How I spotted a fake recruiting firm in time

Last week I got an email from someone claiming to be running a retained executive search for another very real and legitimate staffing firm. Normally I would have replied politely and moved on with my day, but something about this one felt off from the first line, and I've learned to trust that instinct after many years in the industry.

The outreach came from a Gmail account, though the name on the account had been set up to look like a real search firm. There was no LinkedIn profile for the company, and no LinkedIn profile for the person contacting me either, which in our line of work is always worth a second look. So, I did what anyone in recruitment would do, I looked for a phone number and when I couldn’t find one, I emailed back and asked the question I'd expect a legitimate firm to answer easily.

Instead of backing off, they sent me to a polished website and shared a "confidential" search brief, then kept trying to move me further into the process, which only made me more curious than convinced. The site listed close to two dozen partners at the firm, and not one of them had a LinkedIn profile or any real footprint online. When I ran their headshots through Google Lens, every single photo belonged to someone else entirely.

I even reached out directly to the executive they claimed had personally retained them, and he confirmed what I already suspected. It was a scam, start to finish. I decided to share what I'd found with the people running it, and that was the end of that conversation.

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The other side of a story we already know

We talk a lot in this industry about fake candidates and AI-generated resumés. What we don't talk about nearly enough is the other side of that equation. Candidates are being targeted by fake recruitment firms that are getting more sophisticated by the month, and Altis has been on the receiving end of this kind of targeting too.

It's a good reminder that validation has to run in both directions. We ask hard questions about the candidates we represent. Job seekers deserve the same diligence when they're deciding who to trust with their career.

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What actually gave it away

On the surface, this website looked completely legitimate, with a clean design, professional copy and a full roster of "partners," and it's genuinely a little unsettling how convincing these setups have become. But once you know what to look for, the cracks start to show pretty quickly.

The photos were a good example. They were high-quality images, the kind that look right at first glance, but look a little closer and there's something almost too polished about them, a certain sameness that real headshots from real people rarely have. That's often a sign the photos are AI-generated.

The site structure told its own story too, since every "page" in the menu bar actually led to the same single page, with no real depth behind the navigation at all. On its own, an AI-built website isn't a red flag, and plenty of legitimate small firms use one. But stack it on top of everything else, the missing LinkedIn profiles, the AI-generated photos, the Gmail outreach pretending to be a corporate account, and it becomes part of a much bigger picture.

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A few things worth checking before you go further

If your gut is telling you that something feels uncertain, that's usually reason enough to dig a little deeper before you take the next step. A few places to start:

1. Look up LinkedIn profiles for both the person reaching out and the firm itself. A real recruiter, consultant or company always has an account with posts, people saying they work there and historical information.

2. Search for reviews of the firm on Google, Yelp or Glassdoor. A legitimate staffing firm will have a track record you can actually find.

3. Take a real look at their website beyond the homepage. Click through the menu, check whether the pages actually go anywhere and see if the story holds together.

4. Pay attention to how the outreach was sent. A personal Gmail account dressed up to look corporate is a flag worth noticing.

5. Look for a phone number. Many scam websites won’t have a working phone number or a phone number listed at all.  

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And one that matters more than any of the others: never share personal information with a company or a recruiter you're not certain you can trust. Also, remember that a recruiter will never ask for payment or banking information. If something about the process feels off, a real firm will always understand a request for a phone call. In fact, in an age where so much of this happens over email and technology, a real voice on the other end of the line matters ten times more than it used to.

Don't be shy about asking hard questions either. A legitimate firm expects it, and how someone responds to being pressed is often the clearest signal of all. If you do get that phone call, here are a few questions worth asking:

1. What is the exact legal name of your firm, and can you send me your website and LinkedIn page while we're on the call?

2. Who at the company retained you for this search, and would they be willing to confirm that directly?

3. Can you tell me about other searches your firm has completed, and can I speak with a past candidate or client as a reference?

4. What is your firm's registered business address, and how long have you been operating?

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If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, report it. Mark the email as phishing with your email provider, and if there's a website involved, you can report it directly to Google Safe Browsing or to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. A few minutes spent reporting it could stop the next person from falling for the same thing.

For more on how to spot these situations before they go this far, take a look at our guide on how to identify job scams and fake recruiter messages.

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Why reputation still matters most

This is exactly why working with a reputable firm matters more now than it ever has. Look for a company with public reviews, real people behind it that you can actually find and verify on LinkedIn and a track record you can trace. In an age where scammers can build something that looks legitimate in a single afternoon, that kind of due diligence isn't optional anymore; it's essential.

Validating who you're talking to, whether that's a candidate, a vendor or a client, has always been part of how we operate at Altis. Stories like this one are a reminder of just how much that principle matters, on every side of the table.

Altis is a Canadian-owned staffing firm supporting organizations across the private and public sectors. We focus on relationship-driven recruitment, clear process and consistent delivery, helping employers hire with confidence and professionals build meaningful careers.