Is this job posting fake?

Stop immediately for these red flags

• They ask you to pay. Legitimate employers do not require applicants to buy gift cards, send crypto, or pay to unlock a job.
• They send a check for equipment. Fake-check scams often ask you to deposit money and forward part of it before the bank discovers the check is worthless.
• The offer arrives before a real interview. A rushed text-only interview followed by instant hiring is a major warning.
• The sender uses a lookalike or personal domain. Verify the address character by character and contact the company through its official website.
• They request sensitive identity or banking information too early. Do not send Social Security, bank, or ID details to an unverified recruiter.

Then verify the role itself

1. Find the employer's official careers page independently, not through the message link.
2. Search the exact job title and a distinctive sentence from the description.
3. Compare the location, salary, responsibilities, and recruiter details across sources.
4. Check whether the posting has remained open or been repeatedly reposted for months.
5. Look for recent evidence that the team or company is actually hiring.

What a credible process usually includes

A credible process normally gives you time to verify the organization, uses company-controlled communication, explains the interview stages, and does not pressure you to move money. Even then, confirm the role independently.

Official consumer guidance

The Federal Trade Commission recommends independently contacting the company, searching the recruiter or company name with words such as “scam” or “complaint,” and never paying for the promise of a job. See the FTC job scams guide and its warning about impersonated recruiters.