Job scams cost Indian job seekers crores every year, and fraudsters target people who are actively searching. Urgent Hiring verifies recruiters on the platform, but scammers also reach candidates through calls, WhatsApp and fake emails. Learn the red flags and you become very hard to cheat.
The golden rule
Genuine recruiters never charge candidates. Not for registration, not for interview scheduling, not for documents verification, not as a refundable security deposit, not for a laptop or uniform. Any demand for money in a hiring process is a scam, full stop.
Red flags checklist
- Offer letter arrives without any interview, or after one vague WhatsApp chat.
- Salary far above market rate for the experience asked. A Rs 60,000 monthly package for a fresher data entry role is bait.
- Email from a free domain such as gmail rather than a company domain, or a domain that slightly misspells a known brand.
- Pressure and urgency: pay within two hours or lose the offer.
- Requests for OTPs, bank details, card numbers or UPI transfers.
- Work from home offers requiring you to first buy a starter kit or software licence.
- Interviews conducted entirely on chat with no voice or video contact.
- Recruiters unwilling to share a company address, website or their own full name.
How to verify an offer
- Search the company name with the word scam or fraud and check its official website careers page.
- Call the company switchboard number listed on its website, not the number the recruiter gave, and confirm the vacancy.
- Check the recruiter profile on Urgent Hiring; verified recruiters carry platform history.
If you have been targeted
Stop all contact, report the listing or recruiter through the app, and if money was paid, file a complaint at the national cybercrime portal and your bank immediately. Reporting protects the next candidate too.
