Checking employers and job offers
Most job adverts are genuine, but scams target people who are under pressure. These guides show the checks you can make yourself with public records and plain questions, and where to report a suspected scam. No check can certify an employer as safe.
Run a free company checkGuides on checking employers and job offers
How to spot a fake job advert
Check a suspicious job advert by verifying the employer independently, inspecting contact details, refusing payment requests and slowing down pressure tactics.
Read: How to spot a fake job advertHow to check if a company is real before applying
Verify a company's legal record, official website and contact details independently, while remembering that a real company can still be impersonated.
Read: How to check if a company is real before applyingOffered a job without an interview? Signs the offer is fake
How to check a job offer that arrived without a real interview: the warning signs at offer stage, what genuine employers do, and how to verify before you reply.
Read: Offered a job without an interview? Signs the offer is fakeAsked to pay for a job? What the rules say and what to do
What UK rules say about employment agencies charging work-seekers, what the US FTC advises about paying for a job, and how to respond to a fee request.
Read: Asked to pay for a job? What the rules say and what to doHow to check that a recruiter is real
Verify the person behind an unexpected recruiter message: their identity, their link to the company and the role, and the warning signs of a fake recruiter.
Read: How to check that a recruiter is realFake cheque and equipment scams in job offers
How job scams use fake cheques, overpayments and equipment purchases, why the funds can look cleared and what to do if you have deposited or sent money.
Read: Fake cheque and equipment scams in job offersTask scams: paid online 'tasks' that end with you paying
How task or 'product boosting' job scams work, why small early payouts are part of the trick, and how to get out safely if you have already started.
Read: Task scams: paid online 'tasks' that end with you payingHow to report a job scam in the UK
UK routes for reporting a job scam: Report Fraud or Police Scotland, forwarding scam emails and texts, agency complaints, visa scams and the job site.
Read: How to report a job scam in the UKHow to report a job scam in the US
US routes for reporting a job scam: the FTC's ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the FBI's IC3 for internet crime, IdentityTheft.gov for stolen identity, and your bank.
Read: How to report a job scam in the USWhich personal details to share at each stage of applying
Which details genuine employers ask for at each stage, from application to first day, how UK and US right-to-work checks work and which requests to refuse.
Read: Which personal details to share at each stage of applyingReading a job offer letter before you accept (Great Britain)
What an offer in Great Britain should tell you, what the written statement of terms must include, and the gaps or requests that should prompt questions.
Read: Reading a job offer letter before you accept (Great Britain)Job scams on WhatsApp, Telegram and text messages
Why unexpected job messages on WhatsApp, Telegram or text are a common scam route, what regulators advise and how to report or check them safely.
Read: Job scams on WhatsApp, Telegram and text messagesMoney mule job adverts: when a job uses your bank account
How criminals recruit money mules through fake job adverts, the warning signs, the consequences of moving money for others and what to do if approached.
Read: Money mule job adverts: when a job uses your bank accountOverseas job and visa sponsorship scams
How visa and sponsorship job scams work, what GOV.UK and USCIS say about payments and official contact, and how to check a UK sponsor on the register.
Read: Overseas job and visa sponsorship scamsCloned job sites and phishing emails that imitate job boards
How fake job boards and phishing emails imitate real job sites, the signs to check before logging in or paying, and where to forward suspicious emails.
Read: Cloned job sites and phishing emails that imitate job boardsPyramid schemes and 'opportunities' presented as jobs
How multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes are presented as jobs, the questions that separate a sales role from a scheme, and what the FTC says.
Read: Pyramid schemes and 'opportunities' presented as jobsIf you shared details with a job scammer: what to do now
An ordered plan for when you have paid or shared bank details, passwords or ID documents with a fake employer, with UK and US reporting and recovery routes.
Read: If you shared details with a job scammer: what to do now
Other topics
- Resumes and cover letters
- ATS and application systems
- Applications, follow-ups and tracking
- Interviews and salary conversations
- Career changes and transitions
- Working with a career coach
- Role-specific resume and interview guides
- Templates, checklists and worksheets
- For careers services and recruiters
- Using Luceria