Queensland Job Seeker Duped In Work-From-Home Scam, Loses AU$48,000

A 44-year-old woman from Queensland has been warning people about scams on job websites, after falling prey to one that robbed her of AU$48,000.

Amana Peters was searching for work-from-home gigs when she was approached by the alleged scammer posing as a recruiter. The scammer, who claimed to be from Indeed, smooth-talked Peters into investing an odd AU$50 in a cryptocurrency account to start completing tasks and earning money.

Peters said initially she didn’t sense a red flag as she started earning money from the portal. She added she earned over AU$100 and got her AU$50 back.

“I made money,” she told News.com.au “I earned commission, and as soon as I completed my tasks, I got my money back, and it worked perfectly.”

Eventually, on the fifth day, she was asked to add AU$48,000 to unlock all her earnings and she obliged. However, to her surprise, when she asked for the issuance of her total earnings, the call center answered with a “big fat no,” leaving Peters shell-shocked. At this point, Peters realized that she had fallen victim to a scam.

“I felt sick,” she said. “I haven’t eaten for four days, I haven’t been able to sleep, and I’m working 12-hour days cleaning, trying to make it up to pay my mortgage.”

Peters said that despite the natural instinct to “hide” after being scammed, she chose to speak out to raise awareness.

“If I do that. How do I stop someone else? If I hide and don’t do anything.” She pointed out.

Right now, she has AU$10,000 in debt and AU$100 in her account.

“I’m beating myself up, I feel sick, I know I have been conned, it has taken me a lot to admit it and all I’ve wanted to do is hide under rock,” she said. “I just want to pay my bills; I’ve been struggling for years, and this time of the year, everyone’s vulnerable. They got me at a vulnerable time.”

Job scams are on the rise, according to Scamwatch, with 2,260 reports and $9.7 million in losses in 2024. To fight these scams, the National Anti-Scam Center established the Job Scam Fusion Cell.

“Job scams involve criminals posing as legitimate businesses or recruiters and targeting jobseekers with lucrative offers to complete tasks – deceiving their victims into handing over money,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

“This public-private task force has brought together expertise from social media platforms, online employment websites, banks, cryptocurrency platforms, law enforcement, and commonly impersonated businesses to tackle these scams.”

Indeed told News.com.au that they never contact jobseekers through text messages, Whatsapp or Telegram.