A recruiter, seller or “investment advisor” says they work for a company. Before you pay anything or send your documents, you want to know if that company is real.
In short
- Look up the company on the MCA website (mca.gov.in) to see if it exists and is Active.
- Check its GST number on the GST portal. No login needed.
- For money matters, check SEBI or RBI lists.
- Check how old the company’s website is.
- Registered does not mean safe. Scammers use the names of real companies, so always contact the company through its official website.
Got a job offer or “investment opportunity” by message or email? Paste it into the free ScamRead checker. It lists the links, email addresses and phone numbers in it, so you know exactly what to look up next.
In this post
- What you need before you start
- Step 1: Check MCA records
- Step 2: Check the GST number
- Step 3: Money involved? Check SEBI and RBI
- Step 4: Check the website and email
- Red flags even if the company is real
- What to do
Every check below uses free, public records about businesses. They are meant to protect you, not to track private people.
What you need before you start
Ask for, or find, the company’s full legal name. A real company can easily share its CIN (Corporate Identity Number) and its GSTIN (GST number). If they refuse or dodge the question, that alone is a warning sign.
Step 1: Check MCA records
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs keeps records of every registered company and LLP.
Go to mca.gov.in and use its company master data search. Search by the company name or CIN.
What to look at:
- Status: it should say Active. “Strike Off” or “Under process of striking off” is a red flag.
- Date of incorporation: a company that claims “20 years of experience” but was registered last year is lying to you.
- Registered address: does it match what they told you?
- Directors: are the names consistent with who you are talking to?
Step 2: Check the GST number
On the GST portal (services.gst.gov.in), use Search Taxpayer and enter the GSTIN. Without logging in, you can see the legal name, trade name, GST status, date of registration and main place of business. Check that the legal name matches the company name on the offer letter or invoice.
Step 3: Money involved? Check SEBI and RBI
- Investment advice or trading tips: investment advisers must be registered with SEBI. Search the Recognised Intermediaries list on sebi.gov.in.
- Loans or deposits: check that the lender is a bank or an NBFC on RBI’s lists at rbi.org.in.
- Someone collecting deposits or “schemes”? Use RBI’s Sachet portal (sachet.rbi.org.in) to check registered entities and report it.
SEBI has warned that fraudsters run fake WhatsApp and Telegram groups, claim links to registered firms and even show fake SEBI certificates. So always confirm on SEBI’s own website, not from a screenshot.
Step 4: Check the website and email
- Look up the website on lookup.icann.org. A brand-new website for an “established” company is suspicious. Our guide on how to check if a website is a scam walks through this.
- Does the email come from the company’s own domain? A Gmail or Yahoo address for “HR at a big company” is a warning sign.
- Find the company’s official website yourself through a search, not the link in the message. Then use the contact details there to confirm the offer.
Red flags even if the company is real
Example (fake): “Congratulations! You are selected at Example Infotech Pvt Ltd. Pay Rs 2,999 refundable training fee to HR Rahul on UPI rahul.hr@exampleupi to confirm your joining.”
The company might be real. The offer is not. Real employers do not charge you to join.
- Asking for a “registration”, “training” or “interview” fee. Delhi Police advise never paying these.
- Asking you to pay a person’s UPI ID or a personal bank account, not an account in the company’s name.
- Talking only on WhatsApp or Telegram.
- Rushing you: “offer valid for 2 hours”.
More warning signs are in our post on job offer texts from strangers.
What to do
- Do all four checks before paying or sharing ID documents.
- Confirm the offer using contact details from the official website.
- Never pay a fee to get a job.
- If you already paid, call 1930 or file at cybercrime.gov.in.
Report it: If you lost money or shared bank details, call the national cyber crime helpline 1930 straight away, or file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in.
Before you reply to that offer, paste the message into the free ScamRead checker to pull out every link, email and number worth checking.