Fake job offer: recognising the recruitment scam

An offer turns up out of the blue, by message, email, or through a platform. The role is vague but the pay is generous, the tone is pushy, and you are promised a very quick start. Behind that appealing facade often sits a recruitment scam, built to extract money from you or to use you as a go-between in fraudulent operations.

The most common scripts

Fake recruiters reuse a handful of well-worn scripts. Knowing them lets you identify the trap in seconds.

• The money mule. You are offered the chance to receive transfers into your account, then forward them elsewhere while keeping a commission. In reality you would be helping to launder stolen money, with your name and your account exposed.
• Parcel reshipping. You receive goods at home and must reship them abroad. Those parcels have almost always been bought with stolen card details.
• Upfront fees. Before you start, you are asked for a sum to cover equipment, mandatory training, software, or an admin file. The money paid disappears and the job never existed.

The signals that do not lie

A cluster of clues almost always gives away a fake offer. Be wary when several stack up.

1. A high salary for a simple task requiring no qualification.
2. An interview held only by messaging app (WhatsApp, Telegram, chat), with no call or meeting.
3. A generic email address instead of a company domain.
4. A request for personal documents too early: ID, bank details, a copy of your card.
5. Pressure to start immediately, which prevents any verification.

Verify before you commit

Take the time to confirm the employer really exists. Search the company name and the recruiter's name separately, compare them against the company's official website, and check that the email address matches the company's domain. A genuine recruitment process involves identifiable exchanges and never boils down to an anonymous conversation.

If an offer leaves you in doubt, submit the message or link you received to our scam test for a first read. The rule stays simple and has no exceptions: you never pay to get a job, and you never let unknown money pass through your account.

If you are already involved

Stop all contact at once and keep the evidence: messages, emails, any banking details you shared. If you paid fees, contact your bank to attempt a recall. If you received transfers or parcels, do not send them on and report what happened.

To place this fraud among the wider traps around work and housing, see the job and housing scams guide. You can also describe the situation and get help from a national fraud service such as Action Fraud.