A text offering seasonal work can arrive faster than a real hiring process. Before sending documents, find the employer's website yourself and check whether the vacancy and recruiter can be verified through its hiring channel.
The FTC warns that job scammers can build a convincing online presence. A logo, employee name or interview conducted in chat does not establish who is on the other end.
Stop at the equipment-check request
The FTC describes a familiar trap: a supposed employer sends a check and tells the applicant to forward money or buy equipment from a designated source. The bank may initially display funds before discovering the check is fake. The applicant's outgoing payment can then come from their own money.
The FBI also warns about fake job listings seeking personal information. If an unverified recruiter asks for payment for training, supplies or a screening, pause the process and contact the real employer. Preserve the messages and listing. Report suspected fraud through the FTC or FBI reporting channels, and contact your bank promptly if you have already sent money.
Verify the recruiter independently
Keep the original message while you investigate. Record the sender's address, the job title and any application or requisition number. Then close its links and navigate to the employer's site yourself. A scammer can copy a real vacancy, so finding a matching title alone is insufficient. Ask the employer's recruiting team whether that sender is authorized and whether the requested next step matches its process.
If the supposed recruiter says the position is confidential or must be accepted immediately, the employer still needs an independent way to verify the offer. Avoid using the telephone number supplied only by the unverified message. An ordinary store may need to direct you to a central hiring office; allow time for that check.
For agency work, verify the staffing agency and the client assignment separately. A genuine store location does not prove that the person promising work there can hire on its behalf. Ask whose name will appear on the employment documents and where questions about scheduling or pay should go. Save the written answer with the offer.
Check the practical terms after the identity check
Request written terms with the pay rate, shift's start and finish, workplace address and expected number of weeks. Add travel time using the actual route available at those hours. A bus that runs during the interview may not run after a late shift. Ask whether the schedule is fixed or issued week by week, and what availability the employer requires.
Keep the advertised wage separate from any estimate of total earnings. Hours, deductions and the duration of employment affect take-home pay. An advertisement cannot promise the same result for every applicant. Request an explanation of unclear terms through the verified hiring channel.
Once the process is verified, submit sensitive onboarding information through the employer's designated secure system. Keep the confirmation and the contact for correcting an error. If the verification fails, stop using the message's links and preserve the evidence for a fraud report.
If money or personal information has already gone
The FTC's recovery instructions separate payment losses from identity theft. For a bank transfer, contact the bank immediately and ask whether it can reverse the payment. For an app payment, contact the payment service. For a gift card, keep the card and receipt and contact the issuer. None of these steps guarantees recovery, but the company that handled the transaction is the place to ask about stopping it.
If you disclosed a Social Security number, the FTC directs people to IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan when it has been misused, or its data-breach guidance when misuse is uncertain. If you entered an account password into a false onboarding site, change it, change any other account using the same password and enable two-factor authentication.
A padlock in the browser cannot settle the recruiter's identity. The FBI explicitly warns that criminals also use HTTPS. Encryption protects a connection to a website; it does not establish that the site belongs to the employer named in a message. A polished contract and secure-looking portal still require the independent employer check described above.
