restaurants tend to schedule many unpaid trials in a week because they are short-staffed and they do not want to pay workers – this is not legal.
Most students working in hospitality may work more than 30 hours a week, but employers declare it as 20 hours (for tax purposes) and they pay the rest of the hours worked in cash – this is not legal.
Employees (workers) should not be paid in cash. A payslip should also be given to every worker for every pay period for you to receive the same benefits as an employee, such as superannuation and protection under their workers compensation insurance.
It is not uncommon for cleaning companies to ask workers to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN). This means that you will not receive the same benefits as an employee.
Effective from 1 July 2022, your employer may need to contribute to your superannuation, regardless of how much you are paid each month. If you are under 18 years of age, you need to work more than 30 hours a week before superannuation is payable.
It’s illegal for employer to ask you to hand over your identity documents, such as a passport or birth certificate, or any other valuable personal possession.
It’s illegal to make workers work more overtime than is legally allowed under national law, under some form of threat such as dismissal or to guarantee being paid at least the minimum wage.
If the job entails your relocation to another country, and the job seems too good to be true, it probably is!
For more information, please visit the Australian Taxation Office.
What to do if you have been scammed?
- Contact the local police department and advise them that you have been the victim of a recruitment scam.
- Contact your bank and make them aware that you have been scammed.
- Save all messages you have received from the scammer as this will help the police with the investigation.
- Monitor your bank accounts for unusual activity if you have given out personal information.
- Monitor calls and emails and if you receive calls from suspicious phone numbers, these should be blocked. Any suspicious emails should be deleted and you should not open any links as these could contain viruses or malicious software.
Where to go for help?
If you are concerned about the conditions of your current work or think you may be in a situation for forced labour, please reach out for help immediately.
- If you think you, or someone you know, is at immediate risk or require urgent assistance call 000.
- If you or someone you know is in, or at risk, you can contact the Australian Federal Police on 131 237.
- Contact Anti-Slavery Australia or Red Cross for confidential, free-of-charge advice.
- Griffith can also connect you with a range of support services if you are experiencing distress.
Note: where temporary visa holders with a work entitlement may have been exploited and have reported their circumstances to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Department of Home Affairs will generally not cancel their visa, detain or remove the visa holder from Australia, providing the visa holder commits to abiding by visa conditions in the future; and there is no other basis for visa cancellation (such as on national security, character, health or fraud grounds). For more information about your entitlements, please visit the Fair Work website.