Scammers look for people who need a job or documents and promise a quick placement or work permit. What they want is your money and personal information.
Start here
- If you already paid, contact the company you sent the money through right away and ask to reverse the payment.
- A real employer never asks you to pay to be hired, or sends you a check and asks you to send part back.
- Forms from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are free, and a promise of a “rush” work permit signals fraud.
Scammers advertise where honest employers do: on job sites, on social media, in newspapers, and sometimes on TV and radio.
Common schemes and what to do about them
| How it starts | What you are asked to do | How to tell and what to do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A message about “easy” work (task scam) | An unexpected message on WhatsApp, Telegram, by text or on social media: “quick money” for tasks such as “optimization” or “product boosting.” At first you are paid a little, usually $5 to $20 | Then you are told to deposit your own money, most often in cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin), to continue and withdraw your “earnings.” The earnings in the app are fake, and your real money is gone | Ignore unexpected job messages, never pay anyone to get a job, and do not trust anyone who pays for positive ratings |
| Work from home | An ad promising thousands of dollars a month for little effort: reselling products, reshipping packages, a “caregiver” or “virtual personal assistant” | Pay for a “starter kit,” training or useless certifications, or receive packages and send them on | Reshipping makes you part of a scheme that uses stolen cards. The pay for “a month of work” usually never comes |
| Fake check | An “employer” sends a check and asks you to deposit it | Send part of the money to someone else or buy gift cards with it | The check will turn out to be fake, and the bank will want the money back. An honest employer does not do this |
| Paid “job placement” | An agency that takes money first and promises openings that turn out to be old or made up | Pay for services | Honest agencies do not typically charge candidates. In New York City an agency must be licensed and may not charge you until it has placed you |
| Government jobs | An ad promising a job with the U.S. government or the Postal Service (USPS) | Pay to get the job | Information about federal and USPS openings is free, and applying is always free. Do not pay |
| A fast work permit or status | Someone promises a work permit (Employment Authorization Document, EAD) or a visa immediately, “with no risk” | Pay for forms or hand over your original documents | Immigration fraud: forms are free, originals should never be handed over, and only a lawyer or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice may give legal advice |
| Working on someone else's papers | Someone offers to sell you “work documents” or another person's SSN, or tells you to mark on Form I-9 that you are a U.S. citizen | Pay for documents or claim to be a U.S. citizen | Form I-9 itself warns that federal law provides for prison and fines for false statements or false documents. Claiming to be a U.S. citizen to an employer, including on Form I-9, can make you inadmissible under immigration law and close the path to a green card, and there is generally no waiver for it. Wait for your EAD and ask a free lawyer |
Steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal consumer protection agency.
Search for the company name online
Look up the name of the company or the person hiring you plus “scam,” “review” or “complaint.” If others were cheated, you will see complaints. No complaints does not prove the company is honest.
Tell someone you trust about the offer
Describe the offer to someone close and see what they think. It also gives you time to think.
Do not pay for the promise of a job
Honest employers, including the U.S. government, never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is a scammer.
Never count on a “cleared” check
No honest employer will send you a check to deposit and then ask you to send on part of the money or buy gift cards. The check will bounce, and the bank will want the money back.
Contact whoever you paid through at once
However you paid, by debit or credit card, payment app, wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency, contact the company you used to send the money right away, report the fraud and ask to reverse