Job-offer message checker
Paste a recruiter message or job offer to review it for common scam warning signs involving payments, fake checks, urgency, suspicious interviews, and requests for sensitive information.
Check a suspicious message →Free community resource kit
Help job seekers recognize scams before they respond
Free browser-based tools and a printable safety handout for schools, libraries, workforce offices, career centers, and community organizations.
Schools and colleges
Libraries
Career centers
Workforce offices
Community organizations
Free OfferSentry tools
Practical safety resources for job seekers
Each resource is free to use, requires no OfferSentry account, and encourages users to verify employers through independently located contact information.
Recruiter and domain checker
Compare a recruiter’s email address, company website, and job-posting URL for domain mismatches and possible lookalike warning signs.
Compare the domains →Job Scam Safety Checklist
Work through 24 warning signs covering recruiter identity, interviews, payments, equipment purchases, links, personal information, and independent verification.
Open the safety checklist →Job scam report builder
Organize recruiter details, suspicious messages, payment requests, warning signs, and preserved evidence into a private incident summary.
Organize the evidence →Designed with privacy in mind
OfferSentry does not require users to create an account. The Job Scam Safety Checklist does not upload or store a user’s selections. The current message checker processes pasted text inside the user’s browser rather than sending it to an OfferSentry database. Users should still remove unnecessary personal information before entering or sharing an example anywhere online.
How organizations can use this kit
A supplemental resource—not a replacement for professional help
Link to the resource
Add this page to a career-services website, student portal, library resource list, newsletter, or job-search safety page.
Share the handout
Print or save the one-page handout below for workshops, advising appointments, classrooms, computer labs, and community bulletin boards.
Encourage independent verification
Remind job seekers that no automated result proves an offer is safe. Employers and recruiters should always be verified separately.
Before You Accept: Job-Scam Safety Check
Pause and verify an employer before sending money, depositing a check, clicking unfamiliar links, or sharing sensitive information.
Major warning signs
- You never applied for the position.
- The pay is unusually high for simple work.
- The interview happens only by text or messaging app.
- You are hired immediately without a meaningful interview.
- The recruiter uses a personal or lookalike email domain.
- You receive a check and must purchase equipment.
- You must pay, buy cryptocurrency, or send gift cards.
- Sensitive information is requested before verification.
- You are pressured to act before researching the offer.
Verify independently
- Find the company’s official website yourself.
- Confirm the job appears on its official careers page.
- Compare the recruiter’s email domain with the real website.
- Contact the company using information you found independently.
- Refuse checks, payment requests, gift cards, and cryptocurrency.
- Do not share passwords or verification codes.
- Discuss the offer with someone you trust.
Never pay to receive a job, unlock wages, continue tasks, or purchase
equipment from a vendor selected by an unverified recruiter.
If you already responded
- Stop communicating and save the evidence.
- Contact your bank or payment provider immediately if you paid.
- Change exposed or reused passwords.
- Never provide a verification code.
- Visit IdentityTheft.gov if identity information was exposed.
Free OfferSentry tools
Message checker: offersentry.com
Recruiter checker: offersentry.com/tools/recruiter-checker
Safety checklist: offersentry.com/tools/job-scam-checklist
Evidence organizer: offersentry.com/tools/job-scam-report-builder
Recruiter checker: offersentry.com/tools/recruiter-checker
Safety checklist: offersentry.com/tools/job-scam-checklist
Evidence organizer: offersentry.com/tools/job-scam-report-builder
Prepared by OfferSentry · offersentry.com
Educational information only. No checklist or automated result can prove that a job offer is legitimate or fraudulent.
Educational information only. No checklist or automated result can prove that a job offer is legitimate or fraudulent.
Official reporting and recovery resources
Where job seekers can get additional help
Federal Trade Commission
Read official job-scam guidance and learn common warning signs.
Read FTC guidance ↗ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Report fraud, scams, and deceptive business practices to the FTC.
Report fraud ↗IdentityTheft.gov
Get recovery steps if personal or identity information was exposed.
Start a recovery plan ↗Questions or partnership inquiries
Help us make these resources more useful
Contact OfferSentry with accessibility feedback, correction requests, workshop ideas, or questions about sharing these materials.