Online scammers are using a fake website to fleece jobless miners as a downturn in the sector sees the ranks of the recently unemployed grow.

The Department of Consumer Protection says a fake website, miningjobswa.org, is putting up attractive job offers but then may be using applications to steal money and people's identity.

The department said at least one job hunter had lost money after paying a fee linked to their application.

"These callous scammers are attempting to rip-off job seekers who are likely to be in a vulnerable financial position and can least afford to be losing money," a statement from the department said.

"They may also be asked to divulge their personal information and send a copy of their passport for identification purposes.

"This opens the possibility of identity theft in the future."

The department said the Subiaco address used by the scammers is in fact a local park.

The website's name is also very similar to a legitimate online jobs website, miningjobswa.net.au, and uses an ABN stolen from a similarly named legitimate company.

Scammers could be based anywhere

Consumer Protection's Lanie Chopping said the department was trying to work out where the website was being run from.

"We have a lot more success when the website has a '.au' domain name, in this case it's a '.org' which means it could be hosted in any number of places," he said.

"We see these types of scams often when there's a change in the season or a change in the market.

"We have had at least one person who has lost a few hundred dollars in relation to this but we suspect there are other people out there who have actually lost money and we're encouraging people to contact us."

She said people who had found themselves unemployed as a result of the mining downturn were particularly vulnerable, and the scammers were "callously and opportunistically" taking advantage.

The mining industry has slowed down on the back of falling commodity prices with more job losses predicted as investment declines.

The department also warned job seekers in other industries that there had been a surge in scam employment ads reported, with many being posted on legitimate sites such as Gumtree and Seek.

The agency has advised job hunters to be cautious when filling out job vacancy applications and check the company does in fact exist.

It said in Western Australia, recruitment agents were not allowed to charge job seekers for their services.

"If you're asked to pay money upfront to secure a job, whether it's for training, equipment, transport or accommodation, don't do it," the statement said.

"It's not normal industry practice and likely a scam."