KUALA LUMPUR — Online job scams have reached “unprecedented” levels in the past year with the use of more sophisticated measures to fool those seeking employment and income, online platform Jobstreet by SEEK said.
The website said it had flagged around 10% of 4.9 million job postings it screened across the Asia-Pacific region between June 2023 and June 2024.
It also blocked over 1,400 “high-risk hirers” that it identified during the process of onboarding on its website.
Additionally, it removed more than 1,200 fraudulent job advertisements through checks and verified community reports.
It found that the most common job scams involved cryptocurrency tasks, money mules, identity theft and impersonation.
Scams that involved cryptocurrency tasks preyed on individuals who wanted to work remotely doing simple tasks, such as surveys or data entry.
“Scammers typically begin by posting enticing job ads on social media or job boards, showcasing quick and easy ways to earn cryptocurrency. Once a victim shows interest, they are asked to make an upfront payment or purchase cryptocurrency to gain access to these tasks.
“This payment is deceptively positioned as a necessary step to unlock earning potential. However, once the payment is made, scammers vanish, leaving victims without the promised tasks or payment,” Jobstreet by SEEK said, adding that there is little recovery of the payments.
In money mule scams, people are recruited to facilitate the transfer of illegally obtained funds under the guise of legitimate job opportunities, such as to manage payments.
“After accepting the job, victims find themselves receiving funds into their accounts, usually from illegal sources. They are instructed to withdraw a portion of the money and transfer the remainder to another account, often in exchange for a commission.
“When the scam is uncovered, victims face severe legal consequences for their unknowing role in laundering stolen funds, including potential criminal charges and financial liabilities.”
Job scams that involve identify theft, meanwhile, use advertisements to attract jobseekers with promises of handsome salaries and flexible work conditions.
The advertisements will appear to be by legitimate companies, and will require applicants to submit personal details, including bank account information and copies of their identification.
“Once scammers have this information, it is misused for fraudulent activities like opening bank accounts or applying for loans in the victim’s name.”
Impersonation scams are almost similar, with scammers posing as employers promising lucrative pay who approach job-seekers though various channels including WhatsApp, phone calls, and social media chats.
“These scammers typically instruct victims to contact them via unofficial platforms, where they attempt to collect person information or request actions outside legitimate job application processes.”
Jobstreet by SEEK Malaysia managing director Nicholas Lam said scammers take advantage of jobseekers who may overlook warning signs in their urgency to find employment.
In Malaysia, there have been cases of people arrested for offering fake jobs to cheat victims with promises of profits after making payments and completing tasks.
In September last year, Johor police arrested 20 foreigners for running such a scam out of a home in Horizon Hills in Iskandar Puteri.
Earlier last year, in June, Melaka police busted a group offering non-existent commissions to “workers” if they conducted “like and share” tasks on certain websites purportedly to boost product ratings.
The seven Malaysians arrested had advertised such jobs, mostly on Facebook, asking interested people to click a WhatsApp link which would connect them to job “administrators” who assigned them tasks. They were told that to receive their commissions for completing the tasks, they had to make payments to an e-wallet system.
Another type of online job scam with untold costs to victims, not just financially but in terms of emotional trauma, involves victims going overseas for “work”, only to find themselves stranded in a foreign country unless they pay exorbitant fees.
Last October, Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alain told the Dewan Rakyat 707 Malaysians had to be rescued from and returned home, while another 199 individuals were being traced in a joint effort by Malaysian embassies abroad, the police and Foreign Ministry.
Some of the countries victims went to were Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said in March last year, when he was Federal Criminal Investigation Department deputy director.
Most of these jobseekers ended up working abroad as scammers, and a smaller number worked in customer service, casinos, or as cooks, he added.
Jobstreet by SEEK, meanwhile, said that those seeking jobs online should always protect their personal information and report suspicious job advertisements.
On its online employment platform, Jobsteet by SEEK said jobseekers will never be asked to provide personal details or complete applications outside its secure ecosystem. – January 20, 2025