Fake Job Scams Targeting Young People
How fake job listings, advance fee fraud, and identity theft target teenagers and young adults seeking work, and how to spot and avoid them.
Fake Job Scams is fraudulent job offers designed to trick young people into handing over money or personal details, or into unwittingly helping criminals launder money.
What is this?
Fake job scams specifically target young people who are looking for their first jobs, part-time work, or opportunities during school and university holidays. Scammers post convincing listings on legitimate job boards and social media platforms, offering high pay for minimal experience. Victims may be asked to pay fees upfront, provide personal documents for identity theft, or — in more serious cases — be drawn into money laundering or other criminal activity unknowingly.
How it works
Fake job scams typically follow a recognisable pattern. A listing appears on a genuine platform — Instagram, Indeed, or a Facebook group — offering attractive pay and flexible hours with little experience required. The victim applies and is quickly offered the job with little or no interview. They are then asked to pay an upfront fee for training materials, uniform, or a background check, or asked to provide copies of identity documents. In money mule scams, young people are asked to receive money into their bank account and transfer it on, keeping a percentage — this constitutes money laundering and can result in a criminal record.
Warning signs
In your child's behaviour
- • Excited about a job that offers unusually high pay for little or no experience
- • Being asked to pay a fee before starting work or provide copies of identity documents
- • Receiving money into their bank account from an unknown source and being asked to transfer it on
On their device
- • Job listings or messages offering high pay with no experience required
- • Messages from recruiters on social media or WhatsApp that seem too good to be true
Prevention steps
Teach your child to recognise the red flags
The key red flags for fake job scams are: being offered the job without a proper interview, being asked to pay any fee before starting work, unusually high pay for a role requiring no experience, communication only via WhatsApp or personal email (not a company address), and pressure to act quickly or keep the opportunity secret.
Verify the employer independently
Before engaging with a job offer, verify that the company exists using Companies House (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk) and that the recruiter's contact details match those on the company's official website. Search for the company name alongside 'scam' or 'review' to find any reports from others.
Never share identity documents or bank details with an unverified employer
A legitimate employer will not ask for bank details until a job offer has been formally made and accepted, and will not request upfront payment of any kind. Passport and National Insurance details should never be shared via email, WhatsApp, or any informal channel.
What to do if it happens
- 1If your child has paid money to a fake employer, report the fraud to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via actionfraud.police.uk. Keep all correspondence as evidence.
- 2If identity documents have been shared with a scammer, contact the relevant issuing authority. For passport compromise, contact HM Passport Office. Monitor for any signs of identity fraud, including unexpected credit applications or communications in your child's name.
- 3If your child has received and transferred money for someone else, contact their bank immediately — they may need to speak to the fraud team. Explain that the young person did not understand they were involved in money laundering. Early disclosure and cooperation is important.
Related topics
If you need to report this
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
Myths & facts
Myth: A job advertised on a well known site like Indeed, LinkedIn or a large Facebook group must be genuine.
Fact: Reputable platforms are not a guarantee of a genuine job. Take Five to Stop Fraud's guidance on job scams warns that criminals routinely post fake listings and offers of high pay for little effort on exactly these platforms, which is why it is worth verifying the actual employer independently, through Companies House and the company's own website, rather than trusting the site a listing appears on.
Myth: Keeping a small cut for moving money between bank accounts for someone else is easy cash, not a real crime.
Fact: This is money muling, a form of money laundering. Action Fraud's guidance on money laundering and movement is clear that letting someone else move money through your bank account, even for a small cut, is a criminal offence, and this holds even if the person doing it did not know the money was stolen. It can lead to prosecution, a criminal record, and the bank account being closed.
Myth: It is reasonable for a new employer to ask for a deposit, or for bank and passport details, before you start work.
Fact: Take Five to Stop Fraud's guidance is direct on this point: you should never have to pay to apply for a job or to speak to a recruiter, and any request for money, however it is described, is a major warning sign. A genuine employer will not ask for bank details or identity documents until a job has been formally offered and accepted.
Age by age
- 14-16
At this age your child is likely applying for their first part time or holiday job, often with little experience of what a genuine hiring process looks like. Look at any job listing or offer together before they respond, particularly if it promises high pay for little effort or asks for payment or personal documents early on. Agree as a family that they will check with you before sharing bank details, passport or National Insurance information, or accepting money from an unfamiliar source into their account.
- 17-plus
By this age your young person may be job hunting more independently, including for apprenticeships, graduate schemes or work during a gap year, and may be more reluctant to involve you in the process. Encourage them to verify any employer on Companies House and to be suspicious of offers made without a proper interview. Make sure they understand that acting as a money mule, receiving and moving on money for a cut, is a criminal offence even if they were deceived into it, and that contacting their bank and reporting it promptly if something goes wrong will always serve them better than staying quiet.
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