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Fake interview scam for an abroad job: 7 red flags Pakistani applicants can catch on the first call

Tips · 2026-10-20 · 10 min read

A fake interview scam for an abroad job usually feels like real hiring until the money request arrives. If a so-called Australian or New Zealand employer contacts you out of nowhere on WhatsApp, "selects" you after a short chat and then wants a fee, a payment for "visa processing" or a scan of your passport, stop there. Genuine sponsoring employers pay their own sponsorship costs, put the offer in writing and never sell you the job.

A real interview and a staged one: what separates them

In a genuine process for sponsored work, you apply to a listed vacancy, the employer checks your CV and certificates, and then interviews you, usually by video and sometimes with a trade test. After an offer, the employer handles the sponsorship side and you lodge the visa application yourself. That is how applying through JobsAbroad Pakistan works: we are a job platform and you apply to the employer.

A staged interview turns this order upside down. The caller found you first, the questions are vague, the offer comes within minutes, and the "next step" is always a payment or your identity documents. To get ready for real interviews, read our step-by-step plan for video interviews with Australian employers.

Seven red flags to listen for on the call

One flag is a reason to slow down; two or more is a reason to walk away.

The full list of warning signs is on the Scamwatch jobs and employment scams page. Immigration New Zealand also warns that job offer scams are common in India and South Asia, so applicants from Pakistan are a known target.

Checking the employer behind the voice

A caller can borrow any company name, so check the employer through official tools, never through links the caller sends.

If the job is in New Zealand

For the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), the accredited employer sends you a link to the online application form. Search the Immigration New Zealand accredited employer list by company or trading name, or by its 13-digit New Zealand Business Number. Some accredited employers choose not to appear in the results, so a missing name means you check directly with the business, not that you trust the caller. Our AEWV guide for Pakistani workers explains how the real process runs.

INZ will decline an AEWV application if you or your agent offered or promised money to the employer, or its agent, in exchange for a job offer. Paying the "interviewer" can therefore ruin the very visa you are paying for.

If the job is in Australia

The sponsoring employer must pay all costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you, and cannot move those costs onto you or your family. Home Affairs says it is illegal to pay an employer to sponsor you, including through salary deductions, and doing so can lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment. Our Skills in Demand (482) visa guide shows what a genuine sponsored job looks like.

Once a genuine job starts, the same law keeps protecting you: read the pay, leave and help visa holders can claim in Australia before your first shift.

The middleman on the line: what Pakistani law says

When a local "visa agent" runs the interview, Pakistan's Emigration Ordinance, 1979 applies directly.

• Interviews need permission. Section 9 says no one other than the Overseas Employment Corporation may recruit Pakistani citizens for emigration, advertise, or hold interviews or tests for that recruitment without the prior permission of the Director-General or the area's Protector of Emigrants.
• Money for a job is a crime for non-OEPs. Under section 22, anyone who is not an Overseas Employment Promoter and demands or receives money for providing foreign employment can face imprisonment of up to fourteen years and a fine of up to two million rupees. The same section covers an OEP who charges above the prescribed amount.
• Fraud and forged papers. Section 18 sets the same maximum penalties for forging emigration documents or getting someone to emigrate through coercion, fraud or wilful misrepresentation.

If a licensed OEP is genuinely involved, OP&HRD's BE&OE FAQ tells you to verify the OEP's valid licence, confirm there is a valid work demand, read the contract terms carefully, verify those terms with the Protector of Emigrants and get receipts for every payment. A licence can be confirmed at a Protector of Emigrants office or on the BE&OE list of active OEPs. For what an OEP may lawfully charge, see what to check before paying money for a job abroad.

After the call: fake offer letters and fake visas

Check any official-looking paperwork against the government's own systems.

• Australian visa grant: ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying for an Australian visa, and a grant you cannot find in VEVO is probably fake. Home Affairs explains this on its visa scams page.
• New Zealand visa: INZ's Visa Verification service confirms whether a New Zealand visa is real.
• Fee demands: INZ never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account; it accepts debit or credit card payment on its forms, or payment at an approved Visa Application Centre.
• Visitor visas sold as jobs: you cannot work in Australia on an ETA or Visitor visa. Read why a visit visa to work abroad can break Pakistani law before anyone sells you one.

