How to spot a fake job offer

JobCatch guide · 18 October 2026

Fake job offers are one of the most common online frauds in India. They arrive on WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS and email, often using the name of a real company, and they are built to make a job seeker act before thinking. Almost all of them share a handful of signs — and you can check for every one of them yourself.

Already paid or shared an OTP? Call 1930, the national cybercrime helpline, straight away, tell your bank, and report it at cybercrime.gov.in. The sooner it is reported, the better the chance the money can be frozen.

Nine warning signs

Money before you start. A "registration", "training", "security deposit", "ID card", "laptop" or "processing" fee. No genuine employer charges you to apply or to join.
Easy money for small tasks. Liking videos, rating hotels or "reviewing products" for a few hundred rupees a task. The first payments are real; then come "prepaid tasks" that need a deposit you never get back.
A request for an OTP, PIN or bank details. No recruiter ever needs your OTP, UPI PIN, card number or net-banking password. Sharing an OTP is how money leaves your account.
Threats of a penalty or legal action. "Pay or you will be blacklisted", "a penalty for leaving the task midway". Job portals and companies do not fine candidates.
WhatsApp or Telegram only. Real recruiters may message you on WhatsApp, but a "HR" who will talk nowhere else, with no company email and no office, is hiding something.
A job with no interview, or guaranteed selection. Real hiring has a process. "You are selected" for a job you never interviewed for is a script.
Pressure to act now. "Only 3 seats left", "pay today to confirm". Urgency is how a scammer stops you checking.
A free email address. An offer from [email protected] rather than the company's own domain. Small firms do use Gmail, so check that the company exists before you trust it.
Shortened or odd links. A bit.ly-style link, or a domain that is close to a real company's but not quite, can lead to a fake form that collects your documents and bank details.

How to check an offer before you reply

Find the job on the company's own website. Go to the careers page yourself — not through the link in the message. If the job is not there, ask the company through a contact on its official site.
Look the recruiter up. A real recruiter has a company email and usually a public profile that matches the company.
Search the exact wording of the message with the word "scam". Fraudsters reuse scripts.
Never pay, and never share an OTP or PIN, whatever the reason given.
Share documents only after an interview, and only through the company's own channel. Aadhaar and PAN copies are useful to fraudsters.

If you have already paid

Call 1930 immediately. Reporting within hours gives the best chance that the money can be frozen.
Call your bank using the number on your card or the bank's website, and block the card or UPI if needed.
Report at cybercrime.gov.in with screenshots, the phone numbers, the UPI IDs or account numbers you paid, and the transaction IDs.
Stop replying, and do not pay a "refund fee" — a second scam often follows the first.

Questions

Do real companies ever charge a fee for a job?

No genuine employer charges a registration, training, security or joining fee. Treat any request for money before you start as a scam until proven otherwise.

Are work-from-home typing and data entry jobs real?

Some are, but a large share of "₹30,000 a month for typing from home" offers are scams that end in a fee. Check the employer exactly as you would any other.

What is the cybercrime helpline number in India?

1930. You can also report online at cybercrime.gov.in.

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