To mark International Fraud Awareness Week, SEEK, the parent firm behind Jobstreet and Jobsdb, released new findings on employment fraud across the Asia-Pacific region. The data shows that the Philippines accounts for 20 percent of all fraud attempts in APAC, making it the second most targeted country after Indonesia. Indonesia recorded 38 percent of APAC fraud attempts and 62 percent of Asia-based cases.
Why it Matters: With many Filipinos relying on online job platforms for work opportunities, fraud targeting entry-level and urgent job seekers poses a growing risk. Understanding which sectors are being targeted can help the public avoid deceptive offers.
From July 2024 to June 2025, SEEK’s internal data detected regional differences in scam tactics across Australia, New Zealand, and six Asian markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Fraudsters appear to tailor their methods based on each market’s labor needs and economic pressures.
Across Asia, Administration and Office Support roles made up 29 percent of fraudulent ads. Manufacturing, Transport, and Logistics roles followed with 16 percent, while Sales also ranked high among targets. In the Philippines, the most affected industries include Accounting, Sales, Healthcare and Medical, Administration and Office Support, and Manufacturing, Transportation, and Logistics.
According to SEEK’s Head of Trust and Safety Tom Rhind, roles that do not require specialized degrees are more vulnerable as they attract job seekers quickly looking for income. These categories create larger pools of potential victims, making scams easier to deploy using convincing job postings.
SEEK says its platforms are actively blocking these attempts. Jobstreet by SEEK screens all job ads through both automated and manual checks. Of the 4.3 million job ads across APAC, 8 percent required human review. These resulted in 3,600 hirers being denied onboarding, 650 accounts closed due to fraud or high-risk behavior, and nearly 2,800 ads removed. About 22,000 suspicious listings were also reported by candidates and reviewed by SEEK’s safety team.
Fraudsters have recently been using artificial intelligence to create more realistic scams, and some have pretended to be from Jobstreet or SEEK when contacting users via SMS, messaging apps, or social media. In the Philippines, Viber is among the most commonly used platforms for such attempts.
To counter this, Jobstreet by SEEK continues to improve verification processes and works with government and industry partners. Its Security & Privacy Hub also provides education on scams, safe job searches, and reporting tools for users.
With employment scams becoming more complex, will Filipinos become more cautious in choosing where they apply online?
