Fake job offers — some now using AI-generated resumes and deepfake video interviews — are a fast-growing scam category, especially targeting people looking for remote work. Check off what's happened with a job offer:
A real employer will never ask you to pay them before you start work. If money is meant to flow toward you and instead it's being asked to flow from you, that's the scam — every time.
Fake job offers follow a script. A recruiter contacts you — often by text or WhatsApp, sometimes on LinkedIn — about a role you never applied for. The pay is above market. The interview is short or skipped entirely. Then comes the hook: you need to pay for “training” or “equipment,” or you are asked to “verify” your identity by depositing a cheque or buying cryptocurrency.
Look up the company in your country’s official companies register, check that the recruiter’s email domain matches the company’s real website, and find the job posting on the employer’s own careers page — not just the link you were sent. When in doubt, call the company’s publicly listed phone number and ask for the hiring manager by name. Real employers never object to verification. Scammers get angry or pushy when you try — which is itself the answer.
Job scams target people at a vulnerable moment. Someone out of work, or under pressure at a job they need to leave, is motivated to believe good news and reluctant to challenge an employer who seems interested in them. Fraudsters understand this, and they are patient.
They also have better material than they used to. Company names, logos, real employees' profiles and genuine job descriptions are all publicly available, so a fake posting can be assembled in minutes and look entirely legitimate. Some fraudsters impersonate real recruiters at real firms, complete with a convincing email signature.
You are hired, then asked to pay for something before starting: training, certification, a background check, software, a uniform, or equipment. It is always framed as reimbursable. It never is. A real employer never asks you to pay to start work. If money flows from you to them, it is not a job.
Often advertised as "payment processing", "financial agent" or "logistics coordinator", working from home for good money. The work involves receiving funds into your own bank account and forwarding them on, keeping a percentage. Those funds are the proceeds of fraud, and moving them is money laundering. People have been prosecuted for this while genuinely believing they had a job. Your account will also be closed and flagged, which makes opening another one very difficult.
The same structure with goods instead of money. Parcels arrive at your address and you forward them overseas. The goods were bought with stolen cards. You are the visible link in the chain, and you will be the one investigated.
You are sent a cheque or transfer for more than agreed and asked to return the difference, or to buy equipment from a specified supplier. The original payment is fraudulent and gets reversed days later, after your genuine money has gone. Banks can credit a cheque before it clears, which is what makes this work.
The "job" exists only to collect identity documents. Early in the process you are asked for a passport scan, driver licence, bank details and tax number for "onboarding". This is enough to open accounts and take credit in your name.
Frequently starting with a message out of the blue on WhatsApp or Telegram. Simple tasks pay small amounts reliably, which builds trust, until you are asked to deposit your own funds to unlock a higher tier. The deposits are never returned.
If you sent money, contact your bank immediately — speed matters. If you have received and forwarded funds, stop, keep everything, and speak to your bank yourself before they contact you; cooperating early matters a great deal. If you handed over identity documents, consider a credit freeze or fraud alert with the credit agencies in your country, and watch for accounts opened in your name. Report it through our scam reporting page.
No. Legitimate employers cover the costs of employing you, including training, checks and equipment. Any request for payment before you start work means it is not a real job, whatever the reimbursement promise.
It is a strong warning sign. Real employers conduct interviews by phone or video. Text-only interviews on messaging apps are one of the most common features of fake recruitment.
Not before a signed offer from a company you have independently verified. Identity documents and bank details are valuable enough to be the entire point of some fake jobs. Verify by phoning the company's published number first.
Someone who receives criminal funds into their own account and forwards them on, usually believing it is a legitimate job. It is a criminal offence in most countries even when the person is genuinely deceived, and it results in bank accounts being closed and flagged.
No. Impersonating real staff at real companies is common. Verify by phoning the company's switchboard on a number from their official website and asking for that person by name.