Opportunity Red-Flag Checker

Answer 10 quick yes/no questions about any job, gig, or "opportunity" you're evaluating. This tool scores the specific patterns used in task scams, pyramid schemes, mystery-shopper fraud, and fake job postings -- based on the same red flags described in our knowledge base.

Scams evolve their branding constantly -- crypto, AI, "creator programs" -- but the underlying mechanics repeat because they work on the same psychological pressure points: urgency, upfront payment, off-platform communication, and vague answers about who is actually behind the offer. This checklist weights the ten signals that show up most consistently across FTC enforcement data and firsthand reports, so a "yes" on any single question isn't necessarily fatal, but several together compound fast.

The most dangerous single signal, weighted heaviest below, is being asked to pay money upfront or to receive a check and forward part of it elsewhere -- no legitimate employer or mystery shopping company ever structures a real job that way. The second most dangerous is compensation tied primarily to recruiting other people rather than to sales made to genuine outside customers, which is the core structural test used to identify pyramid schemes. Off-platform pressure (being pushed to Telegram or WhatsApp within the first message) and urgency framing ("only 3 spots left today") are lower-weighted individually but are almost always present alongside the higher-risk signals, so they still matter as corroborating evidence.

Fill out the form honestly based on the actual opportunity in front of you. The scoring model below runs entirely in your browser -- nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored.

1. Does the opportunity require you to pay money upfront (a deposit, training fee, or 'starter kit') before you can begin earning?

Yes No

2. Are you asked to pay or receive funds via cryptocurrency, gift cards, or wire transfer specifically?

Yes No

3. Does the pitch promise a specific high daily or weekly income with little or no experience required?

Yes No

4. Are you pushed to decide or pay within 24 hours, or told spots are extremely limited?

Yes No

5. Does the recruiter or company want to move communication off the original platform (to Telegram, WhatsApp, or personal text) quickly?

Yes No

6. Were you contacted unsolicited (text, DM, email) for a job you never applied to?

Yes No

7. Is most of the compensation tied to recruiting other people rather than selling a product or service to outside customers?

Yes No

8. Does the company avoid answering direct questions about its legal business name, address, or how long it has operated?

Yes No

9. Were you sent a check or payment before doing any work, with instructions to send part of it elsewhere?

Yes No

10. Could you find zero independent reviews or news mentions of this company when you searched its name?

Yes No

Why these ten signals

Each question maps to a documented fraud pattern: upfront fees and check-forwarding schemes are the mechanical core of mystery-shopper and fake-check fraud (see our mystery shopper scams guide); recruitment-weighted compensation is the structural test for pyramid schemes (see how to spot a pyramid scheme); crypto and gift-card payment requests are difficult-to-reverse payment rails that scammers prefer specifically because victims cannot claw the money back once sent. None of these signals alone proves fraud -- legitimate businesses occasionally use urgency in marketing, for instance -- but the combination and the weighting matters more than any single answer.

If your result comes back medium or high risk, the safest next move is not to argue with the recruiter or try to "test" the opportunity with a small amount of money -- it's to independently verify the company (search the legal business name, not just the brand name, plus "reviews," "scam," or "BBB") and to request everything in writing before you send any money or personal financial details.