How to Spot a Fake Recruiter or Job Scam

For candidates

A real recruiter is paid by the employer and never asks you to pay for resume help, placement, equipment, training or a background check. If money is supposed to flow from you to them, it is not recruiting.

Job scams have grown fast. The Federal Trade Commission reported in December 2024 that losses to job scams tripled between 2020 and 2023 and passed 220 million dollars in the first half of 2024 alone, with "task scams" making up nearly 40 percent of job-scam reports that year. The FTC's own guidance is short: "If someone asks you to pay to get a job, that's a scam." This post explains what that looks like in practice, how to check a recruiter in five minutes, and how to check us.

Why would a recruiter never ask me for money?

Because the employer pays. The FTC puts it plainly: "Honest placement firms do not typically charge a fee to job candidates. Instead, the hiring company pays them a fee to find qualified candidates." A recruiting firm earns its fee when a company hires someone it introduced. The job seeker is never the customer. So any request for payment, a deposit, a "processing fee", a paid certification or a paid training course is the whole tell. The FTC adds: "If a placement firm asks you for a fee, especially one you have to pay in advance, walk away."

What are the warning signs of a fake recruiter?

Five patterns cover most cases.

1. A request for money, in any form. Fees, starter kits, training, certification, software, a laptop you must buy and get reimbursed for later. Real recruiters and real employers do not do this.
2. A check to deposit. The FTC warns: "No honest potential employer will ever send you a check to deposit and then tell you to send on part of the money." The check bounces later and you are out the money you sent.
3. Personal and bank details before anything real has happened. A real recruiter needs your resume and a phone call. A Social Security number, a bank account or a copy of your ID come much later, from the employer, after an offer, through a proper onboarding process. Early requests are a sign of identity theft, not hiring.
4. Pressure to move to a messaging app and to move fast. Scammers push you to WhatsApp or Telegram, interview by chat only, and extend an "offer" within hours. Real searches involve a phone call, a named company, and interviews with the people you would work for.
5. An email address that does not match the firm. Free webmail, a domain that is one letter off from the real one, or a sender name that does not match the address. Look at the part after the @ sign, every time.

How do I check whether a recruiter is real?

Three steps, five minutes.

• Call the main number on the firm's website. Not the number in the message. Ask whether the person who contacted you works there and is working on the role they described.
• Check the email domain against the website. The part after the @ sign should match the firm's domain exactly, or a domain the firm lists publicly as its own.
• Search the firm and the person with the word "scam". The FTC suggests searching the company or person's name with "scam" or "complaint" to see whether others have reported problems. Also check that the firm lists a phone number that someone answers and a privacy policy.

One more habit helps: ask the recruiter which company the role is with before you agree to anything. A real recruiter may hold the company name until you have had a first conversation, but will always tell you before sending your resume anywhere. If the company name never comes, stop.

What should I do if I already sent money or details?

Act the same day.

• If you sent money, contact your bank or the payment app immediately and ask to reverse or stop the payment.
• If you shared a Social Security number or ID, consider a credit freeze with the three credit bureaus and watch your accounts.
• Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reports help the FTC see patterns and warn others.
• Report the account on the platform where the contact started (the job board, LinkedIn, the messaging app).

Being targeted is not a sign that you did something wrong. These operations are built to look real, and they contact many people at once.

How can I verify that a message is really from X5 Recruit?

Here is how to check us, with the same test you would apply to anyone.

• We never ask you for money or bank details. Not for resume help, coaching, placement, background checks or anything else. Employers pay us.
• Our email always ends in @ai.x5core.com, @thex5core.com, @thex5corehello.com, @thex5corestart.com or @gox5core.com. If the part after the @ sign is anything else, it is not us. If unsure, message X5 Recruit on LinkedIn.
• Our phone number is (888) 906-8090. If a message using our name feels off, call that number before you reply.
• We never send your resume to an employer without your yes to that specific company and role.

If you are looking for work, you can email your resume to recruit@ai.x5core.com or call. Questions by phone or email get a reply within one business day, weekdays, Eastern time.