How to Verify a Company Before You Apply
Most job scams are not airtight. With ten minutes and the right approach, most fake job listings will show you something that does not add up. Here are five steps.
Step 1: Find the Official Website Through Google — Not Through the Listing
Do not click any link in the job listing. Open a new tab. Search the company name. Find their official website from the search results — not a paid ad. Navigate there directly. Does the job appear on their careers page? If not, call the official number and ask.
Step 2: Check When the Domain Was Registered
Go to who.is and enter the company's domain. A company claiming to be established with a domain registered three months ago is a red flag. AI tools can generate convincing company websites in under an hour — the registration date is one of the few things that cannot be faked retroactively.
Step 3: Search the Company on LinkedIn
Real companies have real employees. Search the company on LinkedIn. Look at how many employees are listed. Look at whether their profiles look credible. Scam operations typically have no LinkedIn presence, or a recently created page with generated-looking profiles.
Step 4: Search Distinctive Text From the Listing
Copy a distinctive phrase — the salary figure, an unusual phrase — and paste it into Google in quotation marks. If the same text appears on multiple sites under different company names, the listing has been recycled. Also search the company name alongside 'scam' or 'fraud.'
Step 5: Trust What the Communication Style Tells You
Legitimate employers use company email addresses. They can be reached at verifiable phone numbers. They give you time to consider offers. Scammers create urgency and keep you within their controlled channels. If a recruiter resists any verification step — that resistance is significant information.
The Verification Checklist
- Find official website independently through Google
- Check domain registration date at https://who.is
- Find company on LinkedIn and check employees
- Search distinctive text in quotes for recycled listings
- Search company name + 'scam' or 'fraud'
- Confirm recruiter uses a company email, not Gmail or Yahoo
- Verify job appears on the company's official careers page
About the author
Todd Jensen spent years managing digital employment operations across Africa and South Asia, and ran a global BPO supply chain as Senior Director of Global Operations at Ancestry.com. He built isthisjobreal.org because he got tired of watching job scams hurt people who could not afford to be hurt. He hosts The World of Work podcast at theworldofwork.buzzsprout.com.
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