If a new employer sends you a check and asks you to deposit it, then send part of the money back, buy gift cards, or pay a vendor for “home office equipment,” it is a fake check job scam. Do not deposit it. The check will bounce, often days or weeks later, and your bank will expect you to repay the full amount. Legitimate employers pay you for work you have done through payroll; they never send you money up front and ask you to forward some of it. Stop contact, keep the check and the messages, and report it.
This guide explains how the equipment-check and overpayment versions of this scam work, why seeing the money in your account proves nothing, how the related reshipping scam fits in, and what to do if you have already deposited a check.
How the fake check job scam works
The Federal Trade Commission describes fake checks as a common thread running through many job scams. The script usually goes like this.
- You are “hired” quickly. Often after a short text chat or a messaging-app “interview,” with no video call and no meeting with a real manager.
- A check arrives. By mail, courier or as a mobile-deposit image. It is described as money for equipment, a signing bonus, a training stipend or an advance on wages.
- You are told to deposit it and spend part of it quickly. Typical instructions are to buy a laptop from “our approved vendor,” send money by wire or payment app, or buy gift cards and share the codes.
- The funds appear in your account. This feels like proof the job is real.
- The check bounces. The bank reverses the deposit. The money you sent on is gone, and you owe the bank the amount you withdrew.
The FTC’s guide to job scams is direct about this: the check will bounce, and the bank will want you to repay the full amount of the fake check. It adds that a legitimate employer will never ask you to deposit a check and use some of the money for any reason.
Why “the money cleared” does not mean the check is real
This is the part that catches careful people. Banks are required to make deposited funds available quickly, often within a day or two. That availability is not the same as the check being verified.
The FTC’s page on spotting and reporting fake check scams puts it plainly: even if you see the funds in your account, that does not mean it is a good check. Fake checks can take weeks to be uncovered. The FTC also notes that fake checks generally look just like real checks, even to bank employees.
So “wait until it clears” is not a safe test. The only safe rule is not to deposit a check from an employer you have not verified, and never to send money back from one.
Common versions of the scam
The home office equipment check
You are told the company will “reimburse” you for a laptop, monitor or software, but you must buy them through a specific supplier. The supplier is the scammer. The FTC’s 2022 alert on phony job postings describes exactly this: an employer sends a check, asks the new hire to send part of it back for equipment, and the check turns out to be fake.
The overpayment
Your first “paycheck” arrives for far more than you were promised. You are asked to return the difference by wire, payment app or gift cards. The original check bounces.
The nanny, caregiver or virtual assistant check
The FTC lists caregiving and assistant roles as a frequent setting. The “family” or “executive” sends a check to cover supplies or to pay someone else on their behalf, and asks you to pass the money along.
Reshipping packages
A close cousin of the fake check scam. You are hired to receive packages at home, repack them and send them on, often overseas. The FTC says reshipping goods is never a real job, and that the items are often bought with stolen credit cards. A fake check may be used to “pay” you for the first batch.
Red flags before any check arrives
- The job was offered after a text-only or chat-only conversation.
- The “employer” uses a free email address or a domain that does not match the company’s website.
- You were offered the role without anyone asking about your experience.
- You are asked for bank details or ID before any written offer.
- Money is mentioned before work is: equipment funds, signing bonuses or “advances.”
- Instructions involve gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or a specific vendor you have never heard of.
Many of these warning signs show up in the listing itself. Our checklist for telling a real job ad from a fraudulent one walks through what to look at before you apply.
How real employers actually pay new hires
Knowing what normal looks like makes the scam easier to spot.
- Pay follows work. You are paid on a regular schedule for time worked or deliverables completed, usually by direct deposit through payroll.
- Paperwork comes first. Employees fill in tax and eligibility forms. Contractors agree terms and invoice. Our explainer on contract, freelance or employee status covers what each arrangement involves.
- Equipment is shipped or reimbursed against receipts. Companies that supply laptops normally send them directly from IT, or reimburse you after you submit an expense claim.
- Nobody asks for money back. If a payroll error occurs, it is corrected through payroll, not by asking you to buy gift cards.
If you work through an agency, the pattern is the same: the agency runs payroll on a fixed cycle. Russell Staffing’s guide to how temp workers get paid each pay period is a useful picture of a legitimate setup.
What to do if you received a check
- Do not deposit it. Do not photograph it into your banking app either.
- Stop communicating with the “employer.” You do not need to explain or confront them.
- Verify independently. If the company is real, find its contact details on its official website (not from the message) and ask whether the offer exists.
- Report it. The FTC suggests reporting fake check scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, or your state attorney general.
What to do if you already deposited it or sent money
- Tell your bank immediately. Explain that you believe the check is fraudulent. Ask what you will owe and whether anything can be stopped.
- Contact the payment method you used. The FTC advises contacting a gift card’s issuer right away about a refund, calling the wire transfer company immediately to report fraud, contacting the issuer of a money order to ask about stopping payment, and asking a crypto company to reverse the transaction.
- Report to the FTC. Use ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Protect your identity. If you shared your Social Security number, bank details or ID images, change passwords, enable two-step verification and watch your accounts and credit reports.
- Keep everything. The check, envelopes, emails, texts and receipts can help your bank and investigators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a real employer ever mail me a check before I start?
It is very unusual. Real employers pay for work after it is done, through payroll. A check that arrives before you have started, with instructions to spend or forward part of it, is a scam.
The money is in my account. Is the check good?
Not necessarily. The FTC explains that banks make funds available quickly, but fake checks can take weeks to be discovered. Seeing the money does not mean the check is real.
Do I have to repay the bank if the check bounces?
The FTC says the bank will want you to repay the full amount of the fake check. Contact your bank as soon as you suspect fraud to discuss your options.
Is a reshipping job ever legitimate?
No. The FTC states that reshipping goods is never a real job. These schemes often move goods bought with stolen cards.
Where do I report a fake check job scam?
Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and your state attorney general.