- Verify the role through an employer contact you found yourself before sharing an ID, bank details, or a payment.
- A check that appears available is not proof it is good; never deposit one and send money, gift cards, or equipment payments from it.
- An honest employer does not make a candidate pay to get hired, unlock work, or receive a promised reimbursement.
A job offer is not verified because it looks professional
Fake recruiters can use a real company's logo, a copied job description, a polished offer letter, and even a video interview. Those details can make an offer feel vetted before the question that matters has been answered: did the actual employer create this role and authorize this person to hire for it?
Do not answer that question using the sender's link, calendar invite, phone number, or email signature. Find the employer's official website independently. Use its careers page, switchboard, or a known company contact to confirm the opening and recruiter.
Run this check before you share anything sensitive
- What to do
- Find the opening on the employer's official careers page.
- Stop if you find this
- The role exists only in a text, messaging app, or a link the recruiter provided.
- What to do
- Compare the sender's domain with the employer's real domain, then call a known number.
- Stop if you find this
- A personal email address, a look-alike domain, or a request to keep everything on WhatsApp, Telegram, or text.
- What to do
- Ask who buys equipment and how the process works.
- Stop if you find this
- A request to pay a fee, deposit a check, buy equipment, purchase gift cards, or send cryptocurrency.
- What to do
- Wait for a verified employer and a real hiring stage.
- Stop if you find this
- A request for your Social Security number, bank login, or driver's-license image before the employer and job are confirmed.
This is not a demand for perfect certainty. It is a short pause before an irreversible action. A real employer can confirm a genuine opening through a channel it already controls.
Four patterns that should end the conversation
The equipment-check scam. The supposed employer sends a check, says some of it is your first pay, and directs you to buy a computer or send money to a vendor. The bank may show funds as available before the check is finally rejected. You then owe the bank for the bad check while the money you sent is gone.
The pay-to-start scam. A recruiter asks for a certification, background-check fee, starter kit, training charge, or a payment to release earnings. The principle is simple: do not pay to get paid.
The task scam. The work begins with easy online actions, such as ratings or clicks, then the platform says you must deposit your own money to complete a task or withdraw earnings. Do not send the deposit; the balance on the platform is not proof of a real wage.
The reshipping job. You are asked to receive packages, remove receipts, and forward them. This can put you in the middle of stolen-goods or payment fraud, not a legitimate logistics role.
If you already sent money or information
Move in this order:
- Stop responding and save the offer, messages, payment receipts, check images, sender addresses, and platform profile.
- Contact the company that moved the money right away and ask about its fraud or reversal process. A reversal is not guaranteed, but delay does not improve the odds.
- If you shared identity information, use IdentityTheft.gov to make a recovery plan and consider a credit freeze.
- Report the offer at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and flag the listing to the job platform.
A legitimate recruiter may send a useful link. It still should not be the only way you verify them. Type the employer's web address yourself or use a contact you already trust, then ask a simple question: "Can you confirm this role and this recruiter?"
What not to do next
Do not confront the sender, try to "finish one task" to withdraw a displayed balance, or send a small payment to test whether the offer is real. Those steps expose more money and information without verifying anything. If the offer is legitimate, independent confirmation will be easy. If it is not, that pause protects you.
Sources
- FTC: Job scams, accessed September 23, 2026.
- FTC: How to spot the latest job scams, accessed September 23, 2026.
- FTC: Job-offer text scams, accessed September 23, 2026.
- This guide is educational information, not legal, employment, or financial advice for a particular situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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