What are job scams?
Job scams are fake job ads or offers designed to take your money, use your bank account or steal your identity. They copy the look of real hiring: a posting, a recruiter message, an interview and an offer letter. The difference shows up when the "employer" asks you to pay, move money or send personal documents early.
The Federal Trade Commission's page on job scams, last updated March 2023, puts the main rule simply: "Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job." It also says "No honest potential employer will ever send you a check to deposit" and then ask you to send part of it back.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre gives the same warnings on its job scams page, modified January 16, 2026. Its advice is to "Never send deposits or pay fees for a job" and to check a company's official website and phone number yourself.
How common are job scams?
Reports and losses have climbed fast in the US. The FTC's figures for 2024 show the number of reports about job and employment agency scams tripled from 2020 to 2024, and reported losses rose from $90 million to $501 million. These are reports, so they count only people who came forward.
Those figures come from the FTC's March 2025 release on 2024 fraud data. The same release says reported losses in the wider business and job opportunities category totaled $750.6 million in 2024.
One type has grown fastest. The FTC's December 12, 2024 Data Spotlight on gamified job scams says about 20,000 people reported "task scams" in the first half of 2024, compared with about 5,000 in all of 2023. Reported losses to job scams in that half year topped $220 million.
What are the most common types of job scams?
Most job scams fall into a few patterns: paying for the job, depositing a fake check, moving money or packages, doing online tasks that require a deposit, and handing over ID for fake onboarding. The names change, but the ask at the end is the same. Look at what the job wants from you, not what it promises.
The FTC page lists work-from-home scams, reshipping scams, reselling merchandise scams, nanny, caregiver and virtual assistant scams, mystery shopper scams, job placement service scams, and government and postal job scams. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre adds car wrapping, counterfeit cheques, crypto task jobs, financial agent jobs, and web survey or online store jobs.
Task scams work in steps, according to the FTC's Data Spotlight. A text or WhatsApp message offers online work with few details. You rate products or like videos in an app that shows commissions growing, and small early payouts build trust. Then you are told to deposit money, often crypto, to keep going or to withdraw what you earned, and the deposits are usually lost.
Some scams aim for your identity instead of your cash. An FBI public service announcement from February 1, 2022 warned that scammers post fake listings on real job sites and impersonate real companies. It said the average reported loss from the scheme was "nearly $3,000 per victim," and many victims reported damage to their credit scores.
What are the warning signs of a job scam?
The clearest signs are a request for money, a check you are asked to deposit and partly return, a job offer you never applied for, and an employer that only talks by text or a personal email address. High pay for little work is another. One sign alone may be innocent, and two together are a reason to stop.
The table below groups the signs that the FTC, the FBI, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the Competition Bureau list. The last column is what to do next.
| Warning sign | Who lists it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| You must pay a fee, deposit or "upgrade" to start or to get paid | FTC, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre | Stop. Real employers don't charge you to work |
| A check arrives and you are asked to send part of it back | FTC, Competition Bureau | Don't deposit it. Call your bank about the check |
| A job offer arrives for a role you never applied for | Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre | Look up the company yourself and contact it directly |
| The recruiter uses a free email account instead of a company domain | Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre | Compare the address with the company's own careers page |
| The pay is high for very little work, or income is guaranteed | FTC, Competition Bureau | Treat the offer as a scam until proven otherwise |
| You are asked to receive and forward money or packages | FTC, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Competition Bureau | Refuse. This can make you part of a laundering scheme |
| You are asked for bank details or ID before any hiring step | FBI | Wait until you have a written offer you have checked |
The Competition Bureau's page on job and employment scams adds two habits worth keeping: "Don't agree to cash a cheque," and "Get all the details in writing before paying for something or signing any documents."
How do you check whether a job offer is real?
Find the company yourself and contact it through details you looked up, not the ones in the message. Search the company name alone, look for the job on its own careers page, and call the main number to ask whether the recruiter works there. A real recruiter won't mind you checking.
The FBI's 2022 announcement gives specific steps. It says to "Conduct a web search of the hiring company using the company name only" and to "Verify job postings found on networking and third-party websites on the hiring company's own website." It also notes that real employers usually ask for bank details for payroll only after you are hired.
Here is an example message to send to the company's main contact address. Copy it and change the details.
Hello, I received a job offer for a [job title] role from someone who says they are [name], a recruiter at [company], using the email [address]. Could you confirm whether this person works for you and whether this role is open? I haven't sent any money or documents. Thank you, [your name]
If the "recruiter" pushes you to decide today, refuses a video or phone call with a named person, or gets angry when you ask questions, end the conversation. The page on ghost jobs covers the less harmful problem of real companies posting ads they aren't filling.
What should you do if you already paid or shared information?
Act the same day. Contact the bank, card company or payment service you used, tell them it was fraud, and ask whether the payment can be stopped or reversed. Then report it, keep every message and receipt, and watch your accounts and credit for activity you don't recognise.
The FTC page says that if you paid a scammer, you should "contact the company you used to send the money" right away, report the fraud and ask whether the transaction can be reversed. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre warns that cryptocurrency payments in most cases can't be reversed.
If you gave out your Social Security number, Social Insurance Number or ID documents, tell your bank and the credit bureaus. Change any passwords you shared or reused.
Where do you report a job scam?
In the US, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. In Canada, report it to your local police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. In both countries, also report the posting to the job site where you found it, so it can be taken down.
US reporting:
- The FTC's reporting site is ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC job scams page also suggests your state attorney general.
- The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center takes reports of online fraud. Its site says to "file a report even if you are unsure of whether your complaint qualifies," and warns that the IC3 "will never directly contact you for information or money."
Canadian reporting:
- The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's page on reporting fraud and cybercrime says victims should contact local police as soon as possible. You can report online at reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca or by phone at 1-888-495-8501, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4:45 pm Eastern.
How do you keep searching without getting scammed?
Apply through employers' own career pages when you can, keep a log of every application, and treat any message about a job you don't recognise as unverified. A log makes fake offers easy to spot, because you can see at a glance that you never applied there.
The guide to how to follow up on a job application shows a simple tracking routine. If you are new to Canada, the guide to finding a job in Canada as a newcomer lists official services, which are safer starting points than offers that arrive unasked. For a real lead, the page on the hidden job market covers reaching employers directly.
When a genuine offer arrives, read it in full before you accept. The page on how to respond to a job offer covers what a real written offer includes. Before you apply anywhere, the free job match tool checks every requirement in a posting against your resume and gives a score out of 10, so you spend time on roles that fit.