Fake Offer Letter and Joining Fee Scam over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

On a call the pressure is live: no time to read, no time to check, and a rule that you must not tell anyone. Fake Offer Letter and Joining Fee Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A fake offer letter from a known company asks for a joining, laptop or training deposit. Real employers do not collect fees from selected candidates.

What fake offer letter and joining fee scam looks like over the phone

• A calm, official voice that already knows your name or the last digits of your card.
• Being told to stay on the line and not to tell your family.
• Instructions to install a screen-sharing app or to press keys on the phone.

The scammer collects phone numbers and emails from job portals or posts a fake vacancy. A 'recruiter' invites you for a short chat interview on a messaging app, which is brief and easy. The offer letter follows within a day, with a company logo, an employee code and a signed paragraph. The speed is a clue, as real hiring involves several rounds and checks.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• An offer arrives after a short chat interview.
• A deposit is demanded for a laptop or kit.
• The email domain is a free service or a lookalike name.
• The payment account is in a different name from the company.
• You are asked to move money to a "safe account".
• You are told to keep the call secret.

What to do

1. Do not pay any fee for a job.
2. Find the company's careers page yourself and check if the role is listed.
3. Contact the company's official HR contact, not the one in the letter.
4. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).
5. Hang up. A real bank or office will not mind that you call them back.
6. Call the bank or office on the number printed on your card, bill or official app, not on a number the caller gave.

Report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility). If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 if you paid, giving the account details.
2. Tell your bank through the number on your card so it can try to hold the transfer.
3. File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in with the offer letter, emails and receipts.
4. Watch for misuse of any ID documents you sent.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio Sentinel's scam check reads the email or chat text you paste and shows reasons such as a deposit for a job, a same-day deadline and requests for identity documents. The link check helps you look at a careers page address before opening it. Money Shield prompts you to verify who you are paying. It cannot confirm whether a company made an offer, so check through the company's own official contacts.

Full guide: Fake Offer Letter and Joining Fee Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: email, WhatsApp.

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