Job scams: task apps, fake checks and "you're hired" texts
A real employer never asks you to pay to start work, to deposit a check and send part of it back, or to fund an app account to unlock tasks. If a job involves you sending money, it is a scam.
By the editors of ProtectYour.com Last reviewed 5 min read
Key takeaways
- Never pay for the promise of a job, for training, for a starter kit, or to unlock tasks in an app.
- Task scams start with an unexpected text or WhatsApp message about easy online work. Small early payouts are bait; then you are asked to deposit your own money, usually crypto.
- A "cleared" check from a new employer can still bounce weeks later, and you owe the bank the money.
- Reshipping packages from home is never a real job. It usually means handling goods bought with stolen cards.
- If you paid, contact the payment company now, then report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and IC3.gov.
How common job scams are
Business and job opportunity scams were the third most reported fraud category to the FTC in 2024, with 126,217 reports, $751M in reported losses and a median loss of $2,250 (FTC Consumer Sentinel Data Book 2024). The FBI separately received 24,688 employment scam complaints in 2025 with $362,934,762 in losses (2025 IC3 Annual Report).
The fastest-growing type is the “task scam”. The FTC counted about 5,000 task scam reports in all of 2023 and about 20,000 in just the first half of 2024, when task scams made up nearly 40 percent of job scam reports. Job scam losses passed more than $220 million in those six months (FTC, December 2024).
Task scams: paying to get paid
The FTC describes the pattern like this:
- An unexpected text or WhatsApp message offers flexible online work, with few details.
- You are given repetitive “tasks” in an app or website, such as rating products, “app optimization” or “product boosting”.
- The app shows earnings, and you may even withdraw a small amount. That builds trust.
- Then a “combination task” or negative balance appears, and you must deposit your own money, often in cryptocurrency, to keep going or to unlock your earnings.
- Each deposit leads to a bigger one. Once you stop paying, the account and the money are gone.
Crypto losses to job scams reached $41 million in the first half of 2024, nearly double all of 2023 (FTC Data Spotlight). The “wrong number” and “job offer” texts that start these are covered in our text message scams guide.
The other job scams to know
Common job scams and the giveaway in each
| Scam | How it works | The giveaway |
|---|---|---|
| Fake check jobs | A “new employer” sends a check to buy equipment or pay a vendor, and you send part of it on. The check bounces later. | Any job that has you forward money from a check. |
| Reshipping | You receive packages at home, repackage them and send them on, often overseas. | The FTC says reshipping goods is never a real job. |
| Reselling luxury goods | You pay for discounted merchandise to resell. It never arrives, or it is junk. | You pay before you earn. |
| Nanny, caregiver, virtual assistant | A listing or email that seems to come from your community, followed by a fake check. | An employer who will not meet or video call, and sends money first. |
| Mystery shopper | You pay for a certification or job directory, or evaluate a money transfer service with a fake check. | Honest companies do not charge for certifications or job guarantees. |
| Government and postal jobs | You are charged for “exam materials” or priority placement. | It is always free to apply for a federal or postal job. |
| Fake recruiter interviews | A chat-only or text interview, then a request for your Social Security number and bank details before any real offer. | Onboarding paperwork before you have met anyone or signed an offer. |
Sources: FTC, Job Scams and FTC, fake check scams.
How to check an offer before you say yes
- Search the company and the recruiter’s name with words like “scam”, “review” or “complaint”.
- Find the company’s careers page yourself and check the job is listed there. Contact HR through the website, not the number or address in the message.
- Be suspicious of offers made entirely over text, WhatsApp or Telegram, or of pay far above the norm for little work.
- Give your Social Security number and bank details only after a real offer, from a verified employer, for payroll and tax forms.
- Talk it over with someone you trust before accepting. Scammers rely on you deciding alone and fast.
Free step: start your search somewhere safer
If you already paid or gave your details
- Stop sending money, even if the app shows a balance you cannot withdraw. That balance is not real.
- Contact the company you used to pay (bank, card issuer, crypto exchange, gift card brand) and ask for a reversal. Our guide to what to do if you sent money to a scammer lists the first call for each payment method.
- If you deposited a check, tell your bank it may be fake before it bounces.
- If you gave your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov and freeze your credit.
- Report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, at IC3.gov, to the job site where you saw the ad, and to your state attorney general.
Teens and students are frequent targets of easy-money job offers on social media; see online scams targeting teens. Other guides are in the scams hub.
Common questions
What is a task scam?
A task scam is a fake online job where you do simple tasks in an app, see earnings build up, and are then told to deposit your own money, often crypto, to unlock more tasks or withdraw. The FTC counted about 20,000 task scam reports in the first half of 2024, up from about 5,000 in all of 2023.
Do real employers ever send a check before you start?
Not with instructions to send part of it back or to buy equipment from a vendor they name. The FTC warns that a check can bounce weeks after the money appears available, and you then owe the bank.
Is reshipping packages from home a real job?
No. The FTC says reshipping goods is never a real job. These schemes usually move goods bought with stolen payment cards.
Where do I report a job scam?
Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, at IC3.gov, to the website where the job was posted, and to your state attorney general.
Your next step
Related guides
- Text message scams: unpaid tolls, package problems and "wrong number" textsMost scam texts want one of two things: a tap on a link that steals your card or login, or a reply that starts a longer con. Do not tap, do not reply, forward to 7726 and delete.
- What to do if you sent money to a scammer, by how you paidCall the company you paid through first, today, and ask it to stop, reverse or refund the payment. Then report it to the FTC and the FBI. Speed matters more than anything else: the FBI froze more than half the money in the cases it worked quickly in 2025.
- Online scams targeting teens: sextortion, gaming scams and what to tell your kidsThe scams that target teenagers, from financially motivated sextortion to free Robux and fake jobs, with plain advice for parents on what to say and what to do.
- Investment and crypto scams: "pig butchering", fake trading apps and WhatsApp groupsInvestment scams are the costliest fraud in the US: over $7.9 billion reported lost in 2025, about half of all fraud losses reported to the FTC. If someone you met online is guiding your investments, stop sending money.