Is This Job Legit? How to Spot a Fake Job Posting

Job scams are surging. The Better Business Bureau reports that US employment-scam reports doubled in 2025, with more than 50,000 victims and an average loss of $1,000 per victim. The FTC puts total job-scam losses at $501 million in 2024 — up from about $90 million in 2020.

And the old advice is dying. “Check for spelling mistakes” was useful when scammers wrote bad English. In 2026, scam postings are routinely polished with AI — a fake ad can read better than a genuine one dashed off by a busy hiring manager. You need better tests now.

One important note before we start: no single check proves a posting is fake, and no checklist can certify one as safe. What follows are patterns — red flags that mean a posting deserves a closer look, and exactly what to do about each one.

Start here: the 5-minute verification checklist

Before reading the red flags, run these five checks on any posting you're unsure about. Most take under a minute each:

1. Find the company's real footprint. A real employer has a website, a LinkedIn company page with actual employees who list it as their employer (not three accounts created last month), and usually a state business registration you can search. If the company exists only inside the job board, treat that as a red flag, not a coincidence.
2. Find the same posting on the company's own careers page. Type the company name into Google yourself — don't click links from the posting — and check their official careers page. If the role isn't listed there, it may still be legitimate (some firms post only on boards), but verify through the company's published contact channels before proceeding.
3. Google “[company name] + scam.” It takes ten seconds and surfaces known fraud reports, BBB complaints, and Reddit threads.
4. Check the recruiter, not just the role. Look up the person who contacted you on LinkedIn: real profile, real connections, history at the company they claim. And check their email domain — it should match the company's website, not Gmail or Yahoo.
5. Cross-check the pay. Look up the same title on Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the posting pays double the market rate, that's not generosity — it's bait. (More on this below.)

If a posting passes all five, it's more likely legitimate — but stay alert through the process. Scammers sometimes impersonate real companies.

Red flag #1: They ask you to pay for anything

Training fees. A “starter kit.” Background-check processing charges. An equipment deposit. A refundable “security fee” to unlock the role.

What to do: Stop. Real employers cover their own onboarding costs — background checks, training, equipment. Any request for upfront payment before you've earned a dollar is one of the strongest warning signs there is. There is no legitimate version of “pay us to hire you.”

Red flag #2: The check-deposit or money-moving trap

Two classic variants: you're mailed a check, asked to deposit it and wire part of the money back (or buy equipment from their “approved vendor”) — then the check bounces and you're liable. Or you're “hired” to receive packages or payments and forward them — that's money laundering, and you'd be the mule.

What to do: Never deposit a check from an employer before your first day. Never let money or packages flow through your accounts for a “job.” Ask yourself one question: is any money supposed to go from me, or through me, to someone else? If yes, walk away. A real job pays you; it never routes money through your bank account.

Red flag #3: Pay that's far above market for the work

“Remote data entry clerk, $38/hour, no experience needed.” “$5,000 a week typing from home.” Scammers price the bait above what you'd question but below what you'd laugh at.

What to do: Compare the offer against market data for the same title (Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, BLS Occupational Employment data). If it's 50–100% above market with no explanation — seniority, niche skills, high-cost location — treat the pay itself as the lure it probably is.

Red flag #4: The description is vague, or all about the money

Real postings describe the actual work: the team, the tools, who you report to, what success looks like. Scam postings describe the lifestyle: “work from home, flexible hours, earn up to $6,000 a month, no experience needed” — with almost nothing about what you'd actually do all day.

What to do: Ask for specifics in writing: daily responsibilities, reporting structure, the team you'd join. Evasive or copy-pasted answers to direct questions are themselves an answer.

Red flag #5: Unprofessional communication

A recruiter emailing from Gmail when the company has its own domain. An “interview” conducted entirely over WhatsApp, Telegram, or text chat — no phone call, no video. Pressure to move the conversation off the job board immediately.

What to do: Insist on a company-domain email address, and verify it independently — find the company's official contact info yourself rather than trusting what the recruiter sent you. A legitimate employer will do a real interview on a real platform (phone, Zoom, Teams). Text-only hiring processes are a major warning sign.

Red flag #6: Urgency and pressure

“Offer expires today.” “Only 3 spots left.” You're “hired” the same day you applied, with no real interview. Scammers manufacture urgency because careful people are hard to scam.

What to do: Slow down deliberately. Real hiring takes time — interviews, reference checks, deliberation. Any employer that won't give you 48 hours to think is telling you exactly what working there would feel like. Walk away from exploding offers.

Red flag #7: They want sensitive information too early

Social Security number, bank account and routing numbers, passport or driver's license scans — requested during the “application” or over chat, before any formal offer exists.

What to do: Withhold sensitive documents until you have a signed, verifiable offer letter from a company you've independently confirmed is real. (One nuance: some large employers' recruiters ask for the last four of your SSN early as an applicant-tracking ID — but they should explain exactly why, and only after you've verified they're legitimate.) Never send bank details to someone you haven't met.

Red flag #8: Task scams — get paid to tap, like, and “invest”

The fastest-growing category: about 40% of 2024 job-scam reports, per the FTC. You're hired to do small tasks — liking videos, rating products, “optimizing” crypto transactions — and shown a dashboard where your “earnings” grow. Then you must deposit your own money to “unlock” withdrawals, pay “taxes” on earnings, or recruit others. The dashboard is theater; the deposits are the scam.

What to do: Never deposit money to unlock earnings from a job — that's the entire business model of the scam. Never pay “taxes” or “fees” to withdraw money you've supposedly already earned. And be skeptical of any job whose core activity is tapping buttons in an app rather than producing real work.

Bonus signal: does the posting follow pay-transparency law?

Here's one most scam guides miss. As of 2026, 17 US jurisdictions require employers to disclose pay in job postings — California, Colorado, New York, Washington, and others. A posting hiring in one of those states that hides the pay range entirely isn't just annoying; it's potentially breaking the law.

A missing pay range doesn't prove a posting is a scam — plenty of legitimate employers are simply behind on compliance. But it's a useful professionalism signal: scammers never disclose pay properly, and careful employers increasingly do. If the posting is in a covered state and hides compensation, that's one more reason to look closer. See what your state requires →

If you've already engaged with a suspicious posting

Don't panic — act quickly:

1. Stop all communication with the suspected scammer. Don't explain, don't negotiate.
2. Don't send money or deposit anything. If a check is in the mail, don't deposit it.
3. Call your bank (using the number on your card, not one the “employer” gave you) if you shared account details or deposited anything.
4. If you shared your SSN or ID documents, get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov and consider a credit freeze.
5. Report it: the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and the job platform where you found the listing.
6. Watch for the second scam: “recovery services” that charge a fee to get your money back are often scammers targeting victims a second time.