Fake side-job scam targets Vorarlberg woman with €3,669 bill

ORF Vorarlberg reported that the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labour is warning about a growing scam involving fake side jobs. A woman was lured by the promise of flexible work from home and pressured into signing an alleged training or licence contract worth €2,900.

The mother of a young child found the company Setting Campus through a social media advertisement, according to the chamber. The advertisement promised an easy way to earn money from home and directed her to an online test.

After she completed the test, an employee contacted her on WhatsApp and explained the so-called chat-setting work. She was allegedly supposed to contact potential customers online and pass them on to sales staff.

When the woman questioned whether the offer was legitimate, she was told that the job was risk-free and non-binding. She repeatedly asked for time to consider the offer, leading to several telephone calls. During one call, a man suddenly urged her to digitally sign a €2,900 training or licence contract.

The man allegedly applied substantial psychological pressure and gave her little time to decide. A box waiving her right of withdrawal had already been ticked, and he reportedly told her that this was standard practice.

After signing the contract while under pressure, the woman was also instructed to set up regular direct-debit payments to Setting Campus through the payment service Klarna.

The woman soon wanted to cancel the contract but believed she could not because of the waiver. When she received a bill that had risen to €3,669 with interest and fees, she contacted the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labour’s consumer protection service.

The chamber was unable to reach the company. It also intervened with Klarna. Because the advertisement was shown in Austria and the offer was directed at the Austrian market, mandatory Austrian consumer protection rules apply regardless of where the company is based, the chamber said.

“The statutory right of withdrawal cannot simply be eliminated by ticking a box on a form,” consumer protection specialist Katharina Schischkoff said.

The normal two-week withdrawal period had already expired after months of deception, according to the chamber. However, the woman had never received the contract documents or withdrawal information on a durable medium such as a PDF or paper. In such cases, the withdrawal period is extended by law to one year and 14 days, Schischkoff said.

The woman was therefore able to withdraw from the contract, and the €3,669 claim was stopped with Klarna, the chamber said.

Schischkoff told ORF that the use of fake side jobs to lure people into contracts was “a scam that is on the rise”. She said the chamber only saw the tip of the iceberg and that the number of unreported cases was high.

She warned that dubious providers specifically target people looking for flexible ways to earn extra money. The chamber advises anyone affected to have such contracts examined. Schischkoff said these scams were becoming increasingly realistic and were designed to make consumers believe they had no way to exit the contract.