How to stay safe while job hunting for remote roles online

Remote work can be a game-changer for women seeking flexibility.

Every week, I help women who dream of working from home to spend more time with family, escape long commutes, or earn an income on their own terms. I get it, because I’ve been there too.

In my journey creating Virtual Assistant Lead Network, I’ve helped hundreds of women find genuine remote work. But I’ve also seen the dark side. Scammers know how popular remote roles are, and they’re eager to exploit that demand.

In 2024 alone, Australians reported losing $13.7 million to job scams. The ACCC has warned that employment scams are now one of the fastest-growing scam types in the country.

With so much at stake, it’s vital to know the red flags, so you can job hunt online with confidence and stay safe.

Why remote job seekers are targeted

Scammers prey on people seeking flexible work – often those who need it most.

The ACCC reports that job scams disproportionately target vulnerable groups, including low-income earners, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, students, visa holders, and mothers with caring responsibilities.

These job seekers may feel pressure to grab any opportunity. Scammers know this.

Remote roles also make it easier for fraudsters with fake identities to hide by eliminating the need to engage in face-to-face meetings.

Instead of meeting in person at a real office, everything happens online. That means a scammer can pretend to be a legitimate company from the other side of a screen.

Add in rising living costs and financial stress, and you have a perfect storm. Scammers are increasingly preying on people searching for a way out of money pressures, luring them with promises of easy, work-from-home income.

Financial and emotional risks

A fake job can be devastating, both financially and emotionally. According to a 2025 report, the average victim lost $14,470 in 2024 to job scams in Australia – and that’s just the money.

Many scammers also steal personal information like your tax file number, driver’s licence, or passport details. This leaves you open to identity theft and fraud long after the scam is over.

The experience can also crush your confidence. You’ve invested time and hope into an opportunity, only to discover it was a lie.

Some scammers even target victims again by posing as ‘recovery agents’, offering to help get your money back for a fee! It’s just another scam to squeeze more out of people already hurting.

Red flags and how to stay safe

After reading about these scams, it’s easy to feel anxious, but don’t be discouraged. Safe, flexible online jobs do exist.

Here are some big red flags, and ways to check if you’ve found a legitimate opportunity:

