Safe Job Offer Verification Checklist

When this checklist applies

Use this safe job offer verification checklist before accepting an unexpected offer, sharing identity documents, depositing a check, buying equipment or entering bank details. Treat an offer as unverified even when the message uses a real company’s name or branding. A typical suspicious passage may read: “You have the job. Confirm today through this link to receive payment or equipment.” Examine its anatomy: the sender claims authority, the offer skips proof of hiring, the deadline creates pressure, the link controls where you respond, and the promised payoff encourages compliance.

Decision steps in order

1. Check the full sender and reply-to addresses, not only the display name. Compare their domains character by character with the employer’s official website.
2. Find the company website by typing its address yourself or using an independent search. Do not use the message’s link, phone number or recruiter profile as your only verification route.
3. Contact the employer through a phone number or email published on its official website. Ask whether the recruiter works there, the role exists and the offer was issued to you.
4. Match the claim against your application history. If you never applied, interviewed or discussed the role, require a live conversation and written confirmation from independently verified staff.
5. Inspect the pressure. Stop if the sender demands an immediate decision, discourages outside contact or moves the conversation to an unrelated account.
6. Reject any request to pay fees, purchase equipment from a specified seller, forward money, cash a check or return an overpayment. An apparent deposit does not prove that a check has cleared permanently.
7. Open employment documents only after verification. Provide tax, banking or identity information through the employer’s confirmed onboarding process, not through an unsolicited link or attachment.

If you already responded

• Stop communicating and do not send further documents or money.
• Contact your bank immediately if you paid, deposited a check or disclosed account details.
• Change reused passwords and enable multifactor authentication.
• Report the account and preserve messages, headers, receipts and job documents for fraud reporting.

Most common warning signals

• The sender and reply-to addresses use different or mismatched domains.
• The offer arrives without a completed application or interview process.
• The sender pressures you to accept or respond immediately.
• A link directs you to submit identity, tax or banking information before independent verification.
• The recruiter asks you to pay fees, buy equipment, deposit a check or return money.
• The sender resists verification through the employer’s published contact details.

What to do now

1. Stop replying and do not open the recruiter’s links or attachments.
2. Verify the role and recruiter through contact details on the employer’s official website.
3. Refuse payments, equipment purchases, check deposits and money-forwarding requests.
4. Contact your bank immediately if money or account information was involved.
5. Change exposed or reused passwords and enable multifactor authentication.
6. Preserve the offer, message headers, documents and transaction records.

Sources

• consumer.ftc.gov
• www.manpowergroup.co.uk
• www.evz.de
• www.which.co.uk
• cybernews.com

Further reading

• Safe Marketplace Transaction Checklist for Families
• Safe Marketplace Transaction Checklist
• 7 Deepfake Scam Warning Signs Before You Pay

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