Don’t get (side) hustled: How to avoid job scams and spot a fake ad

Scammers are posting fake job ads to steal money and personal information. So, if you're looking for a part-time or full-time role, here's how to spot a job or employment scam.

The growth of employment scams

New Zealanders are working second jobs in record numbers. Over 220,000 people were working a second job alongside a full-time job by the end of 2023, up from 170,000 in 2016, according to Stats NZ. Sadly, this has made many New Zealanders vulnerable to a rapidly growing swindle called an employment or job scam. That’s according to Sam Leggett, a senior analyst for threat and incident response at CERT NZ.

“The cost of living is going up. A lot of people are struggling, living paycheque to paycheque, and so they’re maybe looking for additional work. Scammers take advantage of that,” Leggett says.

In the last 4 years, reports of scams involving a new job or business opportunity have skyrocketed; from 11 reports in quarter four of 2020 to 55 in quarter two of 2023.

These figures capture a range of different scams, but Leggett says that “job scams are definitely the vast majority in this area of reporting”. CERT NZ point out that there is significant underreporting of these incidents and that the actual number of incidents is likely to be much higher.

What does an employment scammer want?

“Usually they’re looking for financial gain,” Leggett says.

“It’s not uncommon when you go down the road with an employment scam that they ask for money up front. Usually this is for things like training equipment, or to fly you up somewhere. They’ll generally ask you to put some money in an account to pay for these things.”

Being asked for money upfront should always make you suspicious, but employment scammers may also have more subtle, and potentially more damaging, aims.

“We also see employment scammers requesting personal information. This might be in the form of documents such as your driver’s licence or your passport, which can lead to identity theft happening down the road.”

How to spot an employment scam

These red flags – requests for money or personal information – can help you to avoid the worst consequences if you do engage with an employment scam, but there are other hallmarks which can help you to avoid communicating with a scammer in the first place.

“Be careful of job offers from less reputable places online. If you see something come through in an unsolicited e-mail, or a Facebook advertisement, that’s something to look out for. If there’s poor spelling or grammar, or unrealistic pay or benefits, that’s another thing to be suspicious of,” Leggett says.

Employment scams cast a wide net. Often the opportunity will be for part-time and full-time work, with no experience required and the ability to work remotely. Wages may also be unusually high compared to similar roles advertised.

Ultimately, avoiding employment scams boils down to one simple piece of advice from Sam Leggett.

“The biggest, easiest thing to spot is when an offer is too good to be true. If you're looking at a job and the pay seems too good to be true, it usually is.”