Scammers

The previously undetected, or "zero-day", vulnerability had been reported over the weekend.

Then, on 10 April, cybersecurity firm Proofpoint announced it had discovered an email campaign targeting the bug that aimed to distributed Dridex malware.

Dridex is designed to infect a victim's computer and snoop on banking logins.

Western Australia's consumer protection agency has linked the trend to the economic downturn, describing the increase in people searching for work on the internet as a "perfect storm" for scams.

Brandon Nunn, 21, had his identity stolen after responding to what he believed was a legitimate advertisement for a diesel mechanic apprenticeship with mining giant Rio Tinto.

The Victoria Park man applied through job vacancy website Seek.