HSC students in Wagga are being unknowingly cornered into signing up and paying for education courses they don’t want to undertake.
18-year-old Seth Klimpsch has been actively looking for work since he graduated from Kooringal High School, so when he received a call from a training provider, he wasn’t too surprised.
But what the recent graduate didn’t expect was to be talked into signing up for an expensive and unwanted online course.
Mr Klimpsch said he received a mysterious phone call from a Careers Australia representative on Tuesday night, who asked him to complete an unclear online form and hand over personal information, including his date of birth, address and licence number.
"They were signing me up for something, but making it sounds like it would help me get a job,” he said.
“Trying to manage all this job stuff has been pretty overwhelming, so I was just going along with it, I didn't really know what they were talking about."
Mr Klimpsch is not the only the only one to fall prey to the scam, with his mother, Joanne Klimpsche, hearing of similar incidents occurring to numerous other school leavers.
"When I started telling people about what happened, I began to hear that the same thing had happened to quite a few other young people we know, so it's obviously a widespread thing,” she said.
Ms Klimpsch accused the organisation of targeting unsuspecting teenagers into signing up for training courses simply for commission, before leaving the young person in debt.
“Organisations get funding from the government for everyone they enrol, so they try and get as many people as possible,” she said. “But the result is lots of young people enrolled in courses they didn't want to be in with a HECS-style debt.”
Careers Australia could not be reached for comment about the accusations.
Ms Klimpsch said it was vital for young people to be aware of such scams and not to trust everyone they speak to on the phone.
“Young people aren't suspecting of this kind of thing, but they should know not to give out their personal details unless it's to someone they trust.”
Mr Klimpsch said he never thought he would be the victim of such a con and urged young people to remain cautious.
“You want to think people at these organisations want to help you, not trick you into paying for something you don't want to do.
“If you're a HSC student getting calls like this, talk to your parents before you hand over any information or fill out any forms.”
