How to side hustle without getting hustled.

How to spot a job scam before it finds you

Job scams in Australia caused a staggering $13.8 million in reported losses in 2024*. So it pays to know how to spot a scam before it spots you.

What’s a job scam?

A job scam (also known as an employment and side-hustle scam) is when a scammer offers you a job that promises a great – often ‘guaranteed’ – income with little to no effort. However, you first need to invest money, which they promise you’ll get back with commission.

But you never do.

Who’s being hustled

As more of us look to side hustles as a way to make a little extra money, more of us are becoming vulnerable to job scams, especially:

students looking for part-time work
members of culturally diverse groups
people looking to earn more to tackle rising living costs.

How it works

First the scammer will contact you through a social media job ad or a social messaging app like WhatsApp. Often they’ll say they’re from a well-known brand or reputable recruitment agency.
Next, the scammer will usually offer work-from-home flexibility plus a great income simply for boosting online ratings using a special platform or by liking social posts. To start the job, however, they’ll say you first need to invest money with the promise you’ll get it back.
Sometimes the scammer will ask you to buy or top-up your account to complete your job, get a better commission or be promoted to a higher level. You may also be asked to recruit new people to earn extra bonuses or in exchange for getting your money back.
Finally, the scammer will often say the money needs to be paid in cryptocurrency. They might even help you set up a crypto account. But when the times comes to access your money, they’ll say to you to pay more money first…and eventually you lose it all.

Here’s how it happened to Nic

ING customer Nic* successfully applied for a data analyst role for a crypto company she saw in her social stream.

Before starting however, Nic was asked to open and transfer funds into multiple crypto wallets on the crypto platform.

Nic received the funds from a third party and was told it was a ‘practice payment’ as part her training.

By the time Nic wanted to access earnings, the money and scammers were gone.

* Name changed for privacy

6 signs it’s a job scam

Every crime has it’s MO, so here are some good clues it’s a job scam.

1. You see a social ad or get a social message about a job to boost product reviews.

2. They claim to be working for a well-known brand or recruitment agency.

3. The job offers flexible hours, work-from-home convenience and unusually good pay.

4. They say you don’t need experience because they’ll train you.

5. You need to pay money first to complete tasks but they promise you’ll get it back.

6. If the job sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Specific things you can do

To help avoid job scams you should:

never click links in unexpected messages from unknown people
always check a brand’s website, phone number or email address yourself
never give information, money or account details to someone you don’t know
never make up-front payments because you’ll probably never get your money back!

Better yet: Stop, Reflect & Protect

Whatever the type of scam, keeping these simple steps top of mind could help prevent you from becoming a scam statistic.

3 steps to spot scams before they find you

Stop. Before sharing any details or money, take a breather to assess if you really
know or trust who’s asking.
Reflect. Ask yourself: ‘Could this social ad, message or job offer be fake?’
Protect. Don’t wait to act if things seem fishy – don’t proceed and if you’re an ING customer and notice unusual activity on your account, place your card on hold in the ING App and call our 24/7 scams line on 1800 052 743.

For our latest security alerts and more ways ING can help to protect you and your money, visit ing.com.au/security

*The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (2025), https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/research-and-resources/scam-statistics

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