Fake Overseas Job Offers: A Step-by-Step Guide to Verify Before You Pay

Right now, someone in Lagos, Karachi, Dhaka, or Manila is sending money to a stranger who promised them a job in Dubai, London, or Toronto. That job does not exist. The company does not exist. The recruiter will vanish within days, and the victim will have lost months or years of savings.

Fake job offers abroad are not a niche problem. The International Labour Organization estimates that millions of migrant workers are deceived by fraudulent recruitment every year. These overseas job scams destroy lives, drain family savings, and in the worst cases, lead people into forced labor or trafficking situations.

This guide will show you exactly how these scams work, how to verify any foreign employer step by step, and what legitimate recruitment actually looks like.

How Fake Overseas Recruitment Works

Understanding the playbook is your first line of defense. Scammers follow predictable patterns, and once you recognise them, they lose their power.

Social Media Ads and Sponsored Posts

Scammers run paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok targeting people in developing countries. These ads feature stock photos of luxury offices or screenshots of "successful placements," promoting jobs in the Gulf, Europe, or North America with salaries that seem life-changing. The ads lead to WhatsApp numbers or unofficial websites where the scam begins.

WhatsApp and Telegram Groups

Fraudulent recruiters create groups with names like "Canada Jobs 2026," "Dubai Hiring Now," or "UK Visa Sponsorship Jobs." They populate these groups with fake testimonials and planted members who praise the recruiter. New members are approached privately with "exclusive" job opportunities.

Fake Recruitment Agencies

Some scammers operate physical offices with letterheads, business cards, and fake government certificates on the wall. They conduct interviews, issue offer letters, and process payments through company bank accounts. The sophistication is deliberate because it makes verification seem unnecessary.

Email and Cold Outreach

You receive an unsolicited email congratulating you on being selected for a position you never applied for. The email contains an official-looking offer letter and instructions to pay a "visa processing fee" or "security deposit."

Common Scam Patterns You Must Recognise

Every overseas job scam shares certain characteristics. If you spot even one of these, stop and verify everything before proceeding.

You are asked to pay money. This is the single biggest red flag. Legitimate employers do not charge candidates for jobs, visas, or work permits. In most destination countries, it is illegal for employers to deduct recruitment costs from workers. If someone asks you to pay for your own job, it is a scam.

The job found you, not the other way around. Real employers recruit through official channels: job portals, licensed agencies, and company websites. If a job opportunity arrives unsolicited through WhatsApp or a Facebook message, be extremely cautious.

Communication uses personal email accounts. The recruiter emails from a Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook address rather than a corporate domain. A real company will use jobs@companyname.com, not companyname.hiring2026@gmail.com.

The salary is unrealistically high. If a warehouse job in the UK is offering GBP 5,000 per month, or an entry-level admin role in Dubai pays AED 25,000, the numbers do not reflect reality.

There is intense time pressure. Phrases like "only 3 spots left," "pay within 24 hours," and "visa quota closing this week" are designed to prevent you from doing due diligence.

The interview process is unusually simple. A brief WhatsApp call or no interview at all, and suddenly you have a job offer abroad. Legitimate international recruitment involves multiple rounds, skills verification, and reference checks.

Documents look slightly off. Offer letters contain grammar errors, incorrect registration numbers, or mismatched logos. Compare any document against the company's actual branding on their official website.

Your Step-by-Step Verification Checklist

Before you pay a single cent or hand over any personal documents, complete every step on this list.

Step 1: Verify the Company Exists

Search for the company on the official business registry of the country where the job is located. Every legitimate company is registered with a government body.

• UK: Search Companies House at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
• UAE: Check the Dubai Economy and Tourism (DET) commercial licence database or search MOHRE at mohre.gov.ae
• Saudi Arabia: Verify through the Ministry of Commerce at mc.gov.sa
• Canada: Search the federal corporations database at ised-isde.canada.ca/cc/lgcy/fdrlCrpSrch.html or the relevant provincial registry
• Australia: Search the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) at asic.gov.au
• Germany: Check the Handelsregister (commercial register) at handelsregister.de

If the company does not appear in the official registry, the job offer is almost certainly fake.

Step 2: Google the Company Thoroughly

Search for the company name along with terms like "scam," "fraud," and "reviews." Check their LinkedIn company page: how many employees are listed, and do they have real profiles? Check when the website domain was registered using a WHOIS lookup tool. A company claiming 15 years of operation but whose website was created three months ago is a clear warning sign.

Step 3: Check Government Job Portals

Many destination countries maintain official portals where you can verify whether a specific vacancy or employer is legitimate.

• Saudi Arabia: The Ministry of Labor portal (mol.gov.sa) lets you verify employer records. The Musaned platform (musaned.com.sa) is the official domestic labor recruitment portal.
• UAE: MOHRE at mohre.gov.ae provides employer verification and contract authentication. You can verify job offers and check company status directly.
• UK: The Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors at gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers lists every employer authorized to sponsor Skilled Worker visas. If they are not on it, they cannot legally sponsor you.
• Australia: The Fair Work Ombudsman (fairwork.gov.au) covers employer obligations. Check the list of approved sponsors through the Department of Home Affairs.
• Canada: Check Job Bank at jobbank.gc.ca for legitimate postings and IRCC for employers with positive Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs).
• Qatar: The Ministry of Labour portal at mol.gov.qa provides official recruitment and visa verification.
• Kuwait: The Public Authority for Manpower (manpower.gov.kw) maintains employer verification services.

