Startup job scams and red flags: how to tell a fake posting from a bad one from a good one

Two different problems hide behind "is this job real?": outright fraud, which is designed to take your money or identity, and legitimate companies with terms you shouldn't accept. Both are worth ten minutes of checking.

Outright scams

The messaging-app recruiter. A first contact on WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal from a "recruiter" for a company you didn't apply to, offering a role with vague duties and excellent pay. Real recruiters email from company domains, reference a specific role, and are findable on the company's site or LinkedIn. Nobody legitimate starts a hiring process on Telegram.

Pay-to-apply, pay-to-train, pay-for-equipment. Any request that money moves from you to them — a "registration fee", "background-check fee", "training kit", "laptop deposit" — is fraud. Employers pay you. There are no exceptions.

The cheque and the refund. You are hired remotely, sent a cheque or transfer to "buy equipment from our approved vendor", and asked to forward part of it. The original payment bounces days later; the money you forwarded is gone. This one is old and still works because the first payment looks real.

The task-and-deposit "job". Short "data entry" or "product rating" tasks that pay small sums, then require a deposit to unlock higher-paying tasks. The deposit is the product. Often crypto-based, often on Telegram.

Identity harvesting. A slick application form that asks for your passport number, bank details or national ID before any interview. Real companies collect these at onboarding, after a signed offer, through a payroll system — never in the application form.

Company impersonation. A posting on a legitimate board using a real company's name and logo with an apply link to a look-alike domain. Check that the apply link and the recruiter's email match the company's real domain; go to the careers page directly and see if the role exists there.

If you've already sent money or documents: contact your bank immediately, report to the platform where the contact began, and to your country's fraud-reporting service (Action Fraud in the UK, the FTC in the US, the cybercrime portal in India, and so on).

Red flags in real companies

These aren't fraud, but they're terms you should think hard about.

Commission-only or "performance-based" pay for a role that isn't senior sales. Base salary is what makes it a job.

Unpaid trial periods. A paid, time-boxed take-home is normal. Working for free for a week "to see if it's a fit" is not, and in most countries isn't legal either.

Equity-only or mostly-equity offers from a company that hasn't raised money. Occasionally right for a co-founder; almost never for an employee. Read how startup equity works and value it at zero when deciding whether you can afford the job.

The salary range that disappears. A range on the posting, then "we don't discuss compensation until the final stage." Ask for it at the screening call. Featured roles on this board must state one.

The description that could be any company. No product named, no team size, no location line, no manager described. Either the posting is a placeholder for a pipeline or it's a shell. Ask who you'd report to.

Interviewing that never ends. Five rounds, then a second take-home, then a "culture" panel, for a mid-level role at a thirty-person company. Some companies genuinely can't decide; you don't have to wait for them.

Pressure to sign in 24 hours. Exploding offers exist and are occasionally legitimate, but a startup that won't give you three days to read a contract is showing you how it treats people.

A five-minute check for any posting

1. Does the role exist on the company's own careers page?
2. Does the recruiter's email match the company domain?
3. Can you find the interviewer on LinkedIn with a history at the company?
4. Is there a salary range, a location line and a named product?
5. Has any money been requested from you at any point?

Five yes answers to the first four and a no to the fifth: proceed. Otherwise, close the tab. There are more roles.