KakaoTalk Job Scams in South Korea
Fraudulent job offers and part-time work scams distributed through KakaoTalk in South Korea, including task-deposit schemes and fake corporate recruiters.
Part of: WhatsApp Job Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Job scams in South Korea increasingly arrive through KakaoTalk — the country's dominant messaging platform — rather than email or traditional job boards. These scams offer attractive part-time or remote positions with minimal requirements, targeting students, recent graduates, and career-changers.
A common variant is the 'arubaito jagi' (part-time self-employed) task scheme where participants must deposit money to unlock task assignments — mirroring global task scams but tailored with Korean corporate branding.
How this scam works on South Korea
A KakaoTalk message or open chat invitation offers part-time work reviewing products on Korean e-commerce platforms like Coupang or G-market for KRW[amount] per task. After joining, the victim receives a task dashboard showing accumulating earnings. Withdrawal requires completing 'mission batches' that demand increasing KRW deposits.
Fake corporate recruitment scams impersonate HR representatives from well-known Korean conglomerates (chaebols) or foreign companies, offering suspiciously easy hiring processes via KakaoTalk and requesting fees for background checks, certification, or equipment deposits.
Common red flags
- KakaoTalk job offer requiring any deposit to begin work
- Task platform earnings shown on a dashboard that cannot be withdrawn without further deposits
- Corporate recruiter operating entirely through personal KakaoTalk rather than verified company channels
- Company cannot be verified on Korea's DART corporate disclosure system at dart.fss.or.kr
- Request for equipment or background check fees before starting any position
How to protect yourself
- Legitimate Korean employers never require deposits before employment begins
- Verify companies on Korea's DART system or through official company websites
- Use established Korean job portals such as Saramin, JobKorea, or Wanted for job searching
- Report suspicious KakaoTalk job channels through KakaoTalk's report function
- Check employer reviews on platforms like Blind (Korea) before engaging
How to report it
- Report to Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor at moel.go.kr
- File cybercrime reports at KISA (kisa.or.kr)
- Report through the Korea Fair Trade Commission at ftc.go.kr for misleading offers
Frequently asked questions
Are part-time earnings from Korean e-commerce review platforms legitimate?
A very small number of legitimate market research panels pay nominal amounts for reviews, but they never require deposits. Any Korean platform requiring you to deposit KRW to receive task assignments or unlock earnings is a scam.