Your check after any interview call, step by step

1. Do not pay anything or send your passport or CNIC during the call or right after it, however friendly or urgent the caller sounds.
2. Write down the caller's name, number, the company named and every promise made, with screenshots.
3. Find the employer yourself: for New Zealand, search the accredited employer list; for any country, use contact details from the business's own published pages, not the caller's.
4. Ask for the job, pay and hours to be confirmed in writing by the employer.
5. If a local person is organising things, ask for their OEP licence or the Protector of Emigrants' permission, and check it at a Protector of Emigrants office.
6. Check any visa document in VEVO (Australia) or through INZ's Visa Verification service (New Zealand), and check that every "official" email comes from a .gov.au or immigration.govt.nz address.
7. If anything fails, stop contact and report it with your saved evidence.

Once a genuine employer invites you to a real interview, practise your answers beforehand; a mock interview on InterviewTraining.ai lets you rehearse common questions out loud before the call.

Reporting a fake interview in Pakistan

The Federal Investigation Agency's Anti Human Trafficking and Smuggling Wing enforces the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 along with the anti-smuggling and anti-trafficking laws of 2018. You can reach the FIA in three ways:

• Email: complaints@fia.gov.pk
• Helpline: 051-111-345-786 & 1991
• Online portal: complaint.fia.gov.pk

You can also write to OP&HRD at ds.complaint@ophrd.gov.pk or call its helpline on 051-9205704. Its BE&OE FAQ says complaints against a fake recruiting agent (anyone who is not a valid OEP) should carry the case details and supporting documents, and are referred to the FIA under Rule 29(4) of the Emigration Rules, 1979. Your screenshots, receipts and bank slips are that evidence.

The Australian High Commission in Islamabad warns that visa scams can have serious consequences for applicants and their families, and asks people to rely only on official information and registered migration advice.

Common mistakes Pakistani applicants make with interview calls

• Treating a video call as proof. A face on screen does not make an employer real.
• Paying a "small" fee to hold the job. Any payment for a job or sponsorship can hurt your visa: in Australia it can lead to refusal or cancellation, and INZ declines AEWV applications tied to money offered for a job offer.
• Sending passport scans on day one. Share identity documents only once a genuine employer, or its team, actually asks for them in a real process.
• Staying silent after losing money. Report to the FIA early; people who use a scam agent for visa fraud also risk refusal, cancellation and a ban from Australia of up to 10 years.

Frequently asked questions

Can a real Australian employer interview me only on WhatsApp?

A video call on WhatsApp is not proof of a scam by itself, but unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram is one of the warning signs Scamwatch lists. Judge the whole process: a real employer gives you the job and its terms in writing and never asks you to pay for the job or the sponsorship.

The caller says the interview fee is refundable. Is that allowed?

No. In Australia the sponsoring employer must pay all costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you, and cannot pass them on to you. In New Zealand employers cannot charge you fees for a job, even through a third party. A "refundable" fee is still a fee for a job.

How do I check whether a New Zealand employer is accredited?

Search the accredited employer list on the Immigration New Zealand website by the company or trading name, or by its 13-digit New Zealand Business Number. The list is updated daily. Some accredited employers choose not to appear in the search, so if a name is missing, check directly with the employer through its own published contact details.

Is it illegal in Pakistan for a middleman to hold interviews for foreign jobs?

Section 9 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 says that no one other than the Overseas Employment Corporation may recruit Pakistani citizens for emigration, advertise, or hold interviews or tests for that recruitment without prior permission from the Director-General or the area’s Protector of Emigrants. Ask any local organiser for that permission or a valid OEP licence.

Where do I report a fake job interview in Pakistan?

Report it to the Federal Investigation Agency by email at complaints@fia.gov.pk, on 051-111-345-786 & 1991, or through complaint.fia.gov.pk. You can also complain to OP&HRD at ds.complaint@ophrd.gov.pk; complaints about fake recruiting agents are referred to the FIA, so attach your case details and supporting documents.

Key takeaways

• Unexpected chat-app contact, instant hiring and an upfront fee are the classic signs of a fake interview.
• Australian sponsors pay their own sponsorship costs, and New Zealand employers cannot charge you for a job.
• Check New Zealand employers on INZ's accredited employer list and visas in VEVO or INZ Visa Verification.
• In Pakistan, a non-OEP who takes money for a foreign job faces up to fourteen years in prison under section 22.
• Report fake interviews to the FIA with your screenshots, receipts and case details.

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