Employment Connections
The people most eager for a job are the ones scammers look for
Fake job offers target people who are anxious to start working: a message offering easy work from home, an offer letter with no interview, an agent promising a job abroad for a fee. This session explains how these schemes work, how to check an employer in a few minutes, and exactly what to do if someone has already paid or shared their details.
Explore this page6 sections
A genuine employer does not charge you to work for them.
Job scams work because they arrive when people are most hopeful and least suspicious. They often borrow the name of a real company, use an official-looking letter, and move fast, so that the target pays before thinking. Some start by paying small amounts for simple online tasks to build trust, then ask for a larger deposit.
Most of these schemes share a few signs that are easy to learn. Teaching them takes one session, and it protects not only the people in the room but the friends and family they pass it on to.
What the session covers
38 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, from recognising a scam to reporting one. 6 apply to almost any business; the rest only in a particular case.
Common PatternsThe shapes these schemes usually take.6
- A fee for registration, training, a uniform, a laptop or a security deposit
- An offer letter with no real interview
- Online “task” jobs: liking, rating or reviewing for small payments, then a demand for a deposit
- Messages impersonating a known company or a government department
- Overseas jobs through unregistered agents
- Work-from-home data entry with a charge to start
Warning Signs in the MessageMost scams give themselves away early.6
- Pay far above what the work would normally earn
- Contact only on WhatsApp or Telegram
- An email from a free personal address rather than a company domain
- Pressure to decide or pay today
- Requests for OTPs, bank logins or card details
- Payment asked to a personal UPI ID or account
Any request for money to get, keep or start a job is reason enough to stop.
Checking an EmployerA few minutes before you reply.6
- Find the company's official website independently, not from the link in the message
- Check whether the job appears on the company's own careers page
- Call the company on a number from its official website
- Check that the recruiter's name and email match the company
- Look up a registered company's basic details on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website
- Search the company name with the word “fraud” or “scam”
Jobs AbroadIf it appliesWhere the stakes are highest.5
- Recruiting agents for overseas jobs must be registered under the Emigration Act, 1983
- Check the agent in the list of active recruiting agents on emigrate.gov.in
- A registered agent displays its registration number
- Never hand over your passport to an unverified agent
- Be wary of visit or tourist visas offered for a job
Protecting Your DocumentsPersonal details are worth money to a fraudster.5
- Never share an OTP with anyone
- Do not send identity documents before a verified offer
- Use a masked Aadhaar where one is accepted
- Do not install remote-access apps at a recruiter's request
- Do not open bank accounts or receive money on someone else's behalf
Letting someone use your bank account to move money can make you part of a crime, even if you were promised it was a job.
If It Has Already HappenedSpeed matters, and so does not paying again.6
- Stop all payments and communication
- Call the National Cyber Crime Helpline, 1930, as soon as possible if money was lost
- Report it at cybercrime.gov.in
- Tell your bank or payment app immediately
- Keep screenshots, phone numbers, transaction IDs and the offer letter
- Ignore anyone offering to recover the money for a fee
Being deceived is not a reason for shame. Reporting quickly gives the best chance of action.
Helping OthersOne warning in a group chat can save several people.4
- Tell the placement cell or the organisation you trust
- Warn friends and family who are also job hunting
- Report suspicious calls and messages on Chakshu, under the government's Sanchar Saathi portal
- Remember that GullyFuture never charges job seekers anything
A quick check before replying
- Did I apply for this, or did it find me?
- Is anybody asking me for money?
- Is the email from the company's own domain?
- Can I find this job on the company's official website?
- Is somebody rushing me?
Where to report in India
- National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: cybercrime.gov.in
- Your bank or payment app's fraud line
- Chakshu on sancharsaathi.gov.in, for fraudulent calls and messages
- The local police station
How the session runs
A facilitator walks through realistic examples of fake offers, made up for the session rather than copied from real victims, and participants mark the warning signs in each. They then practise checking an employer together, and the session ends with the exact steps to take if money or documents have already been handed over. Participants are free to ask privately about an offer they have received.
What your students leave with
- The common patterns of job and recruitment fraud
- Warning signs that show up in the first message
- A quick way to check whether an employer and recruiter are real
- What not to share before a genuine offer exists
- What to do in the first hours if money has been lost
- Where to report, and how to help others avoid the same trap
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
If you have to pay to get the job, it is not a job.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.