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Sixteen-year-old Kabelo* had an ambitious and beautiful dream—to become a professional soccer player in his home country, South Africa.
His father, like many, wanted nothing but the absolute best for his son. When he came across an ad on Facebook announcing tryouts for a prominent soccer club, he eagerly called the number provided to learn how his son could participate.
Unfortunately, the ad was a scam that could have left Kabelo in a dangerous human trafficking situation had he pursued it.
A Love Justice monitor stepped in to check its legitimacy and warn the father not to send his son there. Thanks to the intervention, Kabelo is safe and still free to pursue his dreams—but his story is a reminder to be on guard for these deceptions.
Do you know how to tell if an offer is legitimate?
You’ve probably received a text like this before: “Hello, I’m [name], a recruiter at [company]. We’d like to offer you a position…” Sometimes it’s easy to spot the scams, but traffickers and scammers are always adjusting their tactics. Keep reading for seven telltale clues to make sure you don’t fall for one of their tricks.
- The trick: The offer uses the name of a real company, especially one that is large or well-known. Traffickers and scammers will do this to try to add credibility as well as the lure of an offer you can’t refuse.
The tell: Call the actual company and ask if it’s their ad. In the story above, Love Justice monitors called the soccer club that the ad claimed to be from and confirmed it was not their ad. Also: Beware of this even when the offer comes through someone you know. Traffickers will use whatever means they can to gain your trust, and most trafficking victims were exploited by someone they knew.
- The trick: Offering perks that are too good to be true or a salary that is unusually high, especially given the amount of experience the candidate has. In Kabelo’s case, the ad offered free transportation and lodging, soccer gear, and refreshments, without ever seeing him play.
The tell: If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. A real soccer club usually has scouts that seek players out rather than hosting tryouts. Offering free transport would have allowed them to take the children wherever they wanted—an extremely risky scenario. For jobs, research the salary that people typically make for similar jobs in your area. If it is higher than usual, especially if you are underqualified, it might be fake.
- The trick: Directing to WhatsApp or some other account or email that is not directly part of the main website. Traffickers and scammers will do this to hide the fact that they are not associated with the company they claim and often are not even located in the same country.
The tell: Ensure that the email or phone number provided traces back to the actual company they claim. If correspondence comes from a foreign phone number, a personal social account, or an email that doesn’t correspond with the company website, that’s a huge reason to ignore the offer immediately. Scammers can be clever, so pay close attention (see example below). 
The trick: Immediate acceptance into a program or job, or any kind of rush or pressure to take the job or start right away. Traffickers will use this sense of urgency to keep you from taking time to research or think things through, pressuring you to believe that pausing too long could cost you the opportunity of a lifetime. When the monitor applied for the same soccer program to find out if the offer was real, she was accepted immediately, before the recruiter even had time to review her application.
The tell: A legitimate company will want to ensure that you are a good fit for them too. If they don’t take time to review your resume or ask you questions in an interview, this is a red flag.- The trick: Requesting a registration fee, application fee, or any other type of fee. This trick is more common for scammers, but traffickers can sometimes do this as well. In the example above, after the father had contacted the number listed in the ad, the recruiter requested an application fee.
The tell: It is extremely rare for a legitimate job to require any payment to apply or interview. If you are still unsure, you can do what the Love Justice monitor did in this scenario—call the actual company and confirm. The real soccer club assured the monitor that they never elicit payment of any kind from potential players. - The trick: A lack of information about the job or opportunity. Traffickers and scammers will use this tactic for obvious reasons—to hide what is really going on. In the story example above, the recruiter did not provide a location address when the monitor asked, instead claiming he was busy and would send it later. Our monitors also encounter many scenarios where the potential victim does not know their employer’s name or contact information, or any details about the job itself.
The tell: A real job will be upfront about important details such as these and most likely have you sign a lengthy contract declaring exactly what your responsibilities will be and what their policies are. Beware of taking any risks (such as traveling) without such a contract. If they do give you an address for a job or interview, look it up to confirm it is legitimate. Our teams have seen suspected traffickers share addresses for interviews in sketchy locations, raising suspicions. - The trick: Odd details requested, especially photos or strange age requirements. When the monitor pretended to apply for the soccer club, the recruiter requested photos of her.
The tell: If a request doesn’t make sense for the job, trust your instincts and be suspicious.
Scams over text and email
Kabelo’s story happened primarily over Facebook and WhatsApp, but you might get text or email messages that contain similar red flags. Here’s an example of an email I recently received, which I might have fallen for if I hadn’t known the warning signs or had been desperate for work.
Complexity of human trafficking in scams
To make things more complex, some of the scammers you encounter through text, email, or social media may actually be victims of human trafficking themselves. In some countries in South Asia, particularly Cambodia, survivors recount horrors of being deceived into thinking they were accepting a good job and then being trapped in a scam center, forced to trick others online under threats of violence or abuse.
The job market is always changing, but one thing stays the same: suspicious tactics are always a red flag. Always do your homework on a job offer before clicking any links, sending any payment, providing any personal information, or putting yourself in a vulnerable position for an interview.
What we are doing about it
Our team in South Asia has a Safe Foreign Employment Program, offering counseling and advice for people seeking jobs outside of the country.
Additionally, when our teams intercept someone to stop them from being trafficked in that moment, they also educate them on how to avoid potential trafficking situations in the future. Every month, teams help protect over 2,000 individuals from being trafficked, many of whom were en route to a deceptive job offer or opportunity at the moment of interception.
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*All data and statistics current at the date and time of publishing. Names and specific locations excluded for privacy and security purposes. Images are representative.
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