• Unsolicited contact via text, WhatsApp, or social media DMs
  • Why: Legitimate employers don’t hire people through random direct messages. Scammers often use these channels to bypass job platforms.
  • Do this: Ignore the message and check the company’s official website or job listings to confirm if the role exists. Only apply through official channels.
• Too-good-to-be-true offers
  • Why: High pay for little work is a common lure to grab attention and override scepticism.
  • Do this: Compare the salary and role with industry averages. If it’s far above market rates without a clear reason, proceed with caution.
• No interview or vetting process
  • Why: Scammers want to get you ‘hired’ quickly so they can move on to extracting money or information.
  • Do this: Expect at least one interview or skills assessment. If this step is skipped, ask why, and verify the company independently.
• Upfront payments or fees
  • Why: Requests for payment for training, registration, or equipment are often scams, especially if they require you to buy brand-specific gear directly from them.
  • Do this: Refuse to pay. Genuine employers provide the necessary equipment or deduct costs from legitimate pay after you start.
• Requests for personal information, too soon
  • Why: Early requests for ID, bank details, or tax file numbers can lead to identity theft.
  • Do this: Only provide sensitive documents after confirming the role is real and signing a verified contract.
• High-pressure tactics and urgency
  • Why: Scammers create urgency to stop you from thinking critically or checking details.
  • Do this: Slow down. Take time to research the company, and don’t commit until you’re comfortable.
• No online presence
  • Why: A legitimate business will usually have a website, LinkedIn page, and independent mentions online.
  • Do this: Search the company name and check the domain registration date. Avoid roles from businesses with no verifiable history.
• Mismatched email domains
  • Why: A recruiter emailing from an address that doesn’t match the company’s domain (e.g. Gmail, Hotmail, or similar look-alike domains) could be impersonating the business. The difference could be small, such as an email from ‘company.net‘ when the website is ‘company.com.au‘
  • Do this: Cross-check the email domain with the company’s official website. If they differ, contact the business via official channels to confirm.
• Recently created or duplicate LinkedIn profiles
  • Why: Scammers may set up fake recruiter profiles or impersonate real people with cloned accounts.
  • Do this: Check profile creation dates, number of connections, and work history. Search the person’s name and compare results. Contact the business via official channels to confirm.
• No ABN (Australian Business Number)
  • Why: In Australia, legitimate businesses are required to register an ABN unless they’re exempt.
  • Do this: Use the ABN Lookup to confirm the ABN exists, is active, and matches the business name.
• Job ad posted in unrelated Facebook groups
  • Why: Legitimate employers generally use professional job boards, not random community groups that don’t have a team.
  • Do this: Stick to reputable job boards such as Upwork or SEEK, and industry-specific job networks, where listings are screened before posting, such as Rachel’s List and Virtual Assistant Lead Network.
• Unclear job description
  • Why: Vague listings with generic duties may be placeholders for fake roles.
  • Do this: Ask for specifics about responsibilities, tools, hours, and reporting. Legitimate recruiters should have answers.
• Inconsistent branding
  • Why: Different names, logos, or colours across materials suggest a hastily made set-up, or impersonation of a legitimate business.
  • Do this: Compare the branding in emails, job ads, and the website. Discrepancies should be a red flag.
• Website with errors or broken links
  • Why: Poor grammar, spelling mistakes, or incomplete pages can indicate a rushed scam site.
  • Do this: Inspect the site carefully and check the domain age using a Whois lookup tool.
• No verifiable physical address
  • Why: Fake companies often list incomplete or non-existent addresses, or use co-working space details.
  • Do this: Use Google Maps or street view to confirm the address is real and associated with the business. If it’s a co-working space, verify that they are a tenant.
• Refusal to provide contact details
  • Why: Scammers avoid giving information that can be traced or verified.
  • Do this: Request a phone number, company registration details (e.g. ABN), and LinkedIn profile. Verify them before proceeding. Call the business’s main reception line and ask to speak to their recruitment department to verify an offer.
• Pressure to communicate outside official channels
  • Why: Moving to encrypted apps like Telegram early in the process hides conversations from oversight.
  • Do this: Keep all communication on email or the job platform until the employer’s legitimacy is confirmed.
• Odd payment arrangements
  • Why: Paying in cryptocurrency or via international wire transfer for local work is highly unusual and hard to trace.
  • Do this: Only accept payment via secure, traceable methods like bank transfer.
• Generic company reviews
  • Why: Fake reviews are often overly positive, vague, and posted in clusters over a short period.
  • Do this: Read reviews closely, check reviewer profiles, and look for feedback across multiple platforms.

Real does not equal great

You have verified the business is the real deal. Brilliant, but you are not done yet.

Before you sign a contract promising the remote flexibility you’ve been dreaming of, make sure you’re not being taken advantage of in other ways.

Ensure you understand your minimum entitlements. For Australian employees, this includes:

• The current minimum wage
• Casual loading, which increases the minimum wage for Australians employed on a casual basis
• The Super Guarantee, which requires employers to pay superannuation on top of wages and casual loading.

And if you’re taking on remote work as a contractor (like many Australian virtual assistants and managers do), keep in mind that your rate should be higher than what you can earn as an employee to cover the overheads of running your business, and lack of employee entitlements, such as:

• Leave (holiday, sick, carer’s, long-service, etc.)
• Lunch breaks
• Insurances (workers’ compensation, professional indemnity, etc.)
• Computer equipment and furniture
• Standard software licenses
• Phone and internet accounts
• Ongoing training
• Unpaid time marketing your business, doing your own admin and time on sales calls with potential clients.

A fair rate of pay as a contractor ensures you are not earning less than the minimum wage after accounting for your business overheads, and that’s before you look at charging more for access to your specific skills and experience.

One final red flag from me regarding commission-only offers: please be cautious of roles that only offer commission with no base pay.

This often signals the business isn’t confident the role will generate consistent profit, which means you could end up working for weeks without earning a cent.

If they truly believed in the product or service’s success, they’d be willing to invest in a base rate rather than dangling an unusually high percentage of ‘future profits’ that may never materialise.

In many cases, it shifts all the financial risk onto you while the business loses nothing if it fails.

Remain vigilant

Remote work can be incredibly empowering, and I’ve seen hundreds of women thrive in roles that fit their lives without compromising their earning potential.

The key is to approach your search with eyes open, stay updated, do your research, and trust your instincts.

Scammers are out there, but so are safe, legitimate opportunities. With vigilance, you can find a remote role that works for you and take it on with confidence.