Two-factor authentication
Turn on sign-in with an extra confirmation step for your email, cloud storage and every profile through which work and money come in. Keep backup recovery codes separate from your phone.
Security
Security
Someone looking for work is an easy target for scammers: they are waiting for replies, ready to respond quickly and do not always have time to double-check who they are talking to. That is why digital security here is not an extra topic but part of the job. Below are the main threats and the simple rules that protect you from them.
If you are asked for money or an SMS code before you can start working, it is not a job.
How this section works: we describe warning signs and protection principles without naming companies or software. Schemes change their packaging, but their essence can be recognized by recurring signs.
Accounts and codes
Your email and platform profiles are your main working assets.
Phishing
An email "from the platform" or "from the bank" with a link to a sign-in page may lead to a fake. Open the site yourself by typing the address or using a bookmark, not through a link in the email.
SMS codes
A confirmation code is for you alone. No bank employee, employer or "moderator" has any right to ask for it. Anyone who asks you to read out a code is trying to get into your account.
Scam signs (in Russian)
Suspicious job offers
A fake job offer gives itself away because the money flows from you, not to you.
"Pay for your training"
They promise a job after a paid course, a starter kit or a "registration fee." A real employer trains you at its own expense or sells a course openly and separately, without tying it to a job.
Company checks (in Russian)
"We need your bank account"
They ask you to open a card, hand over its details or online banking access, or receive and forward money. This is money muling: other people's money, often stolen, is passed through your account. Never hand over your card or account access; you will be the one held responsible.
Like-for-pay tasks
First they pay a little for likes and reviews, then they offer "premium tasks" that require depositing your own money. Withdrawing it turns out to be impossible.
Scam signs (in Russian)
Money and "investments"
A separate group of schemes poses as earning money without working.
Promised returns
High returns with no risk, an "exclusive club," a "personal manager" and pressure to decide everything today: the classic set of scam signs.
Scam signs (in Russian)
Checking the Bank of Russia directory
The Bank of Russia publishes a directory of financial market participants and a list of companies with signs of illegal activity. Before trusting a company with money, look it up there. Rules differ by country — check your local tax office and financial regulator.
Company checks (in Russian)
Reviews are not proof
Glowing reviews are easy to buy, and complaints are easy to delete. A review is no substitute for checking a company's registration and records.
Reading reviews (in Russian)
Read next
- Scam signs (in Russian)
An archived address from the previous site: warning signs of online "earnings" and "investment" scams, and what to do if you have already paid.
- Company checks (in Russian)
An archived address from the previous site: how to vet a company or employer before trusting them with your money, documents or time.
- Tools
What you need to work calmly from home: connectivity, documents and cloud storage, a password manager, backups and time tracking, with no product names.
- FAQ
Answers to common questions about this guide, finding projects and getting paid, the tax for the self-employed, and keeping money and accounts safe.
Sources
- Bank of Russia: directory of financial market participants and list of companies with signs of illegal activity
Information on Russia's professional income tax and on what the Bank of Russia publishes was checked against official sources as of the date this material was prepared. Terms set by platforms, banks and employers change, so check the current version before any important decision.