In the fake cheque job scam, a “new employer” sends you a cheque or a deposit – for equipment, a training budget or a first payment – and asks you to send part of the money on to a vendor, a colleague or back to them. Your bank shows the funds as available within days, you send the money, and later the cheque is returned as fraudulent. The bank takes the full amount back from your account, and what you sent is gone. Here is how it works and how to recognise it early.
Part of our passage on legitimate work from home jobs in Canada.
How does the fake cheque job scam work?
- The offer. A recruiter contacts you about a remote job – assistant, data entry, customer service – often by text, email or a messaging app, sometimes after you applied to a real-looking posting.
- The fast “interview”. Questions by chat, no voice call, and a job offer within hours.
- The cheque. You receive a cheque by courier or a photo to deposit by mobile banking, sometimes an e-Transfer. The amount covers “your home-office equipment” or “software licences”.
- The instruction. Buy the equipment only from their “approved vendor”, pay a “colleague”, or return an “overpayment” – by e-Transfer, wire, gift cards or crypto.
- The return. Days or weeks later, the cheque is returned as counterfeit or the deposit is reversed. The bank recovers the full amount from you. The vendor and the job don’t exist.
Why do you end up paying, not the bank?
When a deposit shows as “available”, it means the bank lets you use the money – not that the cheque has been confirmed as genuine. Clearing problems with a counterfeit or altered cheque can surface after the funds were released. Under your account agreement, the person who deposited the item is responsible if it is returned, so the bank debits your account, even if it goes negative. Money you sent on by e-Transfer, wire, gift card or crypto is very hard to recover once received.
Remember: “the funds cleared” is the sentence scammers rely on. Available funds are not proof that a cheque is good.
Which variations should you know?
| Variant | The story |
|---|---|
| Equipment cheque | “Buy your laptop and software from our vendor with this cheque.” |
| Overpayment | “We sent too much by mistake – please e-Transfer back the difference.” |
| Payment processing | “Deposit client payments and forward them, keep 10% as salary.” (Also money laundering.) |
| Mystery shopper | “Use part of this cheque to test a money-transfer service and report on it.” |
| Fraudulent e-Transfer | Money sent from a hacked account, later reversed when the real owner reports it. |
| Freelance client | A new “client” pays a large deposit by cheque, cancels, and asks for a partial refund. |
How do you spot it before it costs you?
What real employers do
- Ship equipment directly, or reimburse you after you buy it anywhere
- Pay wages through payroll on a regular pay date
- Never ask you to send money to anyone
- Interview by phone or video before an offer
Fake cheque signs
- A cheque or deposit arrives before you have done any work
- You must buy from a vendor they choose
- Urgency: “the vendor closes today”
- Requests to return money by e-Transfer, gift cards or crypto
One rule covers every variant: never send money on from a deposit you received from someone you don’t know. A genuine employer has no reason to route money through your personal account. Verify the employer independently with the ten-minute check in our legitimate work from home jobs guide.
What if you already deposited the cheque?
- Don’t spend or send any of it. Call your bank, explain the situation and ask them to examine the item and hold the funds.
- If you already sent money, tell the bank immediately – some transfers can be stopped if caught quickly – and contact any gift card company with the card numbers.
- Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) and your local police; keep the cheque, envelope, courier label and all messages.
- Protect your identity if you sent your SIN, ID or bank details.
The full checklist is in how to report a job scam in Canada.
More on this passage: the other job scams aimed at Canadians, and how to check any offer, are in legitimate work from home jobs in Canada.
