The useful result
Run three checks on a job offer and decide, with evidence, what you will and will not send.
- Run three checks on a job offer and decide, with evidence, what you will and will not send.
A recruiter messages you on WhatsApp with a well-paid remote job, no interview, and a form asking for your passport and bank details. The US Federal Trade Commission says honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job, and a 2025 FTC alert reports that job-scam reports tripled from 2020 to 2024, with reported losses rising from $90 million to $501 million. The University of Sheffield advises caution if you are asked for a passport, licence or bank details before you have met the employer or verified the need.
This lesson gives you three checks to run before you send any document: the employer, the contact channel, and each request for money or sensitive information. An assistant can list the requests in a message, but it cannot decide that a job is real, and it should never see your ID or bank documents.
The examples below are illustrative exercises, not recorded results from any tool. Sources were checked on 25 October 2026; menus, limits and prices change, so confirm details on the linked pages.
Before you start
- The job message or listing you received
- A web browser to find the employer’s own website
- Someone you trust to talk it through with
Review evidence
Documentation-based review · 2026-10-25
Primary documentation and official guidance checked on 25 October 2026. Examples, checks and exercises are original illustrations, not recorded tool tests. Cover artwork is a conceptual illustration.
Check the employer yourself, not through the message
Do not use links or phone numbers from the message. Find the employer’s own website yourself and see whether the same job is on its careers page. Search the company or recruiter name with words such as “scam”, “review” or “complaint”; the FTC notes this does not prove a company is honest, but complaints can reveal problems. The FTC’s alert says that if you cannot find the company online, steer clear.
Example / expected result
Illustrative example; not a recorded model result.
The message names ExampleCo, but ExampleCo’s official site lists no such role and a search for the recruiter’s name brings up complaints, so you stop.
Check your result
You found the employer’s official website without using the message, and you have noted whether the job is listed there.
Check who contacted you and how
Look at the sender’s address. The University of Sheffield advises caution with emails whose domain does not match the company name, especially free Gmail or Hotmail addresses. The FTC’s alert says scammers sometimes text or use WhatsApp, posing as recruiters, and that a message asking you to click a link or give personal or financial details is likely a scam. Confirm the recruiter using a contact detail from the official site.
Check your result
You compared the sender’s address with the official domain and confirmed the recruiter through a contact detail you found yourself.
Check every request for money, ID or bank details before you send anything
List each thing the offer asks for. The FTC says honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job, and calls an offer to deposit a cheque and send part back a scam. Sheffield advises caution about passport, licence or bank details before you have met the employer or verified the need. A practical rule: ask in writing, through the official channel, why each item is needed, and never upload ID or bank documents to an AI chat.
Below is a job message I received, with my name, contact details and ID numbers removed. List every request it makes (payment, cheque, documents, ID, bank details, links, another app, a deadline) and mark any that match these red flags: payment to get the job; a cheque to deposit and send part back; ID or bank details before an offer; a personal email or messaging app instead of a company address. Then suggest three questions I could ask through the employer’s official contact details. Do not say whether the job is genuine; I will check that myself.
Message: [message text, redacted]Example / expected result
Illustrative example; not a recorded model result.
A message that asks you to move to WhatsApp, pay for “equipment” and send a passport photo before any interview contains three red flags, so you stop and verify through the official site.
Check your result
Each request is written down with the reason given, and no ID, bank details or money have gone to anyone unverified.
When it goes wrong
No checklist can prove a job is real or fake, and scammers can copy a real company’s name, so confirm contact details through the official site. If you have already sent money, the FTC says to contact the company you used to send it immediately and report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; in the UK, Sheffield points to the police or Action Fraud. This is not legal or financial advice, and reporting routes differ by country.
Make it your own
Take a job message you have received, or the illustrative one above, and run all three checks. Write down the official website, the contact detail you would use to confirm, and your decision on each request.
Useful next resources
Sources and review
- US Federal Trade Commission: Job scams
- US Federal Trade Commission Consumer Alert: Job-seeking servicemembers: Avoid scams while you search
- University of Sheffield Careers and Employability: Stay safe when job seeking
Last checked Oct 25, 2026. Features and account limits can change. Verify important results against your original material.
Did this help you complete your task?
Tell us what needs improving. No account or private output required.
Report incorrect information or a broken linkGenius Forges Editorial
Practical AI lessons with checked sources, labelled examples and human verification.
