Job offers you didn't apply for: job and task scams

A WhatsApp message offers £300 a day for "simple online tasks". A recruiter emails about a remote role you never applied for. A "job" asks you to pay for training, a DBS check or a work laptop. Recruitment scams are now among the most reported scams in the UK, and they target students, graduates and anyone looking for flexible work.

The main types

Task scams

You're asked to "like" videos, rate apps, review products or "optimise" listings. A dashboard shows your earnings growing, and the first small withdrawal actually works, which is the hook. Then you're told you need to deposit your own money to "unlock" higher-paid tasks or release your earnings. Each deposit leads to another. The earnings were never real. Many of these are run by organised groups using scripted chat "managers", often on Telegram or WhatsApp.

Advance fee job scams

The job is real-sounding and the interview may happen on a messaging app. Before you start you must pay for a background check, training, uniform, visa processing or equipment, "refunded in your first pay". There is no job.

Money mule "jobs"

"Financial agent", "payment processor", "receive and forward funds for a commission". You'd be laundering stolen money through your own bank account. It's a crime, even if you didn't know, and it can close your bank accounts and give you a criminal record. See money mules.

Identity theft via "applications"

A fake application form asks for your passport, National Insurance number, bank details for "payroll" and a selfie. That's everything needed to open accounts in your name.

Fake cheque or overpayment "employers"

You're "paid" more than agreed and asked to send the difference on, or to buy equipment from a specific supplier. The original payment bounces later.

Warning signs

• You didn't apply, and they contacted you on WhatsApp, Telegram or text.
• High pay for little work, no experience needed, start today.
• No proper interview, or one entirely by chat.
• You have to pay anything, deposit anything, or buy anything first.
• You're asked to use your own bank account to receive or move money.
• You're asked to keep it quiet or to recruit friends.
• The email address doesn't match the company's real domain, or the recruiter's profile is brand new with few connections.

How to check a job is real

• Go to the company's own website, found by searching, not through the link you were sent, and look for the vacancy and the published contact details. Phone and ask.
• Check the company exists on Companies House and that the role, pay and location make sense for it.
• Search the company name plus "scam" and the recruiter's name.
• Never send ID documents until you've had a genuine interview and verified the employer. Real employers check ID at or after an offer, in person or through a verified process, not over WhatsApp.

If it's happened to you

Last reviewed: October 2026