Spam emails offering an enticing part-time, work-from-home income of $5,000 per month have begun to appear in Australian email inboxes.

While these emails may 'wish this message finds you in a great mood', they falsely say that your contact details have been taken from a list 'affiliated' with a nonexistent 'Australian Chamber of Commerce'.

In order to give a scam an air of credibility it is common for quasi-official sounding, but completely bogus names to be used. In this case the true organisation's name is the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The part time job of a 'Junior Financial Manager', as advertised on the website linked to the email, involves transferring money and the clearing of funds. Far from being endorsed by a genuine organisation such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, these types of promotions are usually a front for money laundering.

Money laundering is illegal in Australia, so becoming involved by taking up such offers could result in a visit from the police or your bank account being frozen.

If you have concerns and believe that you are involved with a similar scheme, contact your bank or financial institution to discuss the matter.

Avoid getting caught:

  • don't follow the links in any email – this could result in computer viruses or unwanted downloads such as spyware
  • don't respond – this only confirms that your email address is active, possibly resulting in more spam
  • report the matter if you wish* and then,
  • delete, delete, delete!

Find out more about work from home scams and scams that involve transferring money for someone else.

*Where to report scams and spam

To report spam – contact the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

To report a scam – visit the SCAMwatch Report a scam page.

Back to the SCAMwatch radar.

Read more

Jobs and employment scams trick you into handing over your money by offering you a ‘guaranteed’ way to make fast money or a high-paying job for little effort.