Jobstreet by SEEK uncovers employment fraud trends in APAC

In recognition of International Fraud Awareness Week, SEEK, the parent company of Jobstreet and Jobsdb, released new insights into employment fraud trends across the Asia-Pacific region, revealing how scammers adapt their tactics to exploit local job market conditions and economic needs. 

The Philippines is revealed to be the second-largest target, representing 20% of APAC fraud attempts, following Indonesia as the dominant fraud hotspot, accounting for 38% of all APAC fraud attempts and 62% of Asian market fraud.

SEEK’s fraud detection systems identified distinct regional patterns between July 2024 and June 2025, with fraudsters showing sophisticated targeting strategies that vary between Australia, New Zealand (ANZ), and the six Asian markets SEEK operates in (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand). The analysis is based on SEEK’s internal fraud-detection data across its APAC platforms, including Jobstreet and Jobsdb.

According to SEEK, Administration and Office Support roles remain the primary target across the region, with 29% of fraudulent job ads in Asia. Additionally, Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics roles recorded 16% of fraud attempts, likely aiming to exploit workers seeking immediate employment opportunities. Sales roles across APAC also feature prominently among fraud targets.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, industries most frequently targeted by scammers include Accounting, Sales, Healthcare and Medical, Administration and Office Support, Manufacturing, Transportation, and Logistics. 

“Administration and office support roles are particularly vulnerable because they typically don’t require specialised degrees or extensive experience,” explained Tom Rhind, SEEK’s Head of Trust & Safety. “Sales positions show similar patterns, as these roles often promise immediate employment and commission-based earnings that appeal to job seekers in urgent need of income. Combined, these entry-level categories create larger pools of potential victims and make it easier for scammers to cast wide nets with convincing-looking opportunities.”

SEEK’s fair hiring controls in action 

As the Philippines’ leading employment marketplace, Jobstreet by SEEK implements controls to prevent exploitative recruitment and modern slavery to safeguard job seekers. SEEK’s Trust & Safety team operates detailed checks to ensure hirers are legitimate, while automated and manual content moderation screens job advertisements. Candidates are also empowered with reporting tools to flag suspicious postings.

These protection measures include scanning all 4.3 million APAC job ads, with 8% escalated for manual review. This resulted in preventing about 3,600 hirers who failed the onboarding process assessment from entering SEEK’s platforms, closing 650 hirer accounts for fraud or high-risk behavior, and removing nearly 2,800 risky ads. Candidates reported roughly 22,000 suspicious ads, all of which were reviewed by SEEK’s Trust & Safety team.

Combating evolving fraud tactics 

Recently, scammers have increasingly been using artificial intelligence to create more sophisticated scams, while also impersonating SEEK and Jobstreet to contact candidates through SMS, messaging apps, and social media platforms. In the Philippines, one of the most common platforms that scammers use is Viber.

To combat these evolving threats, Jobstreet by SEEK continuously enhances its fraud detection with automated blocking, improved verification, and collaboration with government and industry partners. Through its Security & Privacy Hub, the platform is also educating candidates on scams, unfair hiring practices, safe job searching, and online protection tips.

“Jobstreet by SEEK is committed to creating a safe and trusted employment marketplace. That is why we encourage all hirers and job seekers to use legitimate job platforms to ensure that every connection leads to real opportunities,” said Dannah Majaracon, Jobstreet by SEEK Managing Director in the Philippines.