# Ghost Job Checker: Is This Job Posting Real? | HiredFolio > Is that job posting a ghost job or a scam? Answer 13 questions to get a ghost job risk and a scam risk, with what to do next. Free, no account. Canonical: https://hiredfolio.com/tools/ghost-job-checker Ghost job or scam? Check a job posting Answer 13 yes or no questions about a job posting. You get two separate readings, ghost job risk and scam risk, with the answers behind each one and what to do next. - No account and no AI: simple rules, in your browser - Nothing you answer leaves this page - Built on FTC, LinkedIn and Indeed guidance The result is guidance, not a verdict. It reflects your answers only and says nothing about any specific company. ## Ghost job? Signs the posting may not lead to a hire. 1. **Is the posting over a month old, or has it been reposted?** The posting date is old, or the same ad keeps coming back with a new date. 2. **Is the role missing from the company's own careers page?** Search the company's own website, not a job board. 3. **Has the same role been advertised non-stop for months?** You've seen the same ad for months, on one site or several. 4. **Does the posting leave out the salary?** No salary and no range. 5. **Is the description vague or generic?** No concrete tasks, tools, team or location. 6. **Is there no named team, manager or recruiter?** No team, manager or recruiter named, in the posting or in the messages. ## Scam? Signs someone is after your money or your data. These weigh much more. 1. **Have you been asked to pay for anything?** Application fees, paid training, equipment to buy, a starter kit, a "deposit". 2. **Were you asked for personal data before any interview?** Bank details, a copy of your ID or your Social Security number, before any interview. 3. **Is the job about receiving checks, money or parcels and sending them on?** Deposit a check and send part of it back, or receive parcels and reship them. 4. **Did the recruiter move you to WhatsApp, Telegram or text messages?** The first contact or the interview happens on WhatsApp, Telegram or by text message. 5. **Does the recruiter write from an address that isn't the company's?** A Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo address, or a domain that imitates the company's. 6. **Is the pay too good for the effort asked?** A lot of money for a few hours, with no experience or particular skill needed. 7. **Are you pressed to reply, sign or start right away?** Reply within the hour, sign now, start tomorrow. ## Keep a copy of every posting you apply to The HiredFolio browser extension saves a job from LinkedIn, Indeed or a company careers page into your tracker in one click, with the full description and the date you saved it. When the ad comes down, your copy stays. When a similar ad comes back with a new date, you can put the two side by side and see what changed. [Add to Chrome, it's free](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/hiredfolio-suivez-vos-fut/flijiopliagnajnelobpmgeocamjdhid) [See how the extension works](https://hiredfolio.com/chrome-extension) ## Why a job gets reposted A reposted job is not always a fake one. Job boards put timers on listings: on LinkedIn a free job post is paused after 14 days and closes after 30 unless the employer promotes it, and a closed job that is reposted counts as a new post. On Indeed, free posts stay visible for up to 30 days, and after that the employer has to create a new post to get free traffic again. So a fresh date on an old role is often routine. It becomes a warning sign when the same role never closes for months, isn't on the company's own careers page, and nobody at the company is named: then the posting may be collecting resumes rather than filling a seat. Sources: [LinkedIn Help, free job post duration](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a517777), [LinkedIn Help, reposting a job](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a522130), [Indeed, employer FAQ](https://www.indeed.com/hire/resources/howtohub/faq) ## Ghost job or scam: two different problems A ghost job is a posting with no real hire behind it, or not soon: a role on hold, already filled, or left up to build a pool of resumes. It costs you time, not money. A scam is a fake recruiter who wants your money or your personal data. The FTC puts it plainly: honest employers never ask you to pay to get a job, and no honest employer sends you a check to deposit and then asks you to send part of the money on. France Travail, the French public employment service, says the same: it will never ask you to pay, or to send your bank details by email or text. That is why the checker gives two separate readings and never adds one to the other: an old posting with no salary is not a sign of fraud. Sources: [FTC, Job Scams](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams), [France Travail, fake job