Australian Researchers Reveal Surge In Recruitment Scams During Pandemic

SYDNEY, Aug. 15 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Aug, 2022 ) --:A new research by Australia's Queensland University of Technology (QUT) showed recruitment fraud surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as the rise of online work made it more difficult to discern job postings.

The study, published in the Social Alternatives journal and released on Monday, used data collected by peak consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Deanna Grant-Smith from QUT said lockdowns and restrictions created the perfect environment for offenders to target job-seekers online.

"Offenders seek to harvest personal information by posting a fake ad which requires jobseekers to upload personal information that offenders compile into databases and on-sell to legitimate and illegitimate groups," said Grant-Smith.

The report revealed a surge in the number of reports of recruitment scams from March 2020. The number of reports remained consistently high over the course of the pandemic.

Furthermore, victims of fraudulent jobs were overwhelmingly in the 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 age brackets.