What are the red flags of this scam?

You received an unsolicited text or message about a job you never applied for • The recruiter claims to be from a well-known company but contacts you only through a personal messaging app • The job involves simple tasks like rating products, liking posts, or completing online surveys for pay • You are sent a check and told to deposit it and wire or Zelle a portion back — a classic overpayment scam • You are asked to pay upfront for software, training, or equipment before you can start

What should I do if this happened to me?

Ignore and delete unsolicited job texts — legitimate employers do not recruit via cold texts or WhatsApp • Never deposit a check from an unknown sender and wire or send back any portion — you will be held liable for the full amount when the check bounces • Verify any recruiter by searching the company's official website directly and calling their listed HR number • Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

HIGH job Last reported: Oct 14, 2026 Share

Unsolicited text offering a remote job eventually demands money

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. An unexpected text, WhatsApp, or Telegram message from a fake recruiter claims to be hiring for a remote role at a real company. After you engage, you are asked to deposit a check and wire back part of the money, or pay out-of-pocket for training, tasks, or equipment.

An unexpected text, WhatsApp, or Telegram message from a fake recruiter claims to be hiring for a remote role at a real company. After you engage, you are asked to deposit a check and wire back part of the money, or pay out-of-pocket for training, tasks, or equipment.

Also known as: fake recruiter text scam, remote job text scam, task-based money mule scam, online job SMS scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Ignore and delete unsolicited job texts — legitimate employers do not recruit via cold texts or WhatsApp
2 Never deposit a check from an unknown sender and wire or send back any portion — you will be held liable for the full amount when the check bounces
3 Verify any recruiter by searching the company's official website directly and calling their listed HR number
4 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

Got a website or job offer to check?

Paste the link or the recruiter’s email into our free site checker — domain age, look-alike signs, and ways to verify the company independently.

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Red flags

⚠ You received an unsolicited text or message about a job you never applied for
⚠ The recruiter claims to be from a well-known company but contacts you only through a personal messaging app
⚠ The job involves simple tasks like rating products, liking posts, or completing online surveys for pay
⚠ You are sent a check and told to deposit it and wire or Zelle a portion back — a classic overpayment scam
⚠ You are asked to pay upfront for software, training, or equipment before you can start

Known variants

AI-generated fake LinkedIn recruiter profile impersonates a real company's HR team. A deepfake video interview is conducted on Zoom or Teams. After a quick 'offer,' victim is asked for SSN and bank details for 'payroll setup,' or must pay an upfront equipment or training fee.

Last seen: 7/18/2026
AI scrapes the target's LinkedIn profile, resume, and job-board history to craft a text or message that names their actual job title, current employer, or listed skills. The hyper-personalized pitch defeats skepticism; roughly 40% of victims cited personalization as the primary reason they trusted it.

Last seen: 7/18/2026
Victim joins a gamified task app via unsolicited text or WhatsApp. The platform pays small amounts (rating hotels, liking videos) to build trust, then demands a cryptocurrency deposit to 'unlock' a larger task set or pending balance. The deposit is stolen; the locked 'earnings' were never real.

Last seen: 8/15/2026
A text from 'Amazon Remote Recruitment Team' sent from a Hotmail or Gmail address offers $100–$600/day for 60–90 min supporting Amazon sellers. Same script, different recruiter names. Victim is moved to WhatsApp or Telegram, then asked for SSN and bank details for 'payroll setup' or pressured to deposit crypto to unlock 'pending earnings.'

Last seen: 8/27/2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Known variants

Sources