Signs that a job might be a scam
Most employers on HireWise are genuine, and every new employer account is checked before their first listing goes live. Still, scammers sometimes get through. Be careful if a job or recruiter:
- asks you to pay for anything, such as training, a background check or equipment
- offers a high salary for very little work or experience, for example $45/hour for “data entry from home”
- moves the conversation to a private messaging app before any interview
- asks for your bank details, ID documents or tax number before you have a written offer
- sends a cheque and asks you to transfer part of the money back
- uses a free email address instead of a company domain
Tip: Real employers will never ask you to buy equipment upfront and wait to be reimbursed. If someone sends you a cheque to “buy a laptop from our approved supplier”, it’s almost certainly fraud.
How to report a listing
- Open the job listing.
- Scroll to the bottom and click Report this job.
- Choose a reason:
- Scam or fraud
- Misleading information (for example, the salary or location is wrong)
- Discriminatory content
- Duplicate or spam
- Add any details that will help us investigate.
- Include the name or email address of anyone who contacted you.
- Paste the text of suspicious messages. Please don’t include your own passwords or full card numbers.
- Click Send report.
You will receive an email with a reference number, such as TR-58213. Keep it in case you need to send more information.
How to report an employer or recruiter
If the problem is with a company profile or a person, not a single job:
- Open the company profile from the companies page.
- Click ⋯ > Report company.
- Follow the same steps as above.
If someone contacted you outside HireWise while claiming to represent us, report it through our contact form and choose Trust and safety as the topic.
What happens after you report
| Stage |
What we do |
Timing |
| Received |
Your report is logged and you receive a reference number |
Immediately |
| Triage |
A trust specialist checks the listing and the employer account |
Within 24 hours |
| Action |
The listing is hidden, edited or left live, depending on findings |
Within 3 business days |
| Follow-up |
We email you to confirm that the report is closed |
When the case is resolved |
For privacy reasons, we can’t always share details of the action taken against another account.
Protecting yourself
- Keep conversations on HireWise until you have confirmed the employer is real.
- Check that the company’s website matches the details on its HireWise profile.
- Turn on two-factor authentication. Our guide to security and fraud protection explains how.
- Read our terms of use to see what employers are allowed to request.
If you think your HireWise account has been accessed by someone else, change your password right away and follow the steps in Account management.