A few weeks into my job search, I got an email that felt like exactly what I'd been waiting for. Fast process, friendly tone, decent stipend mentioned upfront, role that matched my skills. I was ready to reply immediately.
Then I read the next paragraph: a "small registration fee" was required before onboarding could begin.
I almost paid it. The amount wasn't large — that's by design. Here's what stopped me, what I found when I looked closer, and what I check now before engaging with any company I haven't heard of before.
Red flag #1: Fee-for-internship / registration charges
This is the clearest signal, and the one most freshers miss because the framing varies. Sometimes it's a "registration fee." Sometimes it's a "training deposit." Sometimes it's "equipment security" or "background check processing." The amount is usually small enough to feel reasonable — ₹500 to ₹2000 in most cases I've seen.
The principle is simple: legitimate companies pay you to work for them. They don't charge you to start. If any fee is involved at any stage — before joining, during onboarding, as a "refundable deposit" — stop the conversation. No real company works this way.
Training costs are the company's investment in you. Asking you to fund that investment before you've earned a rupee is not a business model — it's a scam.
Red flag #2: A domain that's barely a month old
The company that emailed me claimed to have been operating for "5+ years." I did a WHOIS lookup on their domain. It had been registered 47 days before they contacted me.
WHOIS lookups are free and take 30 seconds. Go to whois.domaintools.com and type in the company's domain. The "Registration Date" field tells you when the domain was first registered. A company claiming years of operation with a two-month-old domain has a problem it can't explain away.
Bonus check: look at the email domain itself. An offer from
hr@companyname.com is different from
hiring.companyname.careers@gmail.com. Legitimate
companies use their own domain for recruitment emails.
Gmail/Yahoo/Outlook addresses for "official" HR communication
are a red flag.
Red flag #3: Address that doesn't exist
The offer letter had a professional-looking address — building name, floor number, city, PIN code. I searched it on Google Maps. The building existed. The company did not appear to occupy it. In one case, the address was for a residential apartment complex.
Search the exact address from the offer letter. Look at Street View if it's available. Search the building name + company name together. If the company claims an office at a specific location, there should be some evidence they're actually there — a listing, a review, something. Nothing is a red flag.
Red flag #4: Urgency and pressure
Scam offers almost always include time pressure. "Please confirm within 24 hours." "This offer expires tomorrow." "We have limited seats for this batch."
Real companies want good candidates. Good candidates take time to make decisions. A company that gives you 24 hours to accept a job offer — especially one that requires payment — is trying to stop you from doing the basic checks that would reveal the scam. The urgency is a feature of the con, not a sign of a desirable opportunity.
Red flag #5: The interview was too easy
Most scam operations don't run real interviews. Why would they? They're not actually hiring. Some send a Google Form with 5 questions. Some do a 10-minute video call that's really just a pitch for the "role." Some skip the interview entirely and send an offer letter directly after you submit your resume.
If a company sent you an offer without a real technical evaluation, ask yourself why. Either your skills are so impressive they hired you on sight (possible, but unlikely for a fresher with no references), or the "hiring" process isn't real because the company isn't real.
What I do now before engaging with any unfamiliar company
This is my actual checklist — takes about 10 minutes:
- WHOIS the domain — how old is it? Does the age match the company's claimed history?
- Search "[company name] + scam/review/complaint" — if others have been scammed, there's usually a trail.
- Check LinkedIn — does the company have a LinkedIn page? How many employees? Are the employees real people with real profiles?
- Verify the address — Google Maps, Street View, search the building name.
- Ask directly about fees — in writing, before any further steps: "Is there any fee involved at any stage of this process?" Real recruiters answer immediately and clearly. Scams get evasive.
If you've already paid
If you've already paid a registration fee and you're reading this now — don't feel ashamed. These operations are specifically designed to target people who are desperate and hopeful, which describes most freshers in an active job search. The design is predatory, not your fault.
What you can do: file a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), report the company to the job portal where you found them, and — if you paid via UPI/bank transfer — contact your bank about a dispute.
The bigger picture
The job market for freshers is genuinely difficult. That difficulty is exactly what scammers exploit — they show up when you're vulnerable, offer what you've been looking for, and move fast before you can think clearly.
Slow down before you celebrate an offer. A few minutes of checking is always worth it. Real opportunities don't disappear because you took 10 minutes to verify the company is real.