How to Spot a Fake Job Agency
6 min read · updated August 2026
The nine signs
1. Money before a signed contract. A legitimate agency is paid by the employer. If you are asked for a large payment before you hold a signed employment contract, stop.
2. Impossible timelines. A Czech employee card takes 60 to 90 days by law, plus appointment waiting time. Nobody can do it in three weeks. Anyone promising that is either lying or planning to send you on a tourist visa, which is worse.
3. No legal entity you can check. Every Czech employment agency has an IČO number and a licence from the Ministry of Labour. Both are searchable in public registers. If the company will not give you the numbers, there is a reason.
4. Costs that change. Ask for the total cost in writing at the first conversation. Then ask again a week later. If the number moves, you have your answer.
5. Salary figures that are too good. An unskilled warehouse job in Czechia pays €1,100 to €1,400 net. Adverts promising €2,500 for packing boxes are quoting gross, quoting with 60 hours of overtime, or quoting nothing real at all.
6. Pressure to decide today. "Only two places left, transfer now." Real intakes have deadlines, but a real agency will still let you read the contract.
7. Personal bank account or crypto. Payments to a company should go to a company account. A request to send money to an individual's card or a crypto wallet is close to conclusive.
8. No written contract before travel. You should hold a signed employment contract, in a language you understand, before you buy a flight.
9. Vague employer. "A big factory near Prague" is not an employer. At some point before you travel you are entitled to know the company name and the site address.
Checks you can run in ten minutes
- Company register. Search the IČO in the Czech public business register. Check the company exists, when it was founded and what it is licensed for.
- Agency licence. The Ministry of Labour publishes a list of licensed employment agencies. Being absent from it is disqualifying.
- Domain age. A recruitment company claiming fifteen years of experience on a domain registered four months ago is telling you something.
- Reverse image search. Run the office photos and team photos. Stock images on an "our team" page are a very bad sign.
- Ask for a worker reference. A real agency can put you in touch with someone from your country they placed last year. A fake one cannot.
If you have already paid
Act quickly. Report to your local police and, if the company claims to be Czech, to the Czech Trade Inspection Authority and the Ministry of Labour. If you paid by card or bank transfer, contact your bank about a chargeback or recall the same day — after a few days the money is usually gone.
Keep every message. Screenshots of promises made in chat are the most useful evidence people have, and the ones they most often delete out of embarrassment.
Frequently asked questions
Should an agency ever charge me anything?
It should not charge a placement fee. You will still have your own costs — consular fee, translations, medical certificate, flight — but those are paid to the relevant authority or provider, not to the agency as a fee for finding you work.
Is a tourist visa ever acceptable to start work?
No. Working on a tourist visa is illegal, and the consequences fall on you — removal and a Schengen entry ban.
What if the agency is registered but the job is not real?
Registration is necessary, not sufficient. Combine the register check with a signed contract naming the employer and site before you travel.
How do I verify the employer, not just the agency?
Ask for the company name and site address, then check the company in the business register and look at its own careers page. A real employer with a real intake is visible.
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