Fake Check and Reshipping Job Scams: How They Work

Two common online job scams are the fake check and reshipping. In a fake check scam, a "boss" sends you a check, asks you to send part of it on, and the check later bounces on you. In a reshipping scam, you receive goods bought with stolen cards and forward them to another address. The FTC says reshipping goods is never a real job, and that you should never use money from a check to send gift cards, crypto or wires.

Both show up in "work from home" listings with friendly titles. This post explains the mechanics so you can recognize them. For the broader warning signs, see how to spot a work-from-home job scam.

1. Scam 1: The fake check

The FTC describes the pattern like this: a person you do not know asks you to deposit a check. It is usually for more than they owe you, sometimes several thousand dollars. They tell you to send some of the money back to them or to another person, with a good story for why you cannot keep it all, such as covering taxes or fees, buying supplies for a job, or returning an overpayment.

The FTC lists job-related versions:

• Mystery shopping. Your first "assignment" is to evaluate a store that sells gift cards, money orders, or a wire service. You deposit the check and wire part of it elsewhere.
• Personal assistant. You are told to deposit the check and buy gift cards, then send the PINs to your "boss," who uses them right away.
• Car wrap decals. You deposit a check and send money to "installers" who are not real.

2. Why you can see the money and still lose it

The FTC explains that fake checks generally look just like real checks, even to bank employees. They are often printed with the names and addresses of real financial institutions, and some are real checks drawn on accounts belonging to someone whose identity was stolen.

By law, banks have to make deposited funds available quickly. Seeing the money in your account does not mean the check is good, because it can take weeks for a bank to discover a fake. By then the scammer has what you sent, and you are stuck paying the bank back.

3. A worked example (made-up numbers)

Suppose a "new employer" mails a $2,850 check for "equipment" and tells you to send $2,100 to a vendor.

• You deposit $2,850 and the funds show up.
• You send $2,100 by wire, gift card, or cryptocurrency.
• Weeks later the bank finds the check is fake and reverses the deposit. You now owe the bank $2,850.
• You still hold only 2,850 minus 2,100, which is $750, so you must find the other $2,100 from your own money.

Your real loss is $2,100, and the $750 that looked like leftover pay was never yours. These figures are an illustration, not FTC data.

4. Scam 2: Reshipping

An FTC consumer alert from December 2025 describes a job with a fancy title such as "delivery operations specialist" or "quality control manager." The tasks are to receive shipments, repackage them, and send them to a new address. That is a reshipping scam.

According to the FTC, the scammers sometimes claim to be connected to familiar companies like Amazon or FedEx, and they use stolen credit card or bank information to send you high-dollar items such as new electronics. Your "job" is to throw out the original box and receipt and forward the goods, often to an international address where they cannot be tracked.

You may not realize it is a scam until payday passes without a word or a dollar. If you shared a bank account number, Social Security number, or a copy of your ID, you may also face identity theft.

5. Red flags that fit both scams

Based on the FTC pages:

• You are handed a check by someone you do not know and told to send some of it on, or it is for more than you are owed.
• You are asked to send money, gift card PINs, or cryptocurrency from the check.
• The job is receiving and forwarding packages.
• The title is impressive but the tasks are simple.
• The offer claims a link to a familiar company such as Amazon or FedEx, which the FTC says scammers sometimes lie about.

The FTC's advice for any offer: search the company or person plus the words "scam," "review," or "complaint," and describe the offer to someone you trust.

6. If you already deposited the check or sent money

For payments, the FTC says that if you paid with a gift card, tell the issuer and the store right away and ask for a refund. If you wired money, call the wire company at once and ask for a reversal, although the FTC says it is unlikely to happen. If you paid with cryptocurrency, contact the company you used and say it was fraud. For identity details you shared, the FTC points to IdentityTheft.gov/steps.

Report fake checks to the FTC, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and your state attorney general. Report reshipping to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and uspis.gov/report.

7. Key takeaways

• Never use money from a check to send gift cards, wires or crypto, the FTC says.
• A check that "clears" can still be fake, and the bank will want its money back.
• In the made-up $2,850 example, a $2,100 transfer means you lose $2,100 of your own money.
• Reshipping is never a real job. The goods come from stolen cards.
• Act fast on gift cards, wires, and crypto, then report to the FTC.

General information, not legal or financial advice.