The employer asks me to buy equipment or a starter kit for the job. Is that a scam?
Yes. Legitimate employers provide or reimburse what you need; a job that requires you to pay for a kit, a uniform, software, a laptop from "their supplier" or a training module before you start is selling you the kit, not giving you a job.
Variants: a reseller "job" where you must buy stock first, a data entry job that needs paid software, a virtual assistant job that needs a "verified account" you pay for. Once you pay, the training never starts or the "client" disappears.
What to do
- Refuse any payment to start a job. Ask for it in writing and see how fast the recruiter disappears.
- Check the company on its official website and call an official number.
- Search the company and the kit name with "scam".
- If you already paid, save the receipt and chat, contact GCash or your bank, and report.
- Check the recruiter's number and messages: starter-kit scripts are reused on many people.
Frequently asked questions
- The kit cost is deducted from my first salary, they said. Fair?
- Then there is nothing to pay now. Any demand for payment before the first salary is the scam.
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