Getting equipment before you have even interviewed feels like a great sign. It is usually the opening move of a scam, and there are two versions.
The rule
A real employer ships equipment after you are hired, on a normal start date, and never asks you to pay for it or forward it. Equipment that shows up before any real interview is bait for a fake-check or a reshipping scam.
Version one: the bouncing reimbursement check
The equipment, or a promise of it, becomes a reason to send you a check "to cover costs." You are told to deposit it and pay a vendor or send back the difference. The check is fake and bounces weeks later, after your money is gone. This is the fake-check scam wearing a different costume.
Version two: reshipping, which makes you a mule
You are mailed packages and told to inspect, repackage, and forward them using labels the "employer" emails you. The goods were bought with stolen cards, and forwarding them launders the trail through your address. The US Postal Inspection Service warns that these work-from-home reshipping schemes use job seekers as money mules, and the promised pay rarely comes.
What to do right now
- Do not pay for the equipment and do not forward any package.
- Stop contact with the sender and keep everything as evidence.
- If you deposited any check, tell your bank it is part of a scam.
- Report it to the FTC and the FBI's IC3.
This sits next to the pay-before-you-start pattern and the reshipping scam. The complete guide ties the signals together.
Not sure about an offer? Paste the message into the free checker.