Real AI training work exists, and so do people pretending to offer it. The biggest risk usually isn't a fake platform. It's someone pretending to be a real one. They copy a well-known company's name, write to you first, and walk you towards a payment or an ID upload on a site they control.
This guide shows the patterns, the checks that take two minutes, and what to do if you've already sent something.
The one rule that catches most scams
Real platforms pay you. They never charge you to start.
If anyone asks you to pay for training, a starter kit, software, equipment, a background check or a "verification fee", stop. That single rule catches most of what's out there. It holds for every platform we cover, from the expert marketplaces to the big rating vendors.
How the common scams work
The friendly recruiter. Someone messages you on LinkedIn, Telegram or WhatsApp. They say they work for a known AI company and you've been "shortlisted". The interview happens entirely over text chat. Then comes a fee, or a request to buy equipment from a "partner".
The lookalike site. Scammers register addresses that look almost right. Our research found a fake Mercor address ending in ".com.co" being used with a fake "assessment" to collect interview recordings and personal details. The page looks real. The address isn't.
The data harvest. Some postings exist mainly to collect your CV, ID and a video of you talking. There's no job at the end. An investigation on Substack described AI job ads that work this way.
The cheque or crypto trick. You're "hired", sent money or a cheque, and asked to send part of it back or buy something with it. The original payment later bounces. You lose what you sent.
Two-minute checks before you apply
- Start from the platform, not the message. Type the platform's address yourself, or use the links on our platform pages. Never apply through a link someone sent you.
- Read the address bar. Check the full domain, letter by letter, before you sign in or upload anything.
- Check the email domain. Real recruiters write from the company's own domain. A free email address claiming to be a big AI company is a red flag.
- Look for the job on the platform itself. If a role is real, it's on the platform's own job list. If it only exists in a chat, assume it isn't real.
- Ask what the screening is. Real platforms run a proper screening: an AI interview, a test task, or both. A "hire" after five text messages is not a screening.
TELUS Digital tells applicants to apply only through its own AI Community site, telusinternational.ai. Ethos experts sign up at agent.askethos.com. Use the official route every time.
Red flags at a glance
| Red flag | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Any fee, deposit or equipment purchase | Scam. Real platforms pay you. |
| Interview only by Telegram or WhatsApp text | No real screening, so no real job |
| Pay that seems far too high for easy work | Bait |
| Pressure to decide today | They don't want you to check |
| Asked to move money for them | Fraud, and it can get you in trouble |
| A domain that's almost right | Lookalike site |
ID checks: real, but be careful where
Here's the tricky part. Real platforms do ask for government ID, so "they asked for my passport" isn't proof of a scam. Mercor's own help docs say it verifies identity once through Persona, a third-party service, with a government ID and a short selfie video. micro1 also asks for an ID upload, according to the research we rely on.
So the question isn't whether they ask. It's where. Upload ID only after you've signed in on the platform's own domain, inside its own onboarding steps. Never send a photo of your passport by email, chat or a form someone linked you to.
Real platforms have risks too
Being real doesn't make a platform risk-free. Our research notes a few things worth knowing:
- Data breaches. In late March 2026, a supply-chain breach at Mercor exposed contractor personal data. Class actions followed. The same month, a hacking group claimed to have stolen a large amount of TELUS Digital data, including personal information. Both are reported on Wikipedia, and we don't know how many individual workers were affected.
- Payment complaints. Some platforms, Alignerr in particular, have reports of accounts deactivated before payout. Payment delays have also been reported at a few smaller vendors.
- VPN bans. Several platforms ban VPNs. Mercor's docs say connections must come from a normal home or mobile internet connection. An account flagged for a VPN can be closed, and unpaid earnings can go with it.
None of this means "don't apply". It means: share only what each step needs, keep your own records of hours and payments, and don't keep all your income on one platform.
If you think you've been scammed
- Stop replying and don't send any more money or documents.
- If you paid by card or bank transfer, call your bank today. The sooner, the better the chance of stopping it.
- If you sent ID, watch for accounts opened in your name. In many countries you can place a fraud alert or credit freeze. Check what your local options are.
- Report the account to the site where they contacted you, and to the real company they pretended to be.
- Report it locally. Most countries have a police or consumer-protection channel for online fraud.
Being targeted isn't a sign you did something stupid. These people do this full-time.
How we check what we list
Every job on our list is checked by hand. We link only to the platform's own sign-up, and we never list anything that asks you for money. If something on our site ever looks wrong, tell us.
Where to go next
Start with roles that are real and hiring now: browse the job list, or see which platforms are busy this week on the tracker. New to the work? Read how to get your first AI training job next.
Some Apply links are referral links: we get a bonus if you're hired, it costs you nothing and the application is the same.