Is This Job Offer a Scam? 7 Warning Signs

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Paste the job posting link or the recruiter's message. Free risk signal in seconds; the full 0–100 report with evidence is $2, one time.

The full checklist

The 7 warning signs of a job-offer scam

Job scams borrow real company names and real job boards, then reverse the money: every real employer pays you — every fake one finds a reason for you to pay first. These are the seven signs.

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01

No real interview

You're “hired” after a text chat on Telegram, WhatsApp, or Teams. Real employers interview candidates — by phone, video, or in person. A job that skips the interview is not a job.

02

Pay too good for the work

$35 an hour for data entry. $500 a week for “reshipping packages.” When the pay wildly outruns the skill required, the paycheck isn't the product — you are.

03

You have to pay them first

Equipment, training, certification, software, or a “refundable” background-check fee. Money flowing from you to the employer is the definition of the scam. Real jobs pay you.

04

The fake-check trap

They send a check “for equipment,” have you deposit it, then ask you to forward part to a “vendor.” The check bounces weeks later, the bank claws the full amount back from you, and the “vendor” was the scammer.

05

A lookalike or free email domain

The recruiter claims to be from a real company but writes from acme-careers.com or [email protected] instead of acme.com. One character off is the costume — check the sender's domain against the company's official site.

06

Personal data before an offer

Your Social Security number, bank login, or a photo of your ID — requested before a written offer, sometimes before any interview. That's not onboarding; it's identity theft.

07

Reshipping or “payment processing”

Receiving packages and forwarding them, or receiving money and moving it on, isn't a job — it's laundering stolen goods or stolen funds, and you're the one left holding the liability.

What to do now

Think this job offer is a scam? Do this now

1

Deposit nothing, forward nothing

Never deposit a check from an “employer,” and never forward money or packages. Funds being “available” doesn't mean the check was real — when it bounces, you owe the bank.

2

Verify the employer directly

Type the company's real domain yourself and find the role on their official careers page, or call their published phone number and ask whether the recruiter is real. Search the company name plus “scam.”

3

Check the link, then report it

Run the recruiter's link or email domain through Scam Detective for a 0–100 risk score, then report the posting to the job board and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Questions

Asked by people in your exact spot

The check cleared, so it's fine — right?

No. Banks must make funds available within days, but a fake check can take weeks to bounce — and when it does, the bank claws the full amount back from you. “Available” is not “verified.” Never forward money against a deposited check.

They used a real company's name. Doesn't that make it legit?

Scammers borrow real company names constantly — the name is real, the recruiter isn't. The tell is the email domain and the process: verify the sender's address matches the official domain exactly, and confirm the role on the company's own careers page.

I already gave them my Social Security number. What now?

Treat it as identity theft in progress: place a free fraud alert or credit freeze with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, watch your bank and credit accounts, and file a report at IdentityTheft.gov — the FTC will generate a recovery plan.

Can you check a recruiter's email or a job-board link?

Yes — paste the link or the message into the checker above. The $2 full report weighs domain age, impersonation signals, phishing markers, and payment red flags, with evidence and a 3-step action plan.

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