Fake job adverts target people who need work most. They promise good pay for little experience, then ask for money or personal details. Knowing the warning signs keeps your money and identity safe.
Warning signs
- You are asked to pay: for training, a uniform, a medical test, a “registration fee” or to “secure” the post. Real employers do not charge applicants, and recruitment agencies are not allowed to charge work-seekers either.
- The interview happens only over WhatsApp or Telegram, or the offer comes without any interview at all.
- The salary is far above what similar jobs pay, for no experience.
- Contact comes from a free email address that does not match the company’s website.
- They want your ID number, bank details or a copy of your ID before any formal offer.
- You are pressured to decide or pay today.
How to check an employer
- Find the company’s own website and phone the switchboard to ask whether the post exists.
- Search the company name with the word “scam”.
- Check that the company is registered using the CIPC company search.
- National and provincial government posts are published in the DPSA Public Service Vacancy Circular and on department websites, and applying is free. Municipalities and state-owned companies advertise on their own websites.
Protect your details: a CV only needs your name, phone, email and town. See what personal details to put on a CV.
Act fast: if it happened to you, stop all contact, phone your bank’s fraud line straight away if you shared card or banking details, apply for free protective registration with the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) if you shared your ID, and report the fraud at your nearest police station.