Text scammers target jobseekers and children in WhatsApp trends now Scammers have targeted jobseekers and children of aging parents in a new spate of text messages aimed at cheating vulnerable Australians out of their hard-earned cash. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has warned that people looking for work to beware of a fresh wave of scam messages circulating via social media - including on popular chat site WhatsApp - claiming to offer unusually high rates of pay for minimal work. One of the messages purports to be a website provider running a service to increase sales and invites recipients to be a partner in the business, for which they 'can earn between A$200-500 AO' for just one hour's work a day. Another claims a role with their supposed company can 'be done without affecting your current job, earn up to $300-$500 per day'. Delia Rickard, deputy chair of the ACCC, says any offer that sounds too good to be true, is typically not what it appears to be. Australians looking for work have been warned of a fresh wave of scam messages circulating via social media claiming to offer unusually large rates of pay for minimal work (a scam message posted on popular chat app WhatsApp pictured) How to make sure you don't get scammed Delia Rickard, deputy chair of the ACCC, says any offer that sounds too good to be true, is typically not what it appears to be. Here are the employment scam red flags to watch out for: *Being told to act quickly to secure the job. *Being offered a job without an interview. *Being asked to hand over personal bank account details. *Being asked to transfer money to a third party. *The amount of money offered is unusually high. Advertisement 'What [recipients] need to do is make bookings at a hotel or buy goods from the store, and are told they'll be paid back and get a commission,' she told 7News. 'If they look at their app they'll see the money they're making go up and up.' Such scams have resulted in victims having their personal information stolen and facing the dreaded possibility of having their bank accounts drained. The ACCC said 3194 job scams were reported in 2022 and Australians lost a whopping $8.7million. Australians aged 25 to 44 reported the biggest losses, and it is believed this is due to the frequency of job changes in this demographic. Ms Rickard said these figures were potentially only the 'tip of the iceberg' because most people do not report their losses. 'So, we're actually likely losing tens of millions to these scams,' she said. Employment scam red flags include being told to act quickly to secure the job, being offered a job without an interview, handing over personal bank account details or being asked to transfer money to a third party. Another wave of brazen texts have been targeting children of aging parents, pretending to be in financial distress. One recipient posted a suspicious message they had received to social media offering a 'heads up for anyone with aging parents'. 'I just received this text message from 'Mum' asking me to send money to a bank account,' the post read. 'I'll admit, my first instinct was to just send the money and not question it at all. Putting it out there for others who may do the same.' The message appears to be sent from a contact called 'mum', who claims to be shopping at a Woolworths store. Text message scams have resulted in victims having their personal information stolen and face having their bank accounts drained of their hard-earned money (stock image pictured) The scammer alleges to have brought the wrong bank card to the store and therefore requires a money transfer from the recipient. The message includes a BSB and account number. In August last year, Australians took to social media to issue a dire warning about scam texts alleging to be from a parent asking for urgent financial assistance. The family impersonation texts shared online show the messages appearing in a conversation thread as being sent by 'Mum' or 'Dad', making them more convincing than other scam messages which are attached to a random number Image of a scam text message shared on social media from a contact claiming to be the recipient's 'mum' and asking for money The dubious texts involved scammers introducing themselves as 'Mum' or 'Dad' before asking for money for groceries or petrol. This series of cons followed the ubiquitous 'Hi Mum' scam that robbed Australians of more than $2.6million last year. The 'Hi Mum' scam was thrust into the spotlight after police revealed fraudsters were preying on vulnerable older Australians by impersonating their children. Once the scammers engaged the vulnerable victim in text conversation, they typically requested an urgent payment because they could not access their own money. Ms Rickard has urged anyone who thinks they are caught up in a recruitment scam to contact Scamwatch and could seek help from cyber support charity IDCARE. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility