A fake job offer for Europe usually shows itself in one of five ways: it asks you to pay for the job or the permit, it promises a guaranteed visa, it describes a permit route that does not exist or has closed, it comes from a company or agency you cannot find in an official register, or it pressures you to decide and pay quickly. You can check most offers yourself in less than an hour using free official registers, such as the Polish register of employment agencies and the National Court Register, and the official pages of the immigration authorities. This guide lists the warning signs, explains how to check the employer, the agency and the permit, and tells you what to do if you have already paid. All rules and registers were checked on 11 November 2026.

Why fake offers work

Fake offers succeed because the real process is complex and changes often. Many people have heard that Europe needs workers, that permits take months and that agencies are involved. Fraudsters use this to make unusual demands look normal. They copy the logos of real companies, use job titles that sound credible and quote real places. The best protection is to know how the real process works, so that anything outside it stands out.

Ten warning signs

1. You are asked to pay for the job. In many countries, job placement fees charged to workers are restricted by law. Polish law, for example, restricts the fees that employment agencies may charge job seekers.
2. The visa or permit is guaranteed. No employer or agency can guarantee a permit. Every decision is made by the authorities.
3. The route does not match official information. For example, an offer of a new Hungarian guest worker permit after 6 June 2026, when new permits stopped (National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing).
4. You are told you can buy a quota place. In Italy, the employer applies within the quota. A worker cannot buy a place (Ministry of Labour).
5. The company cannot be found. The name, registration number or address does not appear in the official business register.
6. Contact only through messaging apps or personal email. A real employer usually has a company domain and a registered address.
7. The salary is unusually high for the role. Very high pay for low-skilled work, with no interview, is a classic lure.
8. Pressure to act today. Real processes have official deadlines, but they are published. Invented deadlines are used to stop you checking.
9. Payment to a personal account or by cryptocurrency. Official fees are paid to the authority, using the methods listed on its website.
10. Documents arrive before any application. A permit or visa that you receive without having applied, been interviewed or given biometrics is not genuine.

How to check the employer

Find the company in the official register

Every company that employs workers is registered somewhere. Ask for the company's full legal name and registration number, then search the official register of the country concerned. In Poland, companies can be checked in the National Court Register (eKRS). Compare the name, address and board members with the offer.

Check that the contact details match

Call the company using a number you find yourself on its official website or in the register, not the number in the message you received. Ask whether the vacancy and the recruiter are real.

Check the vacancy where possible

In the Czech Republic, an employee card job must be listed in the central database of vacancies and has a vacancy number (Ministry of the Interior). Ask for the number and check it. If an employer cannot give one, the offer does not match the official route.

How to check an agency

In Poland, employment agencies must be entered in the register of employment agencies, known as KRAZ. You can search it free of charge (KRAZ register). Check that the agency's name and number match, and that its entry covers the service it offers. Agencies are registered by the voivodeship marshal's office (Public Employment Services).

Being in a register does not prove that every message using the agency's name is genuine. Fraudsters sometimes copy a real agency's details. Contact the agency directly through the details in the register. Our guide on checking a recruitment agency in Europe explains this in more detail.

AtoZ Serwis Plus is registered in Poland under KRS 0000843709, NIP 5213897844 and REGON 386174732. You can check these numbers yourself in the official Polish registers.

How to check the permit or visa process

Know who applies

• Poland: the employer applies for a work permit online through praca.gov.pl (Zielona Linia), and residence applications go through the MOS portal (Wielkopolska Voivodeship Office).
• Italy: the employer applies for the authorisation on a fixed click day; the worker then applies for a visa at the consulate.
• Romania: the employer uses the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform (National Employment Agency).

If an offer says you do not need to do anything, or that someone will apply in your name without your passport and biometrics, it does not match the real process.

Know the real fees

Official fees are published. In Poland, for example, a work permit for more than three months costs PLN 400 and is paid by the employer (Lubuskie Voivodeship Office). In Malta, the pre-departure course assessment costs EUR 250 (Identità). If someone asks for a much larger amount and calls it a government fee, ask for the official page that lists it.

Confirm a decision directly

If you receive a permit or decision, contact the issuing authority directly, using contact details from its official website, and ask whether the decision is genuine.

Common scam formats

The advance fee

You are offered a job and then asked for money for a "processing fee", "visa fee" or "insurance", often in several payments. After each payment, a new fee appears.

