Fake remote-job offer scam

A "recruiter" contacts you through LinkedIn, Indeed, or directly with a too-good remote-job offer for a real-sounding company. The hiring process is fast — sometimes one interview over Zoom or Microsoft Teams (often without video), sometimes just chat. You "get the job."

Onboarding includes a request to pay for your own equipment — a custom company laptop, "secure" software licenses, ergonomic furniture stipend — with a reimbursement promised in your first paycheck. You send the money. The equipment never arrives, the company never responds, and the recruiter vanishes.

Variants target college students, recent graduates, and people who recently posted "open to work" on LinkedIn.

After "hiring":

"Welcome to the team! Before your start date, we need to ship your equipment kit. Please send $1,899 via Zelle to our IT manager's email for the laptop, monitor, headset, and software license. This is fully reimbursed in your first paycheck. We trust our team to handle this directly because of how distributed we are."

Or a check arrives for "equipment + first paycheck advance" and you're asked to deposit, keep your portion, and wire the rest to an "equipment vendor" — which is the fake-check scam wearing a job costume.

• Hiring process unusually fast (one chat-only interview, no panel).
• Recruiter email is from a free domain (gmail, outlook) instead of the company's real domain.
• They ask you to send money or deposit a check on Day 1.
• The "company" website is recent, sparse, or a clone of a real company with a slightly different URL.
• Reimbursement is promised in writing but never materializes.
• You're hired faster than you've ever been hired before.
• They communicate primarily via Signal, WhatsApp, or Telegram instead of corporate email.
• They use real-sounding executive names — verify them on LinkedIn before trusting.

1. Look up the company's careers page directly. Confirm the role is real and posted by the actual employer.
2. Verify the recruiter on LinkedIn by searching directly, not following the link they sent. Confirm they have a real history at the company.
3. Apply the rule: legitimate employers buy and ship equipment themselves, or they reimburse after you submit receipts. They do not ask you to wire money for equipment before you start.
4. Demand a verifiable corporate email for any onboarding communication. Real employers use real company domains.
5. Be suspicious of speed. Real hiring takes weeks. If you're hired in 48 hours after one chat-only interview, treat it as a flag.

• Contact your bank, Zelle, Cash App, or wire service immediately.
• Report to the FTC, IC3, and LinkedIn / Indeed / Glassdoor (or wherever you found the posting).
• Report to the real company the scammer impersonated — they typically maintain anti-fraud pages.
• If you shared SSN / DOB / direct-deposit details for "payroll setup," treat it as identity theft: credit freeze, IRS PIN, IdentityTheft.gov plan.
• Talk to a career counselor or trusted person before applying to your next remote role — the embarrassment makes follow-on scams easier.

• Do not wire money for equipment, software, or "onboarding kits" to an employer.
• Do not deposit "advance paychecks" and forward portions elsewhere — that's the fake-check scam.
• Do not share SSN, bank routing/account, or photo ID via unsecured chat. Real employers use secure HR portals.
• Do not trust a "verified" LinkedIn badge alone — verify the recruiter's profile history independently.

• FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov — the broadest US fraud intake; reports flow to thousands of law-enforcement agencies.
• FBI IC3: ic3.gov — the right destination when the scam is internet-enabled (phishing, BEC, romance, crypto).
• CFPB: consumerfinance.gov/complaint — for complaints about banks, money transmitters, payment apps, credit cards, debt collection.
• IdentityTheft.gov — if any identity information (SSN, driver's license, account credentials) was shared.
• Your bank or payment platform. Call the number on the back of your card or use the app's in-product help. Time matters — wires can sometimes be recalled within hours; ACH and Zelle are harder but worth trying.