Is this Greek job offer real? How to spot a scam before you travel

The warning signs that should stop you

A fake offer rarely looks fake at first glance. What gives it away is how the conversation develops — and if you are abroad, you cannot simply walk past the venue to see it. One of the signs below is a reason to slow down; two or three together are a reason to stop.

• You are asked to pay to get the job: a "file fee", a placement fee, a uniform or training you pay for up front.
• You are asked for a deposit for staff housing before you arrive and before you have seen it.
• The employer won't give the business's name, or the name changes every time you ask.
• You are pressed to decide today, "because the position is going".
• You are hired with no interview and no questions about your experience.
• You are asked in the first messages for a scan of your passport or ID, or for bank details.
• The pay promised is far above what you see elsewhere for the same role, with no explanation.
• A different person writes to you each time, and nobody says what their role in the business is.

To know what is usual, look at the seasonal pay page for what open listings state for your role and area. An offer that stands far apart is not automatically a scam, but it is a reason to ask more questions.

You never pay to get a job

The rule is simple: the employer pays you, not the other way round. Anyone who asks you for money before you start — whatever they call it — has given you the clearest reason to walk away. Greece's online-safety bodies give the same advice: avoid any deal with a stranger who asks for an advance payment.

The same goes for housing. If the job comes with accommodation, that is part of the agreement and belongs in the written terms; you do not "secure" it with a transfer to someone you have never met. For how to judge the housing that comes with a listing, read the seasonal housing guide.

How to verify the business exists

A real hotel, restaurant or beach bar leaves traces. Before you commit, find them yourself — do not rely on the links sent by the person making the offer.

1. Ask for the exact business name and address. An offer with no address, only an email or a number, is not enough.
2. Find it on a map. See whether it sits where they say, whether it has visitor photos, and whether its reviews stretch back over time.
3. Look for its own website or social pages with a history, and compare the phone number there with the one you were given.
4. Call the number you found yourself and ask whether they are really hiring, and who handles hiring.
5. Ask for a video call. Someone who is genuinely hiring has no reason to refuse, and can often show you the venue as well.
6. Ask for the terms in writing: role, dates, pay, hours, accommodation. Willingness to write them down is a good sign in itself.

A legitimate Greek business also has a tax number (ΑΦΜ), because without one it cannot declare your hiring. You do not need to look it up yourself; it is enough to know that an employer who avoids every official detail will not be able to hire you legally.

When to hand over documents and personal details

To hire you, an employer will need your details at some point — that is normal. The question is when. Details are given once you have agreed, you know which business it is and you have seen the terms; not in the first message, and not "so the application can move forward".

The Hellenic Police advise against giving personal details online to someone you have not verified. A passport scan can be used in your name long after the conversation ends. Passwords — for your bank, your email, any government login — are never shared with anyone.

If you are not an EU citizen, whether and how you may work in Greece depends on your nationality; ask the Greek consulate in your country rather than the person offering the job. Which papers a Greek hiring really needs, and at what stage, is covered in the guide to hiring paperwork.

What a legitimate hiring looks like in Greece

A normal hiring has an order: a listing that names the business, a conversation or interview, terms in writing, and then a declaration to the state. In Greece your employer is required to submit a Digital Hiring Declaration to ΕΡΓΑΝΗ (ERGANI), the national employment-declaration system, before you start working — not after.

You can see this for yourself without asking anyone: sign in to myErgani with your Taxisnet credentials (the national login used for tax services) and it lists every employment relationship declared under your name. If you have started and nothing appears, ask your employer first; if it still does not appear, your work is undeclared.

What exactly should be in writing, and what applies to hours, days off and the end of the season, is explained in the seasonal work contract guide.

What to do if something goes wrong

• Stop the conversation and send nothing more — no money, no documents.
• Keep everything: messages, the listing, names, numbers, payment receipts. Take screenshots before anything is deleted.
• If you have already sent money, contact your bank or the payment service you used straight away.
• For fraud carried out online, the responsible body is the Hellenic Police Cyber Crime Division (Διεύθυνση Δίωξης Κυβερνοεγκλήματος, also known as Δίωξη Ηλεκτρονικού Εγκλήματος): by phone on 11188 from within Greece, or with a complaint through gov.gr. From abroad, you can also report it to the police in your own country.
• If you are already working and the problem is about the job itself — undeclared work, unpaid hours, terms that are not honoured — the responsible authority is the Labour Inspectorate (Επιθεώρηση Εργασίας, still widely known as ΣΕΠΕ): through its website, by name or without giving your name, or by phone on 1555.
• Tell the platform where you found the listing as well, so the next person does not see it.

This guide gives general information, not legal advice. For your own case, ask the responsible authorities — they answer to the public free of charge.

Where to look, and how Recruvo works

On Recruvo every listing names the hiring business up front and links to its profile, so you know where your application is going. A business account is approved automatically when its tax number (ΑΦΜ) is valid and active; otherwise the Recruvo team reviews it.

That tells you there is a registered business behind the listing. It does not tell you how it will treat you as an employer, and no platform can guarantee that. Recruvo doesn't handle payments and doesn't guarantee any transaction — so nobody has a reason to ask you for money "through Recruvo". The steps in this guide apply wherever you find the job.

Browse seasonal job listings, and if this is your first year, read what to expect from your first season. If something in a Recruvo listing looks suspicious, write to us; for everything else, see the FAQ.