How to verify a job offer and spot a scam before the interview

An attractive salary, remote working and an immediate start can make a vacancy difficult to ignore. But fake recruiters also use convincing adverts, copied company logos and professional-looking documents to steal money or personal information. The safest response is not automatic distrust, but independent verification before you apply, interview or share sensitive details.

Check the employer through sources you find yourself, confirm that the recruiter genuinely represents the organisation and examine exactly what the role requires. Treat requests for payment, money transfers, banking credentials or identity documents early in the process as serious warning signs. A legitimate opportunity should withstand reasonable questions about the company, contract, salary and recruitment process.

Verify the employer independently

Start with the organisation rather than the salary in the advert. Record its full legal name, country of registration, business address and official website. If the employer is unfamiliar, check the relevant government company register or professional regulator in the country where it claims to operate.

A registered company can still be impersonated, so confirming that the business exists is only the first step. Scammers may copy the name, address, branding and employee details of a real organisation.

Open the company’s website independently instead of following a link supplied by the recruiter. Look for the vacancy on its careers page and compare the location, responsibilities and reference number. A missing vacancy does not automatically prove fraud—some employers recruit through agencies or do not publish every opening—but it gives you a reason to contact the organisation directly.

Use a telephone number or email address found on the official website or in a trusted public register. Ask whether the vacancy is genuine and whether the named recruiter is authorised to fill it. Consumer-protection authorities specifically recommend using independently verified contact details rather than information supplied by the person who approached you. ([consumer.ftc.gov](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/07/job-scammers-are-looking-hire-you?utm_source=openai))

Check the recruiter, email address and links

The sender’s displayed name is not proof of identity. Examine the complete email address, especially everything after the @ symbol. Look for extra words, substituted letters, unexpected hyphens or a domain that is only slightly different from the employer’s real address.

A personal email account is not conclusive evidence of fraud, particularly when dealing with a small business or independent recruiter. It becomes much more concerning when combined with other warning signs, such as an unverifiable company, pressure to act quickly or demands for money and confidential information.

If the approach came through a professional network or job platform:

• Review the recruiter’s employment history and connections.
• Check whether the company’s official website identifies the recruitment agency.
• Compare the recruiter’s contact details with the organisation’s real domain.
• Do not assume an established profile is safe; genuine accounts can be copied or compromised.
• Ask for a video or telephone conversation and independently confirm the person’s relationship with the employer.

Avoid opening unexpected attachments or signing in through links in unsolicited messages. Search for the employer’s website manually and access any application portal from there. The FBI has warned that unsolicited work-from-home messages may direct applicants to fraudulent platforms designed to collect information or payments. ([ic3.gov](https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240604?utm_source=openai))

Recognise the strongest warning signs

No single spelling error or unusual interview format proves that a vacancy is fraudulent. Several warning signs appearing together, however, should make you stop and verify the offer.

Be especially cautious when:

• You receive a generic job message for a role you never applied for.
• The recruiter cannot explain the work, team or reporting structure.
• The pay is unusually high for simple work or limited experience.
• You are hired immediately, without a meaningful interview or skills assessment.
• All communication must take place through text, WhatsApp, Telegram or another private chat.
• The recruiter refuses to use a verifiable company email address.
• You are pressured to accept before you can read the contract or seek advice.
• The offer letter contains inconsistent company names, addresses or currencies.
• The job requires you to receive, transfer or convert money for other people.
• You must buy equipment from a specified seller and are promised reimbursement later.

Professional graphics, contracts and onboarding portals are not guarantees of legitimacy. Fraudsters can imitate real companies and produce convincing offer letters before asking for bank details or identity documents. ([consumer.ftc.gov](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/08/scammers-impersonate-well-known-companies-recruit-fake-jobs-linkedin-other-job-platforms?pStoreID=bizclubgold%25252525252525252525252525252525252525252F1000%25252525252527%2525252525255B0%2525252525255D&utm_source=openai))

Do not pay to secure a job or release your earnings

A demand for money is one of the clearest reasons to stop. Common excuses include registration, mandatory training, background checks, software, home-office equipment or a deposit that will supposedly be refunded with your first salary.

Cross-border recruitment may involve genuine costs such as visas, medical examinations or official document processing. Verify each charge with the relevant government authority and pay only through its recognised channel. Do not send money to a recruiter’s personal account, cryptocurrency wallet, payment app or gift-card address.

Also reject any arrangement in which you must:

• Deposit a cheque and return part of the money.
• Buy equipment from an unknown supplier using money sent by the employer.
• Receive customer payments through your personal bank account.
• Convert funds into cryptocurrency or gift cards.
• Forward parcels or transfer money to third parties.

