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Fake recruiters and fake interviews: remote job scams

Valid as of 22 October 20265 min read

Guide 26 · valid as of 22 October 2026 · getsahla.com

A real employer never asks you for money, never has you install software or copy a command during an interview, and never asks you to pass money through your account. If you see any one of these three signs, stop.

Remote jobs draw a lot of Algerian candidates, and so a lot of scammers. Every scheme below was reported between September and October 2026, in Algeria or nearby countries.

The five most common scams

The fake interview that installs spyware

A job ad on a real job site, then a “recruiter” who moves you to Telegram or WhatsApp. They send a link to an unfamiliar video interview platform. The page shows a fake camera or microphone error and tells you to press Win + X, then paste a “fix” command.

That command installs a program that steals your passwords, browser sessions and files. Trend Micro described this trap on 30 September 2026. Camera settings live in your browser or operating system. You never fix them by copying a command from a website.

The rigged coding test

Are you a developer? A fake recruiter on LinkedIn sends you a timed “coding test”, no AI tools allowed, sometimes with an access code that expires fast. The project contains a booby-trapped dependency that installs spyware on your computer the moment you run the code. Kaspersky documented this campaign in September 2026: it targets developers in the Middle East and Africa, with victims in Egypt and Ethiopia.

“Easy tasks” you have to pay to unlock

You’re offered a commission to rate products or like posts. The first small earnings get paid, to win your trust. Then you have to send money to “activate your account”, reach the “next level” or withdraw your earnings. The amounts grow at every step. InstaPay, the payment app backed by Egypt’s central bank, warned about this scheme on 15 October 2026. The same scam is going around in Algeria.

The paid sign-up

A well-paid job, open “worldwide”, but to get work you first have to pay for a sign-up, a training course or a subscription. Some of these subscriptions renew on their own and are hard to cancel. An employer pays you, not the other way round.

The middleman “recruiting” for a foreign company

Someone says they’re hiring for a European or American company, with no contract, no official company account, sometimes using someone else’s “verified” account. They keep part of your pay, or vanish with your work. Only apply on the company’s own website, never through a middleman on WhatsApp, Telegram or Reddit.

Methods to refuse

Illegal

Pass money through your account for an “employer”

Some fake “payment manager” or “financial assistant” jobs mean receiving money into your bank account, CCP or Payoneer, then sending it on to someone else and keeping a commission. That money often comes from scams or theft. You’re the one the bank sees, and it’s your account that gets frozen and reported.

In Algeria, receiving foreign currency on someone else’s behalf and passing it on also bypasses the official banking system and can be a foreign exchange offence (Ordinance 96-22, art. 1 and 2), punishable by two to seven years in prison and a fine of at least twice the amount (art. 1 bis). Say no, whatever you’re promised.

Habits that protect you

  1. Check the job on the company’s website, on its careers page (guide 25).
  2. Stick to the usual tools: Google Meet, Zoom or Teams for interviews. A link to an unknown domain is a warning sign.
  3. Never copy a command a website or recruiter gives you, and never run a coding test on your main computer. If you have to, use a virtual machine or a computer without your accounts on it.
  4. Don’t pay anything: no sign-up, no training, no “activation”.
  5. Never share your codes (SMS codes, passwords, card PINs), and never lend out your bank account.

If you’ve been caught

  1. Disconnect the computer from the internet if you ran a command or a coding test, then change your passwords from another device, starting with your email and your bank.
  2. Tell your bank or Algérie Poste straight away if you gave out bank details or sent money.
  3. Keep the evidence: messages, links, receipts, account names.
  4. Report the accounts to the platform where you found them, and file a complaint with the police or gendarmerie.
  5. Don’t pay a “recovery agent” who promises to get your money back: that’s a second scam.

Key points

  • No money to send, no command to copy, no money to pass through: any one of these signs is enough to stop.
  • Fake recruiters move quickly to Telegram or WhatsApp; real ones stay on company tools.
  • Lending your account to an “employer” can make you an accomplice to fraud.

Sources