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15 Red Flags in Job Postings
Not all suspicious job postings are the same. Some are ghost jobs (real companies, fake urgency), others are job scams (fake companies trying to steal your data or money). Here are 15 red flags to watch for.
1. Salary Too High for the Role
"Entry-level data entry: $150-250/hr" — no legitimate company pays that. If the salary seems too good to be true, it is.
2. No Company Name Listed
Legitimate employers list their company. "A leading tech company seeking..." with no name is a scam or ghost job.
3. Generic Email Domain
If the contact email is @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, or similar — not a legitimate corporate domain — it's a scam.
4. Asking for Personal Information Upfront
Real employers don't ask for your SSN, bank account, or copy of your ID before an interview.
5. "No Experience Required" for High-Paying Roles
"No experience needed, earn $80K/year from home!" = scam.
6. The Interview Is on Telegram or WhatsApp
Legitimate employers conduct interviews via Zoom, Teams, or phone — not messaging apps.
7. Immediate Job Offer Without Interview
If you get a job offer within hours of applying, without an interview, it's a scam.
8. You Have to Pay for Something
Training materials, background checks, equipment — if you're asked to pay anything upfront, it's a scam. Legitimate employers cover these costs.
9. Job Description Is Copy-Pasted
Search a unique phrase from the job description in Google. If it appears on dozens of sites verbatim, it's a ghost job or template scam.
10. The URL Looks Suspicious
Check the job URL. Does it come from a legitimate domain (greenhouse.io, lever.co, mycompany.com)? Or something like "jobs-acme-hiring.xyz"? Fraudulent sites mimic real ones.
11. The Company Has No Online Presence
Search the company name. If there's no website, no LinkedIn page, no news coverage — it may not exist.
12. Vague Location
"Work from anywhere" for a mid-level role at a Fortune 500 that's never been remote is suspicious. Check if the company actually supports remote work.
13. Posted More Than 60 Days Ago (and Still Showing as New)
Old postings marked as "new" have been reposted without renewal. Ghost job.
14. The Grammar and Formatting Are Poor
Typos, grammatical errors, and strange formatting are red flags, especially from companies that should have professional HR teams.
15. No Specific Hiring Manager or Team
"Our team is growing rapidly" with no context about the specific team, manager, or project = template ghost job.
How Trouvr Checks for These Signals
Trouvr automatically scores jobs across 15+ signals including:
- Posting age and repost detection
- URL legitimacy check
- Generic language analysis (ML-based)
- Company verification
- Applicant count anomalies
Paste any job URL at the top of this page for a free instant check.
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