How to Check Whether a Job Offer Is Genuine
Short answer: Verify that the company exists independently of anything the recruiter gave you, insist on a written offer letter stating role, salary and terms, and confirm the person contacting you actually works there. Treat any request for payment, or for original documents, as a reason to stop and check.
Job fraud works by moving quickly and discouraging checks. Every step below is designed to slow things down slightly, which is usually all it takes.
Step 1 — Verify the company independently
The key word is independently. Do not use the phone number, website or email address you were given — a fraudulent operation supplies its own.
- Search the company name yourself
- Find their official website through that search, not a link you were sent
- Call the number on that website and ask whether the role exists
- Check the address actually exists and corresponds to a business
Watch the email domain. A genuine offer from a company usually comes from a company address, not a free webmail account. Check for near-miss spellings of a real company’s domain — this is a common technique.
Step 2 — Verify the person
Ask for their full name and designation. Then call the company’s main number, found independently, and ask to be put through.
A real recruiter will have no difficulty with this. A fraudulent one will discourage it.
Step 3 — Insist on a written offer
A genuine offer letter states:
- Your name and the job title
- Salary, and how it is structured — fixed, incentive, allowances
- Place of work
- Reporting line
- Joining date
- Probation period and notice period
- The company’s name, letterhead and a signature
If any of that is missing, ask for it in writing before you resign from anything.
Step 4 — Apply the payment rule
No legitimate employer asks a candidate to pay to be employed.
Not for training, not for a security deposit, not for document processing, not for a laptop, not for a background check, not as a “refundable” amount.
This single rule prevents the large majority of job fraud. There is no exception worth making for a convincing story.
Step 5 — Check the offer makes sense
- Is the salary plausible for the role? Considerably above the norm is a warning, not a windfall.
- Did they interview you properly? An offer after a two-minute chat, or with no interview at all, is not how genuine hiring works.
- Does the role match your background? A senior offer to a candidate with no relevant experience deserves scepticism.
- Were you rushed? Urgency is the most reliable indicator across every variety of this fraud.
Step 6 — Be careful what you send
Before an offer, an employer needs your CV. They do not need your bank details, your Aadhaar number, a photograph of your PAN card, or your original certificates.
Bank details are legitimately needed after you accept, for salary. If they are requested earlier — particularly alongside anything that mentions a transfer to you — stop.
Specific patterns seen locally
The interview that is only on a messaging app. Some remote hiring genuinely happens this way, but combined with an immediate offer and a fee request, it is a common pattern.
The offer that arrives from a well-known company you never applied to. Verify through that company’s own published contact details.
The consultancy that will not name the employer even at interview stage.
The “registration fee to access vacancies”. Paying for access to a list is not recruitment.
If you have already paid
Stop any further payment immediately. Keep every message, receipt and document. Report it to the local police and to the national cybercrime portal. Tell others — these operations rely on people being too embarrassed to speak up.
Read our guides on identifying a genuine consultancy and avoiding fake job offers.
Key takeaways
- Verify the employer using contact details you find yourself, not ones you were sent.
- A genuine offer is in writing and states role, salary, location and joining date.
- No legitimate employer requires payment to release an offer.
- An offer for a job you never applied for deserves particular suspicion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a genuine offer letter contain?
Your name, the job title, the salary and its structure, the place of work, the reporting line, the joining date, and the terms of employment including probation and notice. It should be on company letterhead and signed. Anything missing these basics is not yet an offer you can rely on.
I received a job offer without applying. Is it real?
It can be, if a recruiter found your CV on a portal or through a consultancy you registered with. But unsolicited offers are also the most common form of job fraud. Verify independently before engaging, and be especially careful if it arrives by message, promises unusually high pay, or asks for a payment.
The company is asking for a security deposit. Is that normal?
No. Legitimate employers do not ask candidates for security deposits, training fees, document processing charges or refundable payments of any kind as a condition of employment. Whatever the explanation offered, treat this as the point to stop.