The core red flags, in order of how serious they are
Quick comparison
| Red flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Any request for payment (training fee, kit fee, background check fee) | Legitimate employers never charge candidates to be hired — this alone is close to a guaranteed scam |
| Offer sent with no interview, or a single chat-only interview | Real hiring almost always includes at least one live conversation with an identifiable person |
| Communication only via WhatsApp/Telegram, never a company email | Legitimate recruiters typically use a verifiable company domain for anything formal |
| Salary far above market rate for minimal qualifications | Designed to override your skepticism with excitement |
| Pressure to decide or pay within hours | Urgency is used deliberately to prevent you from checking or asking questions |
A step-by-step check before you respond
- 1Search the company name plus "scam," "review," or "fraud" and read what comes up
- 2Check whether the recruiter's email domain matches the official company website
- 3Look up the company on LinkedIn and confirm the recruiter's profile is real and connected to actual employees
- 4Call the company's official listed number (not one given by the recruiter) and ask to verify the opening
- 5Never send money, banking details, or copies of ID documents before verifying all of the above
Not sure about a specific posting? Paste it in and get an instant fraud-risk score with the exact flags found.
Scan a Job for Scam RiskWhat a legitimate offer process usually looks like, for comparison
What a legitimate offer process usually looks like, for comparison
- At least one interview with a named, verifiable employee
- Communication from a company email domain, not a personal Gmail/WhatsApp-only channel
- A written offer letter with company letterhead, role, salary and reporting structure
- No fees requested at any stage, ever
- A reasonable window to consider the offer, not a same-day ultimatum
If you've already paid or shared sensitive details
Stop all further payments immediately, contact your bank about a possible chargeback or dispute, change any reused passwords, and file a report with your local cybercrime authority. Acting quickly meaningfully improves the chance of recovering funds or limiting further misuse of your information.
The most reliable rule
If a job ever asks you to pay money to receive money — for training, equipment, a "registration fee," or a security deposit — it is not a real job offer, regardless of how convincing everything else looks.