offers](https://www.francetravail.fr/candidat/soyez-vigilants/fausses-offres-d-emploi.html) ## Indeed, LinkedIn and France Travail: what each one says ### Indeed Indeed's safety guidelines say you should never have to pay to apply, that most companies write from an address on their own website's domain, and to be careful with a free address such as Gmail or Yahoo, or a job offered without an interview over messaging apps only. Never agree to send or receive money for an employer, including cashing checks. On the ghost-job side, free posts stay visible for up to 30 days. Sources: [Indeed, guidelines for a safe job search](https://www.indeed.com/help/job-seekers/articles/216354123-guidelines-for-a-safe-job-search), [Indeed, employer FAQ](https://www.indeed.com/hire/resources/howtohub/faq) ### LinkedIn LinkedIn's help center lists requests for payment or account credentials, emails from generic addresses (Gmail, Yahoo) instead of the company's domain, and urgent requests to move off LinkedIn, to WhatsApp, Telegram or external forms, as signs of a scam. To report a posting, open it, click the More icon and select Report this job. On the ghost-job side, a free post closes after 30 days, so a repost can be the same opening put back. Sources: [LinkedIn Help, recognize and report scams](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1336387), [LinkedIn Help, reporting jobs](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a513290), [LinkedIn Help, free job post duration](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a517777) ### France Travail France Travail says it will never ask you to pay, to give your bank details by email or text, or to pay for access to its services. Its guidance also lists pay that is very high for unspecific skills, an email address that doesn't match the company, recruitment entirely online with no interview, and pressure to reply or sign right away. Offers on its site have a "Signaler cette offre" (report this offer) button. Sources: [France Travail, fake job offers](https://www.francetravail.fr/candidat/soyez-vigilants/fausses-offres-d-emploi.html), [France Travail, job scams](https://www.francetravail.fr/candidat/soyez-vigilants/arnaques-a-lemploi--adoptez-les.html) ## Official help - [FTC: job scams, the signs and what to do](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams) - [Report a job scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov](https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/) - [Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr (France): what to do about a fake job ad](https://www.cybermalveillance.gouv.fr/tous-nos-contenus/fiches-reflexes/fausses-offres-demploi-creees-par-des-fraudeurs) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the checker free? Are my answers stored? Yes, free and without an account. The questions are scored in your browser: nothing you answer is sent to HiredFolio or anyone else. ### Can the checker tell me for sure that a posting is a scam? No. The result is guidance, not a verdict: it depends only on your answers and checks nothing about the company. If in doubt, contact the company through the details on its official website, never the ones in the message you received. ### What is a ghost job? A ghost job is a posting that doesn't lead to a hire, or not soon: a role on hold, already filled, or left up to collect resumes. It costs you time, not money. It is not a scam. ### Why does a job get reposted? Often for a technical reason. On LinkedIn a free job post closes after 30 days, and a reposted job counts as a new post. On Indeed free posts stay visible for up to 30 days. A new date does not mean a new role. Be wary when the same role never closes for months. ### Is a job posting without a salary a scam? No. Many honest postings leave the salary out. It is a weak ghost-job sign, never a scam sign on its own. Ask for the range at the first call. ### How do I spot a work-from-home job scam? Be wary of an unsolicited offer of well-paid work from home, especially when you are moved to WhatsApp or Telegram and asked to put money in to "unlock" tasks. The FTC warns that an offer promising a lot of money in a short time for little work is almost certainly a scam. ### I already paid or sent documents. What now? Stop replying and don't send anything more. If you shared bank details, call your bank now. Keep the messages, numbers and emails, report the posting to the job board that published it, and in the US report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. In France, report it on PHAROS (internet-signalement.gouv.fr). ## Related - [Free job application tracker](https://hiredfolio.com/job-application-tracker) - [The HiredFolio browser extension](https://hiredfolio.com/chrome-extension) - [Free job application tracker template](https://hiredfolio.com/blog/job-application-tracker) - [Version française : vérifier une offre d'emploi](https://hiredfolio.com/fr/outils/verifier-offre-emploi)