Opportunity questions
Clear answers for checking job adverts, recruiter messages, WhatsApp posts, interviews, documents, payments, links, travel, and overseas offers.
Use these answers to understand what JobTsek can help with before you act.
No. JobTsek does not verify employers, recruiters, job boards, documents, or links. It only helps you notice common risk indicators so you can decide what to verify next.
A low-risk result does not prove the job is real. A high-risk result means you should pause and verify before paying, sharing sensitive details, clicking links, or travelling.
It is a detail that deserves extra checking, such as an upfront payment request, a private payment method, a vague employer identity, pressure to act quickly, or sensitive personal information being requested too early.
One indicator does not always prove a scam. Several indicators together usually mean you should stop and verify through official channels.
No. Some real opportunities are shared through social and messaging platforms. The risk is that forwarded posts are easy to copy, edit, and impersonate.
Look for the same vacancy on an official company website, trusted job board, recruiter website, or government site before you continue.
Urgency is a common pressure tactic. Real hiring processes can have deadlines, but they should still leave room for you to verify the employer, vacancy, application address, and interview location.
Pause if the person says you will lose the job unless you pay immediately, send documents immediately, click a link, or keep the process secret.
Upfront fees are among the highest-impact risk indicators for work seekers.
Treat any pre-employment payment request as a serious risk. Department of Employment and Labour guidance says work seekers should not be charged a fee for employment services.
Do not pay to apply, register, unlock tasks, secure an interview, reserve a post, or receive an appointment letter.
Do not rely on the word refundable. Scams often describe small payments as background check, vetting, police clearance, administration, medical, training, uniform, equipment, or transport fees.
Ask for the official employer process and verify it through a channel you find yourself, not through the contact details sent by the recruiter.
A recruiter can be paid by the employer, but South African labour guidance warns that work seekers should not be charged for employment services.
If an agency asks you for a registration, placement, or interview fee, pause and verify the agency before continuing.
These payment methods can be difficult to reverse and may hide who is actually receiving the money.
A legitimate employer should not need a work seeker to send recruitment money to a personal account, voucher code, crypto wallet, or supermarket money-transfer channel.
Identity and banking details can be abused even when no money is requested.
Your ID is sensitive. Share it only after you have verified the employer, recruiter, vacancy, and application process.
Be especially careful if the request happens before a proper interview, before you know the employer, or through an unverified form or messaging account.
Treat early bank-detail requests as risky. Payroll details normally make sense only after the employer is verified and the hiring process is real.
Never share banking app passwords, card details, PINs, OTPs, or login codes with a recruiter.
A selfie with an ID can be used to impersonate you in verification checks. It is more sensitive than a normal CV attachment.
Share this only with a verified employer or official process where you understand why it is needed and where it is being submitted.
Pause if a form asks for ID numbers, proof of address, bank details, tax numbers, next-of-kin details, or document uploads before you have verified the opportunity.
Check the form URL, the organisation behind it, and whether the same process is listed on an official website.
A real-looking logo or document is not enough. Verify through a separate source.
For national and provincial public-service posts, check the Public Service Vacancy Circular and the relevant department website. Enquiries should go to the advertising department, not to an unknown recruiter.
Be careful with posts that use a government logo but ask for payment, use non-official websites, or route applications through personal emails and messaging accounts.
Use CIPC or BizPortal to search company records by name or registration number. Check whether the name, registration number, directors, and status match what the recruiter told you.
Registration helps prove that a legal entity exists, but it does not prove the job is safe. Still verify the vacancy and contact details.
Not always, especially for small businesses. But a free email address is worth checking when the role claims to be from a large company, bank, mine, retailer, municipality, or government department.
Search for the organisation yourself and use official contact details to confirm whether the recruiter is connected to them.
Pause. A real recruiter should be able to explain the employer, role, application process, interview location, and how you can verify them.
If they become aggressive, vague, or say verification is unnecessary, treat that as a strong warning sign.
No. Trusted platforms reduce some risk, but scammers can still create profiles or copy company names.
Check whether the role appears on the company careers page or recruiter website, and confirm the sender through a separate official channel.
Some opportunities are used to steal logins, OTPs, or device access.
Only after checking the sender and destination. SAPS cybercrime guidance warns people to think before clicking links or files from unknown sources and to verify the source when in doubt.
If the link is shortened, misspelled, unrelated to the employer, or asks for banking details or passwords, do not continue.
Stop. A recruiter does not need your OTP, banking password, card PIN, email password, or social-media login to process a job application.
SAPS and SABRIC guidance warns that phishing, vishing, and smishing are used to obtain personal and banking details by pretending to be trusted sources.
Be careful. Use only trusted app stores or official organisation websites. Avoid APK files or unknown downloads sent through messaging apps.
If the app asks for unnecessary permissions, payment, OTPs, or banking details, stop and verify the opportunity first.
Do not continue until you have received proper independent advice. Jobs involving receiving money, moving funds, opening accounts, buying crypto, or sending parcels can expose you to criminal or financial risk.
A real job should have clear duties, a verified employer, a written contract, and lawful payroll arrangements.
The point of verification is also to protect your physical safety.
Verify the employer and address before travelling. Tell someone where you are going, avoid isolated locations, and be cautious if the meeting point changes suddenly.
Do not bring original ID documents, certificates, or passports unless the process is verified and you understand why they are needed.
Verify all details before paying or travelling. Be careful with deposits for accommodation, transport, uniforms, equipment, or medical checks.
If the recruiter controls where you sleep, how you travel, and your documents before you have verified the employer, pause and ask trusted people for help.
Treat overseas offers as high stakes. The Department of Justice has warned that fraudulent overseas job offers can be linked to human trafficking.
Verify the employer, travel documents, visa requirements, recruiter, and destination through official authorities. Never hand your passport or identity document to a stranger.
If you suspect trafficking risk, contact the South African National Human Trafficking Hotline on 0800 222 777. If there is immediate danger, contact SAPS or emergency services.
Speak to family, friends, or a trusted person before accepting an offer that requires travel, isolation, secrecy, debt, document handover, or sudden departure.
Act quickly, preserve proof, and use official reporting channels.
Stop further payments and pause contact. Save screenshots, receipts, phone numbers, email addresses, profile links, bank details, adverts, and chat messages.
Contact your bank immediately if money or banking details were involved. Report the matter at your nearest SAPS station if you believe a crime occurred.
You can report the account or post to the platform, but SAPS says social media is not a substitute for reporting crime or emergencies.
For crime, report at a police station, call 10111 for emergencies, or use Crime Stop on 08600 10111 for anonymous information.
If your ID or passport was lost, stolen, or used for impersonation, SAFPS offers Protective Registration to alert members to take additional care when confirming your identity.
SAFPS says victims of impersonation should also report fraud to SAPS and contact the relevant credit provider if accounts or loans were opened in their name.
Keep the advert, full chat history, phone numbers, email addresses, links, payment receipts, bank account details, usernames, profile URLs, documents received, and dates.
Do not delete the chat just because you blocked the person. Evidence helps banks, platforms, police, and official departments understand what happened.
These links informed the FAQ. Use them to verify details directly before you pay, share documents, click links, or travel.
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