They used a real company's name. The job was fake.

I interviewed for a brand I admired—logo right, LinkedIn recruiter with mutual connections, email domain almost identical to the real careers site.

After six months unemployed the offer felt like oxygen.

They mailed a cheque for “equipment” and told me to buy gift cards for “software licences” before the deposit cleared.

The real company’s fraud alert page—buried on their site—described the same pattern.

Brand impersonation plus cheque float and urgent outflow is a classic job scam.

I lost about four hundred dollars in fees I could not recover.

I did not want to lose the offer by asking “dumb” questions about timing.

An email to press@ the real company got a same-day reply: that recruiter does not work here.

The interview clothes stayed in the closet next to a folder of fake onboarding; hope and embarrassment sat in the same hanger bag.

I verify every offer through the main careers contact on the verified corporate site—never the thread I was given.

• Employers do not ask for your money upfront or gift cards before a cheque clears.
• Report impersonation to the real company and the FTC.

For more help, see our Report a scam page and Spot and avoid scams guide.