How job scams are evolving in 2026

Scammers are continuing to target Australian jobseekers, and financial gain is only the beginning.

Jobseekers are being urged to improve their digital literacy skills and avoid overconfidence, as scams are more convincing than ever.

The new Digital Life and AI report from TrendLife has found that employment-related scams rank only behind major purchases or investments as moments when fraud has occurred, with scammers now taking full advantage of AI, remote working, and cyber security deficiencies.

TrendLife’s head of consumer education and marketing, Lynette Owens, explained that AI can erase the telltale misspellings once associated with scams and be automated such that multiple scams can be conducted at once. Further, AI chatbots are often convincing in their reliability that people are less likely to exercise caution when divulging personal information.

At the same time, scammers take advantage of what is often a stressful, urgent, and vulnerable time, with jobseekers often being targeted by fake recruitment companies that can also emulate a sense of legitimacy.

Owens added that remote working has blurred the boundaries of work and personal life, with people often more comfortable trusting all manner of digital platforms.

Recent coverage of rising rates of scams hiding in job advertisements similarly identified that post-COVID-19 demand for high-paying, flexible, remote, or secondary jobs remains strong, meaning there is higher engagement with, and perhaps less scrutiny of, job advertisements of this nature.

“These scams are particularly effective because we typically aren’t looking for new jobs that frequently. We can be out of the job-seeking loop,” Owens said.

One current trend is that of a skill test, whereby “cyber criminals pose as fake recruiters, inviting job hunters to complete an online ‘skills assessment’ or ‘work sample’ … they’re a prime way to gain information, often requiring victims to give personal details to verify their interest in the role”.

This test may ask a user to download software or open malware files, another vulnerability scammers target. According to the research, many often fail to harness one of the most basic digital protections, with more than one in four Australians not currently using security or antivirus software, and 59 per cent failing to do so on their mobile phones.

Technologically savvy young Australians are showing low rates of digital caution, with only 8 per cent verifying whether an organisation is legitimate, only 4 per cent using an identity protection service, and approximately a third using up-to-date security software.

However, Australians over 65 display the least scrutiny of URLs and websites.

And according to Owens, “financial gain remains the primary objective of scammers, but their motivations are no longer limited to extracting money from victims … sometimes the scam is the first crime in a series of subsequent ones”.

She said: “Personal data gives cyber criminals the foundation to broaden their horizon and deepen the impact of future scams. Data such as employment details, identity documents, account credentials, and personal preferences can be used to create highly personalised scam communication or build detailed profiles of individuals.”

Owens also explained that scammers can use personal information to impersonate the person, with a further goal of additional information access, financial gain, or extortion.

The research also found that many Australians lack the skills needed to protect their information, with 21 per cent not confident they could identify an AI-generated scam or deepfake, and 32 per cent either unaware of the risks of sharing information with AI tools or unsure of the specifics.

The solution, then, is to take the steps people often fail to take: employ some form of digital protection, avoid suspicious-looking emails or job postings, and exercise greater caution with employment that seems too good to be true.

Owens further noted that applying logic to the situation can also mitigate a risk before it’s too late.

She said: “If a recruiter wants to only talk through WhatsApp or requires us to complete tasks straightaway, we can assume it’s a normal part of the process and not think twice. Even when it’s not.”

“Scammers know this and internationally insert themselves into the process, which is why searching for a job is one of the most common moments that Australians are being scammed.”

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