Step 4: Verify the Recruiter's Licence

Recruitment agencies that place workers overseas must hold a government licence. Ask for the licence number and verify it independently.

• Philippines: Department of Migrant Workers (dmw.gov.ph) lists licensed agencies.
• India: Protector General of Emigrants (emigrate.gov.in) lists registered agents.
• Pakistan: Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (beoe.gov.pk) publishes licensed promoters.
• Nigeria: Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment maintains records of licensed recruiters.
• Bangladesh: Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (bmet.gov.bd) lists licensed agencies.

If a recruiter cannot provide a verifiable licence number, do not proceed.

Step 5: Never Pay for a Job

This rule has no exceptions. A legitimate employer covers recruitment costs, visa fees, and work permit expenses. The ILO's Fair Recruitment Initiative is built on the principle that workers should never be charged. If you are asked to pay for any of the following, you are being scammed:

• Visa processing fees
• Work permit costs
• Training or certification fees
• Security deposits
• Agency service charges
• "Guarantee" payments

Step 6: Demand an Official Contract

A legitimate job offer comes with a formal employment contract specifying your role, salary, working hours, leave, and accommodation. In Gulf countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, this contract must be attested by the Ministry of Labour. If you are not provided with an attested contract before departure, do not travel.

Step 7: Contact the Embassy

If you still have doubts after completing the steps above, contact the embassy or consulate of the destination country. They can often confirm whether a company is authorized to recruit foreign workers.

Legitimate vs. Scam Recruitment: A Comparison

Use this table as a quick reference when evaluating any overseas job opportunity.

Feature	Legitimate Recruitment	Scam Recruitment
Who pays fees	Employer pays all recruitment and visa costs	Candidate is asked to pay upfront fees
How they contact you	Through official job portals, licensed agencies, or company careers pages	Unsolicited WhatsApp messages, social media DMs, or random emails
Email addresses	Corporate domain (name@company.com)	Personal email (company.hr2026@gmail.com)
Interview process	Multiple rounds, skills testing, reference checks	Brief WhatsApp call or no interview at all
Employment contract	Formal, government-attested contract provided before departure	No contract, or a vague document with missing details
Recruiter credentials	Licensed and verifiable with government regulatory body	No licence, or provides a fake number that cannot be verified
Salary offered	Realistic for the role and market	Inflated well above market rates
Timeline pressure	Reasonable timeline with multiple stages	"Pay now or lose the opportunity"
Company verification	Company appears in government business registries and has established online presence	Company cannot be found in registries, website is newly created
Government attestation	Documents attested through official channels	No mention of attestation or government involvement

What Legitimate Recruitment Actually Looks Like

Understanding the real process makes it much easier to spot fakes. Here is what happens when a legitimate employer hires a foreign worker:

The employer initiates and pays. The company engages a licensed recruitment agency or advertises through official channels, and bears the full cost of recruitment. In the Gulf states, the employer pays the agency fee, covers visa and medical costs, and often provides an airline ticket.

There are multiple verification stages. Legitimate recruitment involves document verification, skills testing, medical examinations, and background checks. This process takes weeks or months, not days.

Contracts are government-attested. In Saudi Arabia, the employment contract must be uploaded to Musaned and approved by the Ministry of Human Resources. In the UAE, the contract is registered with MOHRE. In the UK, the employer must hold a valid sponsor licence and issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

You deal with official systems, not individuals. Visa applications go through government portals, not WhatsApp. Fees are paid directly to the government, never to an intermediary's personal bank account.

The timeline is measured in weeks and months. From interview to visa issuance typically takes two to six months. If someone promises a visa in a week, they are not being honest.

What to Do If You Suspect a Scam

If you encounter a suspicious job offer, take these steps immediately:

1. Stop all communication and payment. Do not send any more money, regardless of what the scammer says.
2. Save all evidence. Screenshot conversations, save emails, keep receipts, and record phone numbers.
3. Report to your local authorities. File a complaint with your country's cybercrime unit or fraud investigation body.
4. Report to the destination country. If the scam involves a specific country, report it to that country's embassy in your location.
5. Warn your community. Share your experience in trusted forums and community groups so others can avoid the same trap.
6. Contact your bank. If you have already made a payment, contact your bank immediately to attempt a reversal or freeze.

Protect Yourself With NextMigrate

The desire to build a better life abroad is not something scammers should be allowed to exploit. NextMigrate helps migrants navigate the international job market through verified, transparent channels. We connect you with licensed recruiters, legitimate employers, and official immigration pathways. If you have received a job offer and are not sure whether it is real, reach out to our team for a second opinion before you pay anything. Your savings are worth protecting, and your future deserves a legitimate path forward.