# A job wants to pay me before I start - scam?

> Almost always, yes. Getting paid before you have done any work is the core move of the fake-check scam: the employer sends a real-looking check or transfer, asks you to send some of it back or buy gift cards or equipment, and days later the deposit reverses - leaving you owing your bank the entire amount. No legitimate job pays you before you work.

Source: https://realjobcheck.com/answers/job-paying-before-you-start-work/  
Updated: 2026-06-02 - Real Job Check Trust and Safety Research Team

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This one fools careful people because it inverts the usual scam shape. Instead of asking you for money, the "employer" gives you money. It feels backwards from a scam, which is exactly why it works. But money that arrives before you have worked is the heart of the [fake-check scam](/glossary/fake-check-scam/), and it always ends with you out of pocket.

## How the trick works, step by step

1. You are "hired" fast, often for a remote or assistant role, sometimes after no real interview.
2. The employer sends a check or transfer "to cover your home-office setup," your first supplies, or simply as an advance.
3. You are told to deposit it, keep a portion as pay, and **send the rest** to a specified vendor, a "coworker," a crypto wallet, or as gift cards.
4. Your bank shows the funds as available within a day or two, so it looks legitimate, and you forward the money.
5. **Days or weeks later** the original check bounces as counterfeit, or the transfer is reversed as fraud. The bank reclaims the full amount. The money you forwarded is gone, and you owe your bank the difference.

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**The core rule:** no legitimate employer sends you money before you work, and no legitimate process ever has you receive a payment and forward part of it on. If either happens, it is a scam - full stop.
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## Why "the check cleared" is a trap

The dangerous misunderstanding is that available funds are verified funds. They are not. Banks are required to make deposited money available quickly, but they can - and do - reverse a deposit when a check is later found to be fake, even weeks on. The scammer's entire plan depends on that gap between "available" and "verified." They want you to send real money during it.

## What to do right now

- **If you have not deposited anything:** do not. Stop contact with the sender and paste the message into the [free checker](/#check) to confirm what you are dealing with.
- **If you deposited but have not forwarded money:** do not move a cent of it. Call your bank, say you suspect a counterfeit check or fraudulent transfer, and ask them to return it.
- **If you already forwarded money:** act today. Contact your bank, report to the [FTC](https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/) and the FBI's [IC3](https://www.ic3.gov/), and follow the ordered steps in the [recovery checklist](/answers/i-already-gave-a-scammer-my-information/). Money sent by gift card or crypto is hard to recover, but fast reporting still helps.

A close cousin of this scam asks you to pay up front rather than forwarding an "overpayment" - that is the [advance-fee version](/answers/job-asking-to-pay-for-training-or-equipment/), covered separately.