Spotting a job scam before you pay anything
The one rule that stops most of them, what a licence or registration number actually proves, and how to check a number yourself before you send money or documents.
Most job scams aimed at people leaving Punjab for work abroad end the same way: money moves in one direction, and the job never existed. Almost all of them fail one test.
The rule that stops most of them
You do not pay to get a job. Not a registration fee, not a processing fee, not a refundable deposit, not a "visa slot", not a payment to hold the position. A real employer pays you.
There are narrow, legitimate exceptions, and they are always things you buy from a government or a recognised provider directly, in your own name, with a receipt: a passport, a police certificate, a medical examination, an English test. If the money goes to the recruiter instead, that is not the exception.
What a number actually proves
A business number or a licence number proves the entity is on a public list. It does not prove anybody is honest, and it does not mean IkkoPind or anyone else has looked at them.
What it does give you is something you can check yourself, from your own phone, in about a minute:
- An Australian business or company number, against ABN Lookup
- A labour hire provider operating in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia or the ACT, against that state's licence register
- Anyone charging you for immigration advice in Australia, against the Register of Migration Agents
- A recruiting agent operating from India, against eMigrate, where registered agents are listed by the Protector General of Emigrants
Every listing on IkkoPind that states a number links straight to the register that holds it. Open it. A number that does not appear, or appears against a different name, is the answer.
What a real offer looks like in writing
- The employer's legal name, not only a trading name
- The pay rate and how it is calculated, hourly or by piece
- Start date, expected length, and where the work actually is
- Who employs you: the grower, or a labour hire company placing you with them
- Anything to be deducted, especially accommodation and transport
If you have already paid
Stop sending money, keep every message and receipt, and report it. In Australia, Scamwatch takes reports and publishes what is circulating. Report it on IkkoPind too, on the listing or the member, and it is acted on within seven days.