Job-fee and task scams · UtilForge Creator Playbooks, November 2026 drop

CHECK: Before You Reply to a Recruiter · utilforge.org/tools/before-you-reply-to-a-recruiter
TITLE TESTED: Scam Autopsy: The Job Offer That Charges You to Start (91/100 in vidIQ)

SCRIPT
Never pay to get a job.
A message offers well-paid work you never applied for, then asks for a training fee or a photo of your ID.
That fee is the scam. Real employers pay you, and they never charge you to start.
Losses to job scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission rose from 90 million dollars in 2020 to 501 million in 2024.
Here is one free check that helps. Paste the message into Before You Reply to a Recruiter at UtilForge.org.
Press Check this message. It names the warning signs: a fee to start, and a request for your ID.
The check runs on your own phone, and it keeps working with the internet off.
Already paid? Call your bank on the number on your card, and report it.
Share this with someone who is looking for work.

LONG-FORM ANGLE
Autopsy one specimen offer line by line.
Explain task scams with the FTC's figures on their rise.
Demo the check and walk through what to do if documents were sent.

INSTAGRAM CAROUSEL
1. Never pay to get a job.
2. The sign: a fee to train, a deposit to start, or ID before an offer.
3. Paste the message into Before You Reply to a Recruiter.
4. Already paid? Call your bank on the number on your card.
5. Share this with someone who is job hunting.

Free to reuse, repackage and publish in monetised videos, for public safety, with a link to UtilForge.org. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. No approval needed.