The message that is circulating right now
If you have received something like this on your phone, you are not alone:
"Hello, this is Chloe from Amazon Australia. We're currently inviting people to join as remote part-time assistants to support sellers with updating and maintaining their product listings.
Work schedule: 60–90 minutes per day, 4 days per week
Daily pay: AUD $350–$700
Guaranteed base: AUD $1,400 after every 4 working days
No prior experience is required, and free training will be provided.
At the moment, there are 25 positions available.
If you are 25+ and would like more information, please text Interested to 0400123456"
This message was submitted to VeriJob and scored 100 out of 100 — DANGER. Our engine detected 8 distinct scam signals. Here is exactly what each one means and why this message is not from Amazon.
Why Amazon would never contact you this way
Before the signal breakdown — one simple fact. Amazon Australia employs tens of thousands of people. Their recruitment process runs through amazon.jobs, uses corporate email addresses ending in @amazon.com, and is managed through a formal Applicant Tracking System.
Amazon does not recruit via:
- ●Unsolicited SMS messages
- ●Personal mobile numbers like 0400123456
- ●WhatsApp, Telegram, or any encrypted messaging app
- ●Anonymous "Chloe" with no last name, no job title, no email address
If you searched for "Chloe at Amazon Australia" and found nothing, that is because she does not exist.
Signal 1: Brand impersonation with no verified identity (CRITICAL, +50)
The message opens with "this is Chloe from Amazon Australia" — but provides zero verifiable identity. No @amazon.com email. No LinkedIn profile. No employee ID. No reference to a job requisition number.
Scammers use major brand names specifically because trust transfers automatically. You read "Amazon" and your guard drops. That is the entire mechanism. The name "Amazon" in a cold SMS from an unknown number is a warning sign, not a reassurance.
What a real Amazon recruiter looks like: An email from firstname.lastname@amazon.com, a reference to a specific job posting on amazon.jobs, and a scheduled interview through Amazon's official system — not a text asking you to reply "Interested."
Signal 2: Unrealistic daily pay (CRITICAL, +60)
AUD $350–$700 per day for 60–90 minutes of work. Let us do the arithmetic.
- ●Minimum: $350 ÷ 1.5 hours = $233 per hour
- ●Maximum: $700 ÷ 1 hour = $700 per hour
The Australian minimum wage is $24.10/hr. A full-time Amazon warehouse worker earns approximately $27–$32/hr. No legitimate part-time assistant role — updating product listings — pays $233 to $700 per hour.
The inflated number exists for one reason: to make you act before you think.
Signal 3: Guaranteed income promise (CRITICAL, +55)
"Guaranteed base: AUD $1,400 after every 4 working days."
No legitimate employer guarantees a fixed payout before you have started, been onboarded, or signed a contract. Employment income is conditional on hours worked, performance, and a completed payroll setup.
This "guaranteed" framing is a psychological anchor. Once you believe $1,400 is already yours, you become willing to do things you otherwise would not — like paying a small "activation fee" to unlock your account, or providing your bank details for "direct deposit setup."
Signal 4: Recruitment via personal mobile number (CRITICAL, +65)
"Please text Interested to 0400123456."
This is the most definitive signal in the entire message. No legitimate employer recruits through a personal mobile number. Not Amazon. Not any company with an HR department.
Why scammers use personal numbers:
- ●No paper trail connected to any company
- ●Cannot be traced back to a registered business
- ●Easy to abandon when reported and move to a new number
- ●Moves the conversation off any platform with moderation
The number 0400123456 has been confirmed in our scammer identifier database from this and previous reports. If a future message arrives from a different script but uses this same number, VeriJob will flag it immediately.
Signal 5: Artificial scarcity (WARNING, +20)
"At the moment, there are 25 positions available."
This is a pressure tactic. The message implies you need to act now before the slots fill. Legitimate remote job listings do not count down available positions in a cold SMS — they post on job boards and accept applications over days or weeks.
The scarcity is invented. There are either zero real positions or unlimited fake ones — depending on how many victims respond.
Signal 6: Age filter (INFO, +15)
"If you are 25+..."
Legitimate job posts specify experience or qualifications. They do not gate applications on arbitrary age thresholds like "25+." Anti-discrimination law in Australia makes age-based hiring criteria illegal in most contexts.
The age filter here is a targeting mechanism — scammers have found that people aged 25 and above are more likely to have active bank accounts and savings. It is not a hiring requirement. It is demographic targeting.
Signal 7: No company identity (WARNING, +25)
The message contains no:
- ●Company email address
- ●Official website link
- ●ABN (Australian Business Number)
- ●Physical office address
- ●LinkedIn company page
- ●Job requisition ID
A real Amazon job offer would include all of the above. The complete absence of any verifiable company identity is not an oversight — it is by design. There is nothing to verify because there is nothing real.
The full VeriJob score breakdown
| Signal | Score | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Brand impersonation (Amazon, no @amazon.com email) | +50 | CRITICAL |
| Recruitment via personal mobile number | +65 | CRITICAL |
| Guaranteed income promise | +55 | CRITICAL |
| Unrealistic daily pay (AUD $350–$700 for 90 min) | +60 | CRITICAL |
| Unrealistic pay for minimal experience/time | +40 | WARNING |
| Artificial scarcity (25 positions available) | +20 | WARNING |
| Anonymous poster (no company identity) | +25 | WARNING |
| Age filter (25+) | +15 | INFO |
| Total (clamped) | 100 | DANGER |
What happens if you reply
If you text "Interested" to this number, one of two things will happen.
Scenario A — Upfront fee extraction
You will be "onboarded" over WhatsApp or Telegram. After a brief exchange, you will be told you need to pay a small fee — "account activation," "background check processing," or "equipment deposit" — to access your first tasks. The fee is typically AUD $50–$200. Once paid, contact ceases.
Scenario B — Bank account harvesting
You will complete a fake "onboarding form" that collects your full name, date of birth, address, and bank account details for "salary deposit setup." This information is sold or used directly for identity fraud. No work ever materialises.
In both scenarios, the $1,400 guaranteed base never arrives.
The protection checklist
- ✅ Never reply to unsolicited job offers sent by SMS or WhatsApp
- ✅ Verify any recruiter by searching their name + company on LinkedIn — real Amazon recruiters have public profiles
- ✅ Check the email domain — legitimate Amazon email ends in @amazon.com only
- ✅ Search the phone number online before responding — known scam numbers appear in complaint databases
- ✅ Report the number to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) at scamwatch.gov.au
- ✅ Run any suspicious message through VeriJob before engaging
If you have already responded
If you have already texted the number, do not panic — replying alone does not expose you to financial loss. Stop all further communication immediately and block the number.
If you have provided bank account details or transferred any money, contact your bank immediately and report to ACCC Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au and to the Australian Federal Police at cyber.gov.au.
A legitimate job pays you from day one. If you are being asked to pay anything before you start, you are the target — not the employee.