Can a real recruiter contact me on WhatsApp?

Yes. WhatsApp is not proof of fraud or legitimacy. Verify the recruiter and vacancy through the employer's official website, switchboard, or verified recruitment system.

Is a Gmail address proof that a job offer is fake?

No, but it is a warning sign when the sender claims to represent a large company. Confirm the recruiter through the company's independently published contact details.

Should I pay a recruitment, visa, or equipment fee?

Do not pay an individual or unverified intermediary to secure a job. Some official processes include fees, but verify them directly with the relevant government authority first.

Is a cheque for a home office or laptop legitimate?

Treat it as a scam if you must deposit the cheque and send money back or pay a supplier. Contact your bank before depositing it, because the cheque may later be rejected.

What should I do after sharing my passport or bank details?

Contact your bank or card provider immediately and change any exposed passwords. Report the incident to the job platform, relevant fraud authority, and local police when appropriate.

How to Check If a Job Offer Is Real

Start by checking the employer through its official website, company register, and published phone number. Do not pay money or share identity and bank details until you verify the company, recruiter, vacancy, and contract through trusted channels.

Start with a safety pause

Scammers often create pressure before you have time to check the offer. Pause if the sender demands a decision within hours, asks you to keep the offer secret, or sends payment instructions before a proper interview.

Do not do these things while you investigate:

Do not pay a recruitment, visa, training, equipment, or registration fee.
Do not deposit a cheque and send money to another person.
Do not send your passport, national ID, Social Security number, bank details, or account passwords.
Do not click links in unexpected messages.
Do not receive, move, or reship money or goods for the supposed employer.

Save the messages, email headers, phone numbers, offer letter, website addresses, and payment instructions. These records can help your bank, platform, police, or fraud agency investigate.

Fake job offer signs

One warning sign does not prove fraud. Several signs together indicate serious risk, especially when the sender requests money or identity documents.

Watch for these patterns:

You receive an offer without a credible interview.
The duties, manager, location, legal employer, or contract terms remain vague.
The pay seems unusually high for simple work.
The recruiter contacts you unexpectedly through WhatsApp, Telegram, text, or social media.
The sender uses a lookalike domain or a free email account while claiming to represent a large company.
The job appears only in a message and not on the employer's independently found careers page.
The recruiter refuses a normal phone or video conversation.
You must pay for a job, visa, medical check, background check, equipment, or salary release.
You must buy cryptocurrency or deposit money to complete online tasks.
You receive a cheque and must buy equipment, send money back, or use a named supplier.
You are asked to use your bank account as a payment processor.
The recruiter asks for sensitive documents before verifying the job and employer.

Grammar mistakes can support other warning signs, but they do not prove a scam. Genuine recruiters may use WhatsApp, personal phones, or agency email addresses in some countries.

How to check a recruiter scam

Check the company and the recruiter separately. A real company can be impersonated, and a real job board can host a copied or hijacked advert.

1. Find the employer yourself

Type the company name into your browser. Do not use the website link, phone number, or email address in the suspicious message.

Check the exact legal name, official domain, physical address, switchboard, and careers page. Search for the vacancy on the employer's own website.

Then search these combinations:

Company name plus scam.
Company name plus fraud.
Recruiter name plus company name.
Phone number plus scam.
Email domain plus scam.

Search results are clues, not proof. A company may have complaints from customers, while a scammer may have no online history.

2. Verify the company registration

Use the relevant official register. In the UK, search Companies House. In other European countries, use the national company register. In Nigeria, confirm the organisation through its official website and relevant government portal.

Check that the legal name, address, and business activity match the offer. A registered company name does not prove that the person contacting you works there.

3. Contact the company independently

Use the phone number or email address published on the official website. Ask the switchboard or HR team these questions:

Does this vacancy exist?
Does this recruiter work for you or represent your agency?
Did your team send this offer?
Is this interview process genuine?
Do the payment and contract instructions belong to your company?

Do not call the number supplied by the recruiter. Scammers may answer that number themselves.

4. Verify the recruiter

Check the recruiter's name on the company's staff page, LinkedIn, or an official agency directory. Treat social profiles as supporting evidence only. Scammers can copy photographs, job histories, and company branding.

Ask the employer's switchboard to connect you to the recruiter. A genuine person should not object to this basic check.

How to check a job offer sent on WhatsApp

A job scam WhatsApp message often starts with a short greeting and a vague promise. It may offer remote work, daily commissions, product ratings, app testing, or simple online tasks.

