If a job offer turned out to be a scam, act in this order: stop contact and payments, call your bank, protect your identity if you shared documents, then report – to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501 or online) and to your local police – and finally warn the job board or platform. Reporting rarely brings money back on its own, but it helps police connect cases and is needed for bank and identity-theft claims.
Part of our passage on legitimate work from home jobs in Canada – start there to check an offer before anything happens.
What should you do in the first hour?
- Stop all contact and payments. Don’t send more money, gift cards or crypto – not for “fees to release your earnings”, “taxes” or a promised refund. Don’t argue; just stop.
- Call your bank or card issuer using the number on the back of your card or on its official website. Report the transactions, ask whether a transfer or cheque deposit can be stopped or recalled, and change your online banking password.
- Don’t deposit or forward anything new. If a cheque or parcel arrives, don’t deposit, cash or reship it; tell your bank or the police.
- Secure your accounts. Change passwords on email and any account you used with the scammer, turn on two-factor authentication, and uninstall any remote-access app they asked you to install.
Gift cards: if you bought gift cards for a “job”, contact the card company immediately with the card numbers and receipts. Funds can sometimes be frozen if they haven’t been spent yet.
What if you shared your SIN, ID or banking details?
Job scams often aim at identity theft rather than a single payment. If you sent your Social Insurance Number, a photo of your ID or banking information:
- Credit bureaus: contact both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada, ask for a fraud alert on your file and check your credit report for accounts you didn’t open.
- Service Canada: if you believe your SIN is being misused, contact Service Canada – they can advise on SIN misuse and what documents you need.
- Canada Revenue Agency: check CRA My Account for changes to your address or direct-deposit details and call the CRA if you see any.
- Your province: if you sent a driver’s licence or health card image, ask the issuing office what they recommend.
- Your bank: ask about extra monitoring or a new account number if you shared account details or sign-in information.
Where do you report a job scam in Canada?
| Where | Why | How |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) | National database of fraud reports, shared with police; also takes reports where no money was lost | 1-888-495-8501 or the online reporting system on antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca |
| Local police | Investigation and a file number for your bank and insurers | Non-emergency line or online reporting of your police service |
| Your bank or card issuer | Possible recall, chargeback or account protection | Number on your card or the official website |
| The job board or platform | Removal of the posting or profile to protect others | “Report job” or “report profile” function, or the site’s contact page |
| Your mobile carrier | Blocking scam text senders | Forward scam texts to 7726 (spells SPAM) |
| The impersonated company | Real companies warn the public when their name is misused | Contact details from the company’s own website |
If you found the posting on Workvella, tell us through our contact page with the job’s URL; we review reported listings and remove fraudulent ones.
Which evidence should you keep?
- Screenshots of the job posting, profile and every message (with dates and phone numbers or usernames visible).
- Email headers and sender addresses, website addresses (URLs) and any app names.
- Receipts, transaction confirmations, cheque images, e-Transfer references, crypto wallet addresses.
- Tracking numbers and labels for any parcels.
- A short timeline in your own words, written while you still remember the details.
Don’t delete the conversation in shame – many careful people are caught by these schemes, and evidence is what makes your report useful.
What are “recovery scams”?
After a loss, victims are often contacted by people claiming to be lawyers, investigators, government agencies or “fund recovery” companies who can get the money back – for a fee. These are second scams aimed at the same victims. Real police and the CAFC do not charge to take a report or to investigate, and they do not ask for gift cards or crypto. Treat any unsolicited offer to recover your money as fraud.
More on this passage: how to tell a legitimate remote job from a scam before you reply is in legitimate work from home jobs in Canada.
