Jobseekers beware: Employment-related scams hit new heights in 2025

In its latest Targeting Scams report, the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) has reinforced the dynamic nature of modern scams, identified who is conducting them, and revealed how Australia is being impacted.

Despite a financial loss 7.8 per cent higher than the year before, Australia has seen a reduction in reported scam loss by almost 30 per cent since its peak of $3.1 billion in 2022 – but a few industries saw alarming spikes.

The research, which harnessed data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crime Exchange (AFCX), IDCARE, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), revealed that over 480,000 scam reports were made by Australians last year, with more than half involving financial loss.

In 2025, the most impactful financial losses were from investment scams, payment redirection scams, romance scams, phishing scams, and remote access scams.

According to the NASC reporting service Scamwatch, job and employment scam reports increased by 102.4 per cent. Young and/or vulnerable people were particularly impacted by these scams, with online contact methods leading to a reported loss of over $19 million.

A few factors contributed to this spike – for one, the NASC established its Job Scam Fusion Cell, a short-term taskforce that targeted employment-related scams; as such, the sheer volume of recorded incidents jumped.

In addition, the increasing demand for high-paying, flexible, remote, or side-hustle roles meant there was a higher engagement with, and perhaps less scrutiny of, alluring advertisements.

The betting and sports investment scam sector also saw greater reporting and financial loss rates in 2025. Known as “scrambling” – a conjunction of scam and gambling – it involved the use of fake websites and apps, often on social media, to advertise free credits or likely wins to users.

There was a 91.5 per cent increase in sports or betting scam reports from First Nations People, and a 93.5 per cent increase in reports from people with a disability.

And in terms of medium, money and personal information were most likely to have been stolen through online contact methods, such as websites and social media platforms. On the other end of the scale, text message scams dropped by more than 60 per cent.

ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe described modern scams as “complex, fast-evolving, and resistant to simple solutions” and highlighted the need for the “collaboration and shared accountability needed to tackle the harm caused by scams both here in Australia and globally.”

Australia has taken such steps, recently joining G7 countries to endorse a Call to Action to Combat Fraud at the United Nations and Interpol Global Fraud Summit.

Such actions are timely, given, as Lowe identified, “increasing sophistication in scam activity through artificial intelligence (AI) and the industrialisation of criminal syndicates through scam compounds”.

According to the NASC, most scams are now perpetrated by organised and sophisticated criminal networks that are well-resourced and highly informed.

However, as Lowe outlined: “We know losses remain high, but coordinated interventions are key to combating scams, and we will continue working together to strengthen efforts.”

And on a smaller scale, the NASC urged individual caution, outlining three steps of individual protection: stopping to take a moment before giving personal or financial information away, checking if the person or organisation is legitimate, and acting quickly if something feels wrong.

Lowe said: “We encourage people to report suspicious activity so we can continue improving our understanding and response to scams.”