They’re Not Hiring You. They’re Hunting You.
I need to talk about something that’s showing up in my work way too often.
Not in a “my friend’s cousin heard…” way. In a “this is landing in my clients’ inboxes weekly” way.
People are being offered roles that look legitimate — senior titles, global brands, relocation packages, the whole shiny fantasy — and they’re scams.
And before anyone does the smug thing (“how could anyone fall for that?”), let me say this clearly:
The people being targeted are not naïve. They’re qualified. Experienced. internationally mobile. Exactly the kind of people who should be getting approached for great roles.
That’s why this works.
What happened (anonymised, but real)
A client came to me with what looked like a dream offer from a well-known global company.
The company name was real. The job title existed. The emails were branded. There was a questionnaire. There was even a phone interview and calls.
It had just enough “process” to quiet the part of your brain that goes: hang on…
And the offer itself was… generous. Not just “good.” Generous in a way that makes your nervous system light up:
Senior role. International relocation. Big salary. Housing. Education allowance. Healthcare. Relocation costs. Advance payments.
You know that feeling when you read something like that and your brain goes:
Finally. This is it. This changes everything.
That’s the moment these scams are designed for.
Not because you’re stupid — because you’re human.
The part nobody tells you: scams don’t look like scams anymore
People think scams look messy. Bad spelling. Weird emails. A prince in distress.
No.
The ones I’m seeing now look like corporate HR. They look like “business as usual.” They look like the kind of offer you’d screenshot and send to your best friend with: OH MY GOD.
And that’s the trap.
Because excitement creates urgency. Urgency kills due diligence.
The red flags (and why they matter)
When we slowed down and reviewed it properly, the cracks started showing.
Not one giant obvious red flag. A pattern.
1) The compensation package was too generous in a very specific way. Not “competitive.” Not “above market.” More like: salary + benefits + relocation + allowances + advances — stacked in a way that feels designed to make you stop asking questions.
2) The hiring process didn’t match the role. For a technical / safety-critical position, you’d expect structured interviews, technical panels, real interaction with hiring managers, maybe live assessments.
Instead, it was light-touch. Convenient. Minimal friction.
That’s not how serious companies hire for serious roles.
3) The contract language was… wrong. This is where a lot of people miss it, because contracts look “official.”
But when you actually read them, you can see nonsense: legal/tax/immigration language mashed together, UK and US rules mixed in ways that don’t exist, vague promises about visas and relocation that no legitimate employer would write like that.
4) The final giveaway: the email domain. Not the logo. Not the signature. Not the formatting.
The domain.
It looked almost identical to the real company’s domain — the kind of difference your eye skips over when you’re excited and tired and thinking about your new life.
That’s the moment it clicked: this wasn’t a job offer. It was an impersonation.
What they’re really after (this is the scary part)
Sometimes it’s money. Sometimes it’s identity. Often it’s both.
These scams can lead to:
Identity theft (passport scans, proof of address, bank details, NI numbers)
Financial loss (fees, “processing costs,” advance payment scams, fake relocation arrangements)
Legal/immigration problems (signing documents that later get used against you)
Reputational damage (your name attached to something you didn’t understand)
And the worst part? They don’t always ask for the big thing immediately.
They build trust first.
They make you feel chosen.
Then they tighten the timeline.
Scam Alert
The one thing that saved my client
My client paused.
That’s it.
They didn’t rush to sign. They didn’t let excitement drive the car. They asked for a second pair of eyes before committing to anything.
And that pause likely saved them from a very expensive mess.
So if you take nothing else from this newsletter, take this:
Pausing isn’t negativity. Pausing is professionalism.
A quick safety checklist (save this)
If you receive an unexpected offer — especially from a “big name” — do this before you sign or send anything:
Verify the email domain (not the display name)
Check the hiring process matches the seniority (real interviews, real humans, real managers)
Question packages that feel designed to seduce you
Never send ID documents early (passport, proof of address, banking)
Never pay anything to secure a role, visa, equipment, or onboarding
Slow down — urgency is a tactic
And if you’re unsure, ask someone. A coach. A recruiter you trust. A friend who reads contracts for a living. Anyone who isn’t emotionally high on the offer.
Because that’s when we miss things.
Final thought
If this happens to you, please don’t feel embarrassed.
The point of these scams is to look credible. The point is to make smart people move quickly.
So consider this your reminder:
You don’t need to be paranoid. You just need to be thorough.
And if you’re job searching right now — please forward this to someone who is too.
Question for you: have you seen this kind of “offer scam” recently? What was the red flag that gave it away?
Love and truth, Emma
