Short answer: before you reply, share documents or pay anything, check three things. Does the company really exist, and did it really offer you this job, through contact details you found yourself? Is anyone asking you for money? And what does VeriPatra say about the PDF? A signature check tells you whether the file was changed and who signed it. It cannot tell you whether the job is real.
How these offers usually look
Here is a made-up example. The company is invented.
An offer letter from "Aravali Softworks Pvt Ltd" arrives on WhatsApp. It has a logo, an HR manager's name, a reference number and a salary well above what the role usually pays. The last paragraph asks for a "refundable joining-kit fee" of ₹4,999, payable today, to "confirm your seat".
Every detail on that page can be copied or invented. The logo is a picture. So is the HR manager's signature. The pressure to pay today is the part that matters.
Warning signs
- Money before joining. A "registration", "training", "laptop", "verification" or "joining-kit" fee. Treat any request to pay before you start work as a warning sign.
- You never applied, or never had a real interview.
- Pressure and secrecy. The offer expires today, or you are told not to discuss it with anyone.
- Contact only through WhatsApp or a personal email address, never through the company's own domain or office number.
- Requests for OTPs, bank details or ID copies before you have confirmed the company yourself.
What VeriPatra can tell you about the PDF
- No signature found → Could not be verified. Many real offer letters are not digitally signed either, so this alone settles nothing. Confirm with the company.
- Signed, but the signer is not fully trusted → Needs caution. Anyone can create a certificate with "Aravali Softworks" typed into it. See Valid signature, unknown signer.
- Changed after signing → Could not be verified. A signed letter has been edited. Do not rely on anything in it. See Changed after signing.
- Digitally signed and unaltered. The file is intact and the signer's certificate chains to a recognised authority. Check that the signer's name matches the company. Even then, a signature does not prove the job exists or that a fee is legitimate.
Five checks before you reply or pay
1. Find the company yourself
Search for the company's official website and careers page on your own. Do not use links or numbers from the letter.
2. Call the employer through its official number
Ask HR whether this offer, with this reference number, was issued to you.
3. Check the PDF
Check the document in VeriPatra and read the signer's name in the full report. A mismatch between the signer and the company is a red flag.
4. Never pay to get a job, and never share an OTP
If someone insists, stop replying.
5. If you have already paid or shared bank details, act fast
Call the national cyber crime helpline 1930 for online financial fraud, and report it on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. Tell your bank as well.
Scammers often say the fee is "refundable" or that it covers equipment you will keep. The promise changes nothing. Confirm the job first, through contacts you found yourself.
Common questions
The letter has a company seal and a signature. Is that enough?
No. A seal or a signature printed on the page is a picture, and pictures can be copied. Read Why you should only trust digital signatures online.
VeriPatra says "Digitally signed and unaltered". Am I safe?
It is a good sign about the file. It is not proof of the job. Still confirm with the employer, and still never pay to join.
The offer came as a screenshot. Can VeriPatra check it?
No. A picture cannot carry a digital signature. Ask for the PDF itself, as explained in Why a photo of a signed PDF cannot be verified.
Drop a PDF in and see the eight checks for yourself. No account; the PDF is not retained.