How to recognize fake job offers?
Fake job advertisements don’t always look like an obvious “hoax” with typos and an email address registered on Gmail. More and more often, they are written in correct Polish, the company logo stands out in their identification, and they are supported by seemingly professional recruiters. Unfortunately, we must remain vigilant because there are also scammers here. Job offers may involve attempts to extort data, money or perform work for free.
The most common types of fake job offers
Data phishing
The goal is to obtain your personal data, a scan of your ID, account number, PESEL number, photos of documents, and sometimes login details (e.g. to your “company” e-mail, where you set the same password as in some other, this time private service). Scammers often explain this as “HR procedure” or “contract requirements.”
Extorting money
The most popular variant is a request for a fee “for research”, “for equipment”, “for training”, “for booking a place” or “a deposit”. The second variant is a request to buy something and a promise to return it.
Beware of trial days and suspiciously demanding tasks
In Polish law, a “trial day” understood as normal work without a contract (or even written confirmation of employment conditions) is an alarm signal, not a “recruitment standard”. The Labor Code requires that an employment contract specifies the parties and terms of employment, and the employer is obliged to confirm in writing the arrangements regarding the parties, type of contract and its terms before allowing the employee to work. In practice, “come for 8 hours, work and we’ll see” without paper is a practice that should immediately turn on a warning light in our heads.
Tasks as such are a legal element of recruitment, but the matter becomes suspicious when the “test” looks like a ready-made product for real use: text for publication, graphics for a campaign, analysis for the client, a piece of code “to be implemented”. A fair test is usually short, limited in scope, based on sample data, and tests your thinking (rather than providing the company with free content). If a company asks for something that has a clear business value and could be used immediately, and adds time pressure, NDA, transfer of rights, access to production tools/environments or client materials – this sounds like real work, not recruitment.
Intermediation in suspicious transfers/parcels
Offers such as “payment assistant”, “shipment coordinator”, “work from home – transfers” may be an attempt to lure people into money laundering or use them as a “fraud” to collect goods or cash. If you come across similar advertisements, be vigilant!
Job advertisements: this is what you need to watch out for!
Salary “out of space” with almost zero requirements
If an offer promises high remuneration for simple activities and lack of experience, it is not automatically a scam, but statistically… it is. There is usually a lack of specifics: scope of responsibilities, hours, requirements, tools, etc. In the case of such offers, it is worth screening them twice as carefully.
No company data or data “unverifiable”
An advertisement without the full name of the employer, without an address, without a Tax Identification Number/KRS (in the case of companies in Poland), without a real website or with a link to a freshly created website-business card should be avoided if we do not want to get into trouble. Even if there is no fraud behind it, a company that allows itself such a blatant lack of professionalism is not likely to have the best prospects.
Suspicious domains and email addresses
If “recruitment” comes from an address such as [email protected] or from a domain that is confusingly similar to the real one (typos, extra dash, strange ending), then you should also see a warning light. Fraudsters very often impersonate real companies, copying the name and communication style, and the difference lies in the detail: the sender’s address and the domain from which they send messages.
The ad was written in generalities
Slogans such as “dynamic company”, “young team”, “great earnings” and “development opportunities” are not a problem in themselves – the problem begins when this is the only content of the offer. If there is a lack of specifics: what the company does, what the product or client is, what tools and responsibilities, what mode of work, what settlement and ranges, such an advertisement can simply be a “blown idea” that can be adapted to every person and every scenario.
Time pressure and “last places”
Quick recruitments happen, but pressure such as “decide today”, “2 places left”, “we have to close the topic in an hour” is a classic mechanism that is supposed to turn off the candidate’s caution. When the rush goes hand in hand with a lack of specifics, chaotic communication or strange requests (e.g. for data, transfer, application installation), it becomes suspicious – and it is worth stopping, instead of “catching the opportunity”.
Beware of suspicious recruiters!
Recruitment outside standard channels and no traces online
If a person posing as a recruiter does not have any reliable trace on the Internet (a LinkedIn profile, a mention on the company’s website, a company e-mail), cannot identify a supervisor or describe the recruitment process, and at the same time immediately tries to transfer the conversation to an instant messenger or text message – this is a strong warning signal. Real recruitments can also be “quick and imperfect”, but they can usually be embedded in the realities of the company.
Requesting sensitive data at an early stage
At the beginning of the recruitment process, the standard is a CV and basic contact details – nothing more. If someone asks for a scan of your ID, PESEL, logins, photos of documents or “bank account verification” before the offer and signing of the contract, this is a highly suspicious situation. Such data is too sensitive to be provided “by word” during alleged recruitment.
“Send code from SMS” or “confirm in the application”
Requests to send a code from an SMS, a token, a one-time password or to approve something in an application are a red alert, because they almost always mean an attempt to take over the account (mail, messenger, profile on an advertising website, and sometimes even banking). In a normal recruitment process, there is no reason for a candidate to provide authorization codes to anyone – if such a topic arises, it is best to end the conversation immediately.
The contract will be “later”, you have to pay now
When any fee comes up before you sign a contract or make a formal offer, treat it as a hard line. “Training fee”, “equipment deposit”, “verification fee” or “starter package cost” are some of the most common hooks in frauds – in fair recruitment, the employer does not start the relationship by demanding money from the candidate.
How to quickly verify a job offer
Check the company in the registers and on the Internet
In Poland, the minimum is to verify whether the company exists (KRS/CEIDG) and whether the advertisement data matches what is officially stated (name, address). If the company is “foreign” – check whether it has real traces of activity (a simple website is no longer “minimum” in today’s world when it comes to verification, because anyone can “set it up” within a dozen or so minutes).
Check whether the advertisement also exists on the official career website
If it is a large company and the advertisement is only on a random website and nowhere else – it is worth being careful.
Verify your domain and email
The company domain should be consistent with the official website. If you have any doubts, contact the company through another channel.
Rate the “recruitment task”
The test should be proportionate, time-limited and not a ready-made product for implementation. If companies ask you to do something that has business value (e.g. a set of campaign materials) – it’s suspicious.
Ask about the basics: form of the contract, scope, process
A normal recruiter is not afraid of specifics: scope of tasks, work mode, stages, who makes the decision, what the range is and the form of settlement – you can ask about all this and count on comprehensive answers.
What to do if you suspect fraud
- do not send documents, ID photos, SMS codes or sensitive data
- take screenshots of the advertisement and correspondence (it will be useful for reporting)
- report the offer on the website where it appeared
- if a fraud or transfer occurred: react immediately (contact the bank, report to the police)
Fake job offers almost always have one common denominator: they try to push you through the process faster than common sense – or they ask for something that a normal recruitment process doesn’t need at this stage (money, codes, documents). Stick to a simple filter: specifics + verifiable company + normal process. If any of these elements make you questionable, it’s better to lose the “opportunity” than your time, money or data.