The fake course or certificate

You are told you must buy a training course or certificate before you can apply. Some requirements are real, such as Malta's pre-departure course, but the real course is run through official channels. Check the authority's website before you pay any provider.

The cloned company

A real company's name and logo are used on a fake website or social media page. The domain name is slightly different from the real one.

The visa without a job

You are offered a visa that supposedly lets you work anywhere in Europe. Most work permits are tied to one employer and one country. See our explainer on work visa, work permit and residence permit for how the documents differ.

The tourist route

You are told to travel on a short-stay visa or visa-free and "sort out the permit later". Short stays do not normally allow work, and since the Entry/Exit System started, entries and exits of short-stay travellers are recorded electronically (Council of the EU). Our guide on EES and ETIAS rules for foreign workers explains the system.

What a genuine process usually looks like

Knowing what normal looks like makes fraud easier to spot. A genuine recruitment process for a job in Europe usually has these features:

• An interview, often by video, where you speak to someone who can describe the job and the workplace.
• A written job offer or contract that names the employer and states the gross pay, hours and place of work.
• A clear explanation of which permit will be used and who will apply for it.
• Official fees that match the fee list published by the authority.
• A wait while the authority decides, because decisions take time.
• A visa application that you make in person or through the official visa centre, including your biometrics where required.

An offer that skips several of these steps is not necessarily a scam, but it needs extra checking.

Checking websites and email addresses

Fraudsters often register website addresses that look like a real company or authority, with an extra letter, a hyphen or a different ending. Before you trust a website:

• Type the address of the official authority yourself rather than following a link in a message. Polish government services use addresses ending in gov.pl, and EU institutions use europa.eu.
• Compare the company's email domain with the website listed in the official business register.
• Be wary of free email addresses used for formal recruitment.
• Check that any payment page belongs to the authority, not to a private intermediary.

Protecting your personal data

Many job scams aim to collect personal data as well as money. A scan of your passport, a photo of you holding it, or your bank details can be used to open accounts or commit fraud in your name. Send identity documents only to an employer or agency you have checked, and only when there is a real reason, such as a permit application. Ask how your data will be used and stored. If you have already sent documents to someone you no longer trust, tell your bank and consider reporting it to the police.

Pressure from family and friends

Some offers spread through family, community groups or friends who have paid for the same opportunity. Pressure from people you trust can make it harder to say no. Share this guide with them and suggest checking the offer together. If the offer is genuine, a few days of checking will not cause it to disappear.

Questions to ask before accepting any offer

• What is the employer's full legal name and registration number?
• Which permit will be used, and who will file the application?
• What is the gross salary, and does it meet the official threshold? See work permit salary rules in Europe for 2027.
• Will I be asked to pay anything, to whom and for what?
• Can I see the contract before I travel, in a language I understand?
• Where will I live, and what will it cost?

A genuine employer or agency will answer these questions clearly and in writing.

If someone uses our name

Fraudsters sometimes use the names of real companies, including recruitment platforms. If you receive an offer that claims to come from AtoZ Serwis Plus, check it through the contact details published on our official website, atozserwisplus.com, rather than through the details in the message. Compare the company numbers given to you with the KRS, NIP and REGON numbers above. If the details do not match, do not pay and do not send documents. The same advice applies to any company: verify the offer through the company's own official channels.

If you have already paid

1. Stop paying. Further payments rarely recover earlier ones.
2. Keep the evidence. Save messages, receipts, bank records, phone numbers and website addresses.
3. Contact your bank. Ask whether the payment can be stopped or recalled.
4. Report to the police. Report in your own country, and in the European country named in the offer if possible.
5. Report the agency or employer. In Poland, you can report concerns about employment conditions to the National Labour Inspectorate (National Labour Inspectorate).
6. Warn others. Tell friends or family who received the same offer.

If you are already in Europe

If you arrived through an offer that turned out to be false, your status may be at risk. Check what document you hold and how long it is valid. Do not keep working without a valid basis. If your passport has been taken from you, or you are being forced to work, contact the police. If the problem is with your job, see our guide on losing your job on a work permit in Europe.

A quick verification routine

1. Search the company in the official business register.
2. Search the agency in the official agency register, where one exists.
3. Read the official page for the permit route offered.
4. Compare the fees with the official fee list.
5. Call the company on an independently found number.
6. Refuse any request for payment to a personal account.

Taking an hour to check an offer can save months of trouble. If something does not match the official information, trust the official information.