A cheque or transfer may appear in your account before a bank discovers that it is fraudulent. If you have already sent part of the money elsewhere, you may be responsible for the loss. The FTC identifies fake payments followed by instructions to return or forward money as a common employment-scam pattern. ([consumer.ftc.gov](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/06/job-hunting-look-out-phony-job-postings?utm_source=openai))

Watch for task scams

Task scams promise easy online income for activities such as rating products, liking content or “optimising” listings. A platform may display growing earnings and occasionally provide a small initial payment to build trust. You are then told to deposit your own money—often in cryptocurrency—to unlock more tasks or withdraw the supposed balance.

The displayed earnings are not proof that money exists. Never pay to complete work or access wages you have supposedly earned. Both the FTC and FBI have warned about schemes involving simple online tasks followed by demands for deposits. ([ic3.gov](https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240604?utm_source=openai))

Protect identity documents and banking information

An employer may eventually need personal information for payroll, tax, immigration or right-to-work checks. The timing, legal requirements and acceptable documents vary by country. That does not justify sending extensive identity and banking information to an unverified person before a genuine recruitment process has taken place.

Before providing sensitive data, confirm:

• The employer’s legal identity.
• Why each item is required.
• Whether the request is appropriate at this recruitment stage.
• How the information will be transmitted, stored and protected.
• Which company or service provider will process it.

A CV normally does not need to contain passport numbers, national identification numbers, full banking details or copies of payment cards. Consider removing your complete home address and other unnecessary identifiers from publicly accessible CVs.

No employer needs your online-banking password, card PIN, card security code or one-time authentication code to pay your salary. Never approve a banking notification described as an identity check or payroll activation.

Read the actual employment terms

Not every misleading advert is a complete fabrication. Sometimes the organisation exists, but the contract is substantially less attractive than the headline.

Before accepting, obtain written answers to these questions:

• Who is the legal employer named in the contract?
• In which country will you be employed and taxed?
• Is the arrangement employment, agency work or independent contracting?
• Which part of the advertised pay is guaranteed?
• Are bonuses, commissions and overtime included in the headline figure?
• What are the working hours, location and remote-working conditions?
• Who pays for travel, visas, accommodation and equipment?
• Is there a probation period, and what notice rules apply?
• Will any deductions be taken from wages?

For international roles, request the contract in a language you understand. Independently verify the workplace address, immigration route and recruiter’s authority before travelling. Do not surrender your passport to an employer or intermediary unless a lawful procedure specifically requires temporary access and you understand how and when it will be returned.

A five-minute verification checklist

Before replying to an unfamiliar recruiter or submitting sensitive documents:

1. Find the organisation’s official website independently.
2. Compare the vacancy with its careers page or approved recruitment partners.
3. Check the company in the appropriate national register.
4. Examine the recruiter’s complete email address and profile.
5. Contact the organisation through a number or address you found yourself.
6. Search the company and recruiter names alongside terms such as “scam”, “fraud” and “complaint”. Treat individual reviews cautiously.
7. Confirm the legal employer, location, contract type and guaranteed pay.
8. Stop if you are asked to pay, transfer money or disclose unnecessary personal data.

What to do if you have already responded

End communication and preserve the advert, messages, email headers, payment records and account details used by the sender. Report the profile or listing to the platform where it appeared and notify the impersonated company.

If you sent money, contact your bank or payment provider immediately and ask whether the transaction can be stopped or recalled. If you disclosed passwords, change them from a trusted device and enable multi-factor authentication. Contact the relevant national fraud-reporting, consumer-protection or law-enforcement service, and use your country’s identity-theft procedures if identity documents were exposed.

A genuine vacancy does not need to be perfectly advertised, but the people, company and conditions behind it should be verifiable. Taking a few minutes to check them is safer than allowing an urgent deadline or attractive salary to override basic precautions.

Sources

1. Job scammers are looking to hire you — https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/07/job-scammers-are-looking-hire-you
2. That job offer text is probably a scam — https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/04/job-offer-text-probably-scam
3. Scammers impersonate well-known companies, recruit for fake jobs on LinkedIn and other job platforms — https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/08/scammers-impersonate-well-known-companies-recruit-fake-jobs-linkedin-other-job-platforms?pStoreID=bizclubgold%25252525252525252525252525252525252525252F1000%25252525252527%2525252525255B0%2525252525255D
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5. Scammers Defraud Individuals via Work-From-Home Scams — https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240604
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8. https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/03/influencers-spot-job-scam
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15. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/task-scams-spotlight-2024.pdf
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19. Job scammers are looking to hire you | Consumer Advice — https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/07/job-scammers-are-looking-hire-you?utm_source=openai
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