A "company" on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Internshala sends you an internship offer. After an easy "interview", they ask for a registration fee (₹500–₹5,000) for "training materials", "ID cards", or "background verification". You pay — they vanish or ghost you after providing worthless PDFs.
Key Red Flag: No legitimate company ever charges a candidate to hire them. This applies to every company, every role, every sector — no exceptions.
Verify: Search the company on MCA (mca.gov.in). Look for real employees on LinkedIn. Call the official number on the company website — not the number in the offer letter.
"Earn ₹15,000–₹30,000/month typing from home. No experience needed." These ads appear on WhatsApp groups, Telegram, Facebook, and job portals. They require a "security deposit" or "software fee" upfront. After payment, the "work" is either meaningless filler tasks that pay nothing, or you're simply blocked.
Reality Check: Legitimate remote work never requires you to purchase software or pay a deposit. If you're asked to pay before starting work — it's a scam.
An email arrives from "TCS-HR@gmail.com" or "careers.infosys-india.com" offering a high-paying job with immediate joining. The PDF letter looks professional. They ask for your bank details "for salary processing" or Aadhaar/PAN for "background verification" — before you've even had a real interview.
Spot the Fake: Real MNCs use their own domain email (e.g., @tcs.com, not @gmail.com). They never ask for bank details before onboarding. Always apply only through official company career pages.
Verify: Call the company's official HR number. Search the exact email domain on WHOIS. If the domain is less than 90 days old — guaranteed fake.
WhatsApp messages or website ads offering jobs in Dubai, Canada, or Singapore with "visa processing assistance". They collect ₹10,000–₹50,000 as "visa fees" or "processing charges" and disappear — leaving victims with no job and huge losses.
Rule: Visa fees are paid directly to embassies/consulates — never to a recruiter. Legitimate overseas recruiters registered with MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) never collect visa fees directly.