Why check
The pattern is often the same: a “recruiter from a well-known company” writes first, promises high pay for simple work, then asks you to pay for training or equipment, forward money or reship parcels. These are the signs of job scams that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) describes[1].
Check any company, even a famous one: you need to know not only that it exists but that it is really the one talking to you. The warning signs are collected separately: 10 signs of a fake job offer.
7 steps to check
- Find the job on the company's own website. Open the site through a search engine, not a link from the message, and look for Careers or Jobs. If the job is not there, ask the recruiter where it is posted.
- Match the email to the company domain. A real company's recruiter writes from an address on its domain (name@company.com), not from Gmail or Outlook. Check the spelling letter by letter: a domain with one letter changed is a classic trick.
- Check the domain's age. ICANN Lookup shows when a domain was registered[2]. An “international company” whose website appeared a few weeks ago is a reason to stop.
- Find the company in a government register. It shows the legal name, registration date and address; where to look is in the table below.
- Check the people. The company's LinkedIn page, its headcount, the recruiter's profile: do they work there, and since when? Ask the name of the manager you would work for and find their profile.
- Search for reviews and complaints. The FTC advises searching the company or recruiter name together with words like scam, review or complaint[1].
- Check the process and the contract. Real hiring means a call with a real person and a test task. The contract shows the company's legal name and address, and pay goes through Deel, Wise, Payoneer or a bank. You pay nothing.
Where to look a company up
Search by the legal name from the contract or the email signature (for example “Acme Commerce LLC”), not by the brand. A US company is registered in a particular state, and the contract usually says which: “a Delaware corporation”, “a New York LLC”.
| Company | Where to look | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| US, Delaware | Division of Corporations | Name, file number, incorporation date and registered agent; a certificate of status is a paid extra[3] |
| US, other states | The secretary of state's website; links to state registers are collected on the NASS website | Depends on the state[4] |
| US, public companies | SEC EDGAR | Filings the company makes with the regulator; search by name or ticker[5] |
| United Kingdom | Companies House | Company details, officers and filed documents[6] |
| EU countries | e-Justice portal | A search across the business registers of all EU countries[7] |
The company is not in the register of the country it names, or the legal name differs from the contract? Ask for an explanation before you sign. An honest company will answer without taking offence.
A local agency or a company registered in Georgia
Not every offer comes straight from the foreign company. A Georgian recruiting agency or outsourcing firm may say it hires for a US client, and then you check two businesses: the intermediary and the client.
- Ask the intermediary for its legal name and identification code.
- Find it in the Georgian Registry of Entrepreneurial and Non-Entrepreneurial Legal Entities: the search works by identification code or by name, and names are typed in Georgian[8].
- Ask who the end client is, find the client in its own register with the table above, and make sure the job appears on the client's site or is confirmed by someone who works there.
- Read whose contract you sign. If it is the agency's, it names the agency, your duties, your pay in dollars and how you are paid.
Contract and payment: the last check
Before you sign, the paperwork should line up: the legal name in the contract matches the register, your name or your individual entrepreneur's name is spelled as on your bank account, and pay goes to a dollar account in your name or through Deel, Wise or Payoneer. A request to receive money and pass it on, or to buy equipment and be reimbursed later, is not a job: see how real payments work in Georgia.
Real employer or not
| What to check | Normal | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiter's email | An address on the company's domain | Gmail, Outlook or a domain with one letter changed |
| The job | On the company's website or on well-known job sites | Only in a Telegram or WhatsApp message |
| The company | In the register, name matches the contract | Not in the register, or a different name |
| Selection | A call with a real person, a test task | An offer after a short chat, no call |
| Money | The company pays you | You are asked to pay for training, equipment or “verification”, or to forward money |
How it works on Stafka
We check the jobs employers post on Stafka before they go live, and we add the “Verified company” badge after a manual check. Jobs from other sites show their source: you apply where they were published, so check those companies yourself with the steps above.
We never ask candidates for money, card details or SMS codes. Our only channels are this site, the bot @silkstaff_bot and hello@stafka.com / hello@silkstaff.com: how to check it is really us.
If something is wrong
Do not pay or send documents until you are sure. If you have already paid or shared card details, call your bank at once and block the card. Report the fraud to the police in Georgia, and if you found the job on Stafka, write to us at hello@stafka.com as well.
Questions
How do I check that a US company exists?
Find its legal name in the contract or the email signature and search the register of the state where it is incorporated. Public companies also appear in SEC EDGAR.
How do I check a company registered in Georgia?
Ask for its identification code and search the Registry of Entrepreneurial and Non-Entrepreneurial Legal Entities; names are searched in Georgian.
The company asks me to pay for training or equipment. What should I do?
Do not pay. A real employer pays you, not the other way round.
We only write what we can back with a source or with our own selection process. Spotted a mistake? Write to hello@stafka.com.