Can you unbox the signs of a reshipping scam?

A work-from-home job promising easy money and a fancy title like “delivery operations specialist” or “quality control manager” might sound great. But if the offer says all you need to do is receive shipments, repackage them, and send them on to a new address, it’s a reshipping scam. Here’s what the “employer” leaves out of the job description.

When scammers send fake job offers, they sometimes lie about being affiliated with familiar companies like Amazon or FedEx. And they use stolen credit card or bank information to send you high-dollar items (like brand new electronics). Your “job” is to throw out the original box and receipt and send those stolen goods on to another address, often an international one, where it can’t be tracked.

You may not even know it was a scam until payday comes and goes without a word (or a dollar) — and your “employer” has ghosted you. And if you shared personal information like a bank account or Social Security number or a photocopy of your ID, you might have an identity theft problem.

No matter how someone packages a job offer, take these steps to avoid a scam:

• Search the employer online. Look up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” If others say they’ve been scammed by that company or person, walk away.
• Talk with someone you trust. Describe the offer to them. What do they think? This also helps give you vital time to think about the offer.
• If you think you’ve already shared personal information, go to IdentityTheft.gov/steps to get advice on how to protect yourself before identity theft happens.

Reshipping goods is never a real job. Report these scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report.