Legitimate online work covers a lot: customer service, data entry, writing, tutoring, virtual assistance, freelancing, and remote roles for regular companies. What these have in common is simple, the employer pays you, the work is clearly described, and you can verify the company is real.

What it is not: “jobs” that promise huge money for almost no effort, that stay vague about what you would actually do, or that need you to pay or hand over bank details before you have done any work. Those are the shapes scams take.

What to do: Before chasing any opportunity, ask three plain questions, what exactly is the work, who is the company, and how and when do they pay? If you cannot get clear answers, it is not a real job.