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How to avoid fake job offers

Scammers target people looking for work abroad. These rules protect your money and your documents.

Three rules

  1. 1Never pay a fee before you have a signed contract. Real employers don't charge for a job.
  2. 2Never travel on a tourist or visit visa to work. That is illegal work: fines, deportation and an entry ban.
  3. 3Never hand your passport to anyone except government officials.

Signs of a fake job offer

  • They ask for money before a contract: a 'registration fee', 'visa payment', 'reserved place', 'training' or a 'medical check' through a middleman.
  • Too good to be true: a high salary with no interview, no experience and no language, leaving 'next week'.
  • They only talk on Telegram or WhatsApp, and write from a personal address (gmail.com) instead of a company one.
  • They want a scan of your passport before any interview, or offer to 'hold' your passport.
  • They tell you to travel on a tourist or visit visa and 'sort out the papers there'.
  • The agency can't show a licence or name the employer.

How to check an employer

  • Open the company's website yourself, not from a link in a message, and check the job is listed there.
  • Emails should come from the company's domain, such as [email protected].
  • For the UK: look the employer up in the official sponsor register (link below). Even if they are listed, the job posting itself says whether that job is sponsored.
  • Ask for the contract in a language you understand, and read it before you travel.

Official websites