Fake work-from-home equipment / overpayment check scam — victim hired as virtual assistant, sent fake cashier's check far exceeding salary, asked to buy equipment or wire the remainder; check bounces, victim owes full amount; FTC 2023: $440M in fake-check losses, employment variant fastest-growing

Employment advance-fee fraud targeting remote workers: the victim is hired as a "virtual assistant," "remote payroll processor," or "home-based data entry" employee, then mailed a fake cashier's check for an amount far exceeding their first paycheck. They are instructed to deposit the check, keep their salary, purchase office equipment from a specified vendor, and wire or Zelle the "overpayment" back. Banks make funds provisionally available before the check clears; days later it bounces and the bank recovers the full amount from the victim. Key facts: (1) FTC 2023: check fraud via employment scams caused $440M in consumer losses — the fastest-growing check fraud subcategory; average loss $2,000+, disproportionately affecting job seekers, recent graduates, and low-income households; (2) The fake-check mechanism is structurally identical to mystery shopper and lottery scams: provisional fund availability creates a window where victims spend money they don't yet have; (3) Legitimate remote employers never mail checks before the start date, never send amounts exceeding the agreed salary, and never ask new hires to purchase equipment from a third party and wire back the difference; (4) Equipment purchase requests are the clearest indicator: real employers ship pre-provisioned equipment or reimburse via expense report after the first paycheck — they do not ask a new employee to forward corporate funds. Warning signs: unsolicited job offer, check mailed before work begins, amount exceeds agreed salary, wire/Zelle instruction, equipment purchase from a specific third-party vendor.