WhatsApp itself does not prove that an offer is fake. Some genuine recruiters use it for scheduling or follow-up. The risk rises when the message is unexpected, generic, urgent, and linked to a request for money or personal information.

Use this check:

Ask for the legal employer's full name, office address, job title, manager, salary, and contract process.
Find the employer's website independently.
Call the published number and verify the vacancy.
Ask the recruiter to email you from a verified company or agency address.
Confirm that the job appears on the official careers page.
Block the contact if the sender avoids clear answers or requests payment.

Never send a one-time passcode from your bank, email, WhatsApp, or another account. A recruiter does not need your login code to arrange an interview.

Check the written offer

A genuine offer should identify the legal employer and explain the job clearly. Check that it includes the following details:

Legal company name and registered address.
Job title, duties, manager, and work location.
Start date and probation period.
Salary, currency, pay frequency, and deductions.
Working hours, leave, and benefits.
Contract type and notice terms.
Conditions such as right-to-work or background checks.
A verifiable HR or recruitment contact.

Compare the offer with the original job advert and your interview notes. You can use FreeToolr's text comparison tool to compare two versions of an offer letter or check changes between a job advert and contract.

A polished PDF does not prove legitimacy. Scammers can copy logos, signatures, employee names, and branding.

If you have several documents, you can combine them with FreeToolr's PDF merging tool for your own records. Keep the original files too, because merged documents can hide useful metadata or separate attachments.

Worked example: spotting a fake equipment offer

Suppose a recruiter offers you a remote assistant role paying $3,200 per month. The recruiter sends a $750 cheque for a laptop and tells you to deposit it.

They then ask you to send $500 to a named supplier within 24 hours. They say you may keep the remaining $250 as an equipment allowance.

This has several high-risk signs:

The offer arrived before a credible interview.
The recruiter created urgency.
You must deposit a cheque and send money elsewhere.
The supplier may be controlled by the scammer.
The cheque may later be rejected, leaving your bank account short by $500.

Do not deposit the cheque. Contact your bank through its official number, save the messages, and report the account to the platform. The Better Business Bureau describes this pattern as a fake-check and equipment scam.

Regional checks for overseas jobs

United States

The Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers impersonate well-known employers and request money or personal information. Verify the offer through the company's official website and report suspected fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

An employer may need personal information during a legitimate hiring process. Share it only after you verify the employer and use a trusted company system.

United Kingdom

Search Companies House for the employer. Employers must check a worker's right to work before employment begins, using an official process.

A right-to-work request is not automatically a scam. Be cautious if someone asks you to send documents to a personal email or pay an individual for approval.

Europe

Europe has different company registers, employment rules, visa systems, and reporting bodies. Check the employer's national register and the relevant labour or immigration authority.

Do not assume that an EU address, a European phone number, or a translated contract proves the offer is genuine.

Nigeria

Check the organisation's official domain and recruitment portal. Do not pay an individual for a government appointment, recruitment slot, clearance, or interview.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission warns applicants to use credible recruitment channels and reject offers that request money.

Gulf countries

Ask for a written offer before travel. Confirm that the employer, job title, salary, duties, and benefits match the later employment contract.

For UAE roles, use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, known as MOHRE, for applicable offer and contract checks. MOHRE guidance says the employer bears recruitment, travel, and residence permit costs.

Common job scam types

Task scams promise commissions for ratings, product boosting, or app optimisation. The victim later must deposit money, often cryptocurrency, to continue or withdraw supposed earnings.

Money-mule scams offer jobs such as payment processor, local representative, or transfer agent. The worker moves funds through a personal account and may face bank closure or criminal investigation.

Reshipping scams send goods to your home and ask you to forward them. The goods may have been bought with stolen payment details.

Visa scams target people seeking overseas work. The fake agent collects fees for a visa, medical test, document, or placement without a real employer or official process.

False overseas vacancies can also create personal safety risks. Do not travel based only on messages, copied contracts, or promises from an unverified agent.

What to do if you already shared details or paid

Contact your bank or card provider immediately using the number on its official website or card. Ask whether it can stop a transfer, recall a payment, freeze a card, or monitor the account.

Change passwords if you shared login details. Turn on multi-factor authentication and sign out of unknown sessions.

If you shared identity documents, ask the relevant identity, tax, credit, or government service about protective steps. Requirements differ by country.

Report the account and advert to the job platform, WhatsApp, email provider, and local fraud authority. In the US, report to the FTC. In the UK, report through Action Fraud. In Nigeria, contact the EFCC or police. In other countries, use the national fraud reporting service.

If someone asks you to move money or goods, stop. Contact your bank and local police before taking further action.