Is this job offer real?
Paste the job message you got (SMS, WhatsApp, email or offer letter text). Shishya shows which warning signs from the checklist below it has. No checker can tell you an offer is real: it can only point to signs, so always check on the official website too. Free: your first check needs no account; sign up free to keep using it (up to 10 checks a day).
How the check works
Fixed rules look for each sign in your text. Only these rules decide which signs are found. Where signs are found, an AI adds a short note on each, marked as written by AI; it is not asked whether the offer is real, and a note that calls an offer safe or certain is not shown.
Nothing you paste is stored
The text is sent once when you press "Check this message", used for the check and dropped. Shishya does not save it or the result, in your account or in this browser. Remove names and phone numbers first if you like; the check does not need them. For ages 13 and up.
This tool reads the text you paste (and may use AI on it), so it is for ages 13 and up.
Nothing you paste is saved.
The checklist
Asks you to pay a fee or deposit
A deposit, training fee, kit or laptop charge, verification or medical fee before you start is a common sign of job scams. NCS says job seekers should not pay fees to employers, and CERT-In says never pay for a job offer.
Asks for registration charges
NCS charges no fee at any stage, and an employer asking for registration money is a common sign of job scams. (A government recruitment exam does have an application fee, but you pay it only on the exam body's own website, as its official notice says.)
Asks you to talk on WhatsApp or Telegram
MHA's cybercrime centre describes job frauds where an agent on WhatsApp or Telegram runs the whole thing, and MEA warns that fake overseas agents often talk only on WhatsApp. Do not send money to someone who contacts you there without checking them first.
Uses a free personal email address (like Gmail or Yahoo)
Anyone can make a free email address in a company's name. CERT-In advises checking that the sender is trustworthy: write to the company at the address on its own official website instead.
No company website or company email address in the message
CERT-In advises checking the company before you apply, and MEA warns that fake agents give little or no details of where they are. Without an official website or company email, you cannot check who sent this.
Has a short link or a form link instead of the company's own site
A short link (like bit.ly) or a form link hides where it goes. CERT-In advises typing the organisation's address yourself instead of clicking links in messages.
Says you are selected without an interview or test
CERT-In says offers that seem too good to be true are a common sign of job scams. Real employers check who they hire.
Promises easy money per day, per hour or per task
MHA's cybercrime centre names 'ghar baithe' part-time job ads as a common start of job frauds, and CERT-In says offers that seem too good to be true are a common sign.
Pays for tasks like liking videos, subscribing or rating places
This is the task-based fraud MHA's cybercrime centre describes: small tasks and a small commission first, then a request to put in more money, which is then frozen.
Pushes you to act fast
CERT-In says scams use urgent language and pressure so you act before you check. A real offer gives you time to check the company.
Asks for an OTP, UPI PIN, card or bank password
CERT-In reminds that you never need a UPI PIN or OTP to receive money. Never share an OTP, PIN, CVV or password with anyone.
Asks for Aadhaar, PAN or bank details
CERT-In advises thinking carefully before giving personal information to any person or organisation. Share these only after you have checked the employer yourself on its official website.
A job abroad on a tourist or visit visa
MEA says a valid job abroad comes with a work visa and a contract signed by the employer, the agent and you, never a tourist visa.
How to check any job offer
- Find the company's official website yourself (search its name; do not use the links in the message) and see if this job is on its careers page. For a government job, look for it on the department's or recruitment body's own website.
- Call or write to the company only on the phone number or email printed on its official website, and ask if they sent this.
- Do not pay any money to get a job, and never share an OTP, UPI PIN, CVV or bank password.
- Jobs on the government's National Career Service portal carry no fee at any stage; NCS helpline 1514. ncs.gov.in
- For a job abroad: check the agent on the eMigrate 'List of active RA'. MEA's advisory (14 Dec 2023) says a recruiting agent may charge at most Rs 30,000 + GST, with a receipt, and a real job abroad needs a work visa and a signed contract, never a tourist visa. emigrate.gov.in
If you have paid money or shared bank details, report it at once on the cyber crime helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in (National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal). You can also report the phone numbers and social media handles used. cybercrime.gov.in
Official sources
- National Career Service (Ministry of Labour and Employment): NCS home page caution notice, read by Shishya on 27 Oct 2026.
- Ministry of Home Affairs, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), via PIB: Over 100 websites of organised investment and task-based part-time job frauds blocked (issued 6 Dec 2023), read by Shishya on 27 Oct 2026.
- CERT-In (Ministry of Electronics and IT): Advisory CIAD-2024-0050: Preventing online scams (issued 24 Oct 2024), read by Shishya on 27 Oct 2026.
- Ministry of External Affairs (OE & PGE Division): Advisory on overcharging by agents for overseas recruitment, offering fake overseas jobs and illegal recruitment (issued 14 Dec 2023), read by Shishya on 27 Oct 2026.
The checklist is Shishya's own summary of these advisories. Shishya is not part of any of these bodies.
More: interview practice · internships · all free tools