Job offer scams
Would you trust this?
“You’ve been selected for a remote position. Purchase the equipment today and we’ll reimburse you with your first paycheck.”
Not necessarily. Legitimate employers should not require you to send money to obtain wages. Verify the role on the company’s official careers page and contact the employer independently.
Check the link or sender →Good instinct. Fast hiring, equipment payments, fake checks and requests to pay before getting paid are common job-scam warning signs.
Check the link or sender →How this scam usually works
Fake recruiters can imitate real companies, use copied job descriptions and conduct interviews by text or messaging apps. Some send counterfeit checks for equipment and ask the victim to forward part of the money elsewhere.
More detail
Task scams show fake earnings for simple online actions and later require the worker to deposit personal funds, often in cryptocurrency, before supposedly unlocking commissions or withdrawals.
Warning signs
- The recruiter contacts you unexpectedly with little detail about the actual role.
- Hiring happens extremely quickly without normal interviews or verification.
- You must pay for training, equipment, software, deposits or access to tasks.
- A check is sent with instructions to buy equipment or send money onward.
- You are asked to receive packages, move money or use your personal bank account for company transactions.
How to verify the situation safely
Find the employer’s official careers page independently and check whether the role exists. Contact the company using an address or phone number from its official website rather than details supplied by the recruiter.
Check the sender domain carefully. A real company name in the display name does not make a free-mail address or lookalike domain legitimate.
Primary prevention references
Continue checking
Received a suspicious message?
Paste its link or sender email address into Can I Share This? before you trust it.