How to verify an overseas job offer letter

A convincing offer letter costs a fraudster nothing to produce. Letterheads, stamps, and signatures are copied from real companies every day. Verify the offer, not the paper.

1. Find the employer yourself

Do not use any phone number, email, or website printed on the letter — a fraudster controls those. Independently search for the company’s official website and main office contacts, then ask them directly: “Did you issue offer/demand letter reference X to [your name], passport [number]?” Real companies answer this question routinely; HR departments deal with verification requests all the time.

While you’re there, check basic plausibility:

• Does the company actually operate in the sector and city the letter claims?
• Does the email domain on the letter match the company’s real domain? hr-alfuttaim-group@gmail.com is not Al-Futtaim. Look-alike domains (extra hyphen, .net instead of .com) are the standard trick.

2. Check the letter’s internal details

• Named signatory: a real name and designation you can look up (e.g., on LinkedIn), not just “HR Manager”.
• Specific terms: salary in the destination currency, job title, hours, leave, accommodation and food arrangements, contract length. Vague letters (“attractive salary as discussed”) are a red flag.
• Your details correct: name spelled as per passport, correct passport number. Recycled letters often carry another applicant’s details half-edited.

3. For Gulf employment, look for the demand letter chain

Legitimate Gulf recruitment runs on paperwork between the employer and a licensed Indian agent: a demand letter and power of attorney from the employer (often attested by the Indian embassy in that country), then your employment contract. Ask the agent to show this chain. A licensed agent has it; a fraudster improvises excuses.

4. Match everything against the visa

When a visa arrives, check that the sponsor/employer name on the visa matches the offer letter. A mismatch (“that’s just our partner company”) is how people end up employed by nobody, or by a labour-supply outfit they never heard of, on different wages.

5. Before you resign or pay

Only treat an offer as real when: the employer has confirmed it directly, the terms are complete and in writing, and the visa (if issued) names the same employer. Until all three line up, do not resign from your current job, do not pay “processing” money, and do not hand over your passport.

If a letter fails these checks, report the agent who gave it to you.