# The 10 red flags of a fake or ghost developer job

> Some listings are not real hires. Learn the signals so you spend your energy on roles that exist.

_Category: Finding the right roles · Updated: 2026-10-15 · 1 min read_

Some listings are not real hires. Learn the signals so you spend your energy on roles that exist.

## The ten flags

1. **Open for over a year** with no changes. It may be an evergreen pipeline, not a job.
2. **Re-stamped**, the posting date keeps resetting while the role never closes.
3. **Vague company** with no website, or a domain registered weeks ago.
4. **Pay far above market** for the stated experience.
5. **You must pay** for training, equipment, or "onboarding". Never.
6. **Interviews over chat only**, with no video and no real questions.
7. **A request for personal documents**, ID, bank details, before any offer.
8. **Copy-pasted description** with another company's name in it.
9. **Recruiter cannot answer basic questions** about the team or the product.
10. **Pressure to move fast**, "offer expires today".

## What to do

Verify the company independently, find the role on the company's own careers page, and see [where jobs are actually posted](/guides/where-remote-developer-jobs-are-actually-posted). If a listing is reported by enough people, we flag it and pull it from the board; see [how it works](/how-it-works).

## Your instinct is data

If something feels off, it usually is. There are thousands of real roles; you do not owe a suspicious listing your time.