🎯 In 30 seconds: A fake job pays the scammer in one of three ways: you pay to start, you move money or goods for them, or you hand over personal details they use to steal your identity. A real employer never asks you to deposit a check and send part of it on, never charges you to work, and never asks you to reship packages.
Five fake jobs and how each one profits
| The “job” | What you are asked to do | How the scammer profits |
|---|---|---|
| Remote assistant / nanny / caregiver | Deposit a check to buy equipment or supplies from a named vendor, keep a slice as pay. | The check is fake. The money you send the “vendor” is real, and it is theirs. |
| Package handler | Receive boxes at home, relabel them and ship them on, often overseas. | The goods were bought with stolen cards. You become the link police find first; pay never arrives. |
| Online “tasks” | Rate products or like videos in an app; earnings grow on screen. | To release the earnings you must deposit money, usually crypto. It is gone. |
| Payment processor | Receive money into your bank account and forward it. | You are laundering stolen money (a “money mule”). Your account may be closed and you can face legal trouble. |
| Paid placement or certification | Pay a fee for training, a starter kit or a “guaranteed” job list. | The fee is the product. Honest placement firms are usually paid by employers. |
Federal and Postal Service jobs are free to apply for through USAJobs.gov and usps.com, so any ad charging for a government job is fake.
Why the check “cleared” and still bounced
When you deposit a check, your bank must make some of the money available quickly, often by the next business day. That is availability, not proof the check is good. The paying bank can still return a forged or counterfeit check days or even weeks later. When it does, your bank takes the full amount back out of your account.
So a balance that shows the money means only that the bank is letting you use it for now. If anyone asks you to send part of a deposit somewhere else, wait until your bank confirms the check has been paid, or simply refuse.
A worked example: Jordan, 22
Jordan accepts a remote “virtual assistant” job after a chat-only interview. A $2,950 check arrives: $450 is his first week’s pay, and $2,500 is to buy a laptop and software from the company’s “approved vendor” by Zelle.
| Balance before | $600 |
| Deposits the check | $600 + $2,950 = $3,550 shown |
| Sends the vendor by Zelle | $3,550 − $2,500 = $1,050 |
| Nine days later the check is returned | $1,050 − $2,950 = −$1,900 |
| What Jordan owes the bank | $1,900, plus any returned-item or overdraft fees |
Jordan lost his own $600 and now owes $1,900. A payment he sent himself to the “vendor” is usually not treated as unauthorized, so the protections on the Zelle, Venmo and Cash App rules page are limited here. Report it anyway.
Task scams, the fast riser
The FTC flagged “gamified” task scams in late 2024. Reports jumped from about 5,000 in all of 2023 to about 20,000 in just the first half of 2024. The pattern: an unexpected text or WhatsApp message offers easy online work, an app shows commissions climbing, small early payouts build trust, and then you are told to “recharge” the account with your own money before you can withdraw. The earnings were never real.
Vet any offer before you say yes
- Who contacted whom? An unsolicited text or chat message offering a job is a red flag on its own.
- Was there a real interview? Live voice or video, with questions about your skills, not only a chat.
- Is the company real? Find its website yourself and call the HR number listed there to confirm the opening and the recruiter’s name.
- Does any step involve your money? Fees, deposits, “recharges”, or forwarding funds: stop.
- Does any step involve a check followed by a payment? Stop.
- Packages to your home to send on? Stop. Reshipping is never a real job.
- When do they want your SSN and bank details? Only after a real offer, on official onboarding forms such as the W-4 and I-9.
If you already took part
- Stop all activity, including forwarding money or packages.
- Call your bank on the number on your card. Tell them about the check and any transfers, and ask what can be stopped.
- If you shared your SSN or ID, freeze your credit (see Credit freezes and the lesser-known agencies) and consider an IRS IP PIN.
- Report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general. If you received or forwarded money, tell your bank everything; being open helps if questions come later.
- Your balance shows a deposited check as available. Is it safe to send part of it on? Answer: No. Availability is not proof the check is good; it can be returned later and the bank takes it back.
- In Jordan’s example, why does he end up at −$1,900? Answer: He spent $2,500 of a $2,950 check that bounced, so the bank removed the full $2,950.
- An app shows your task earnings but says to deposit funds to release them. What is it? Answer: A task scam. Never pay to get paid.
- Is receiving and reshipping packages ever a real job? Answer: No. The FTC says reshipping is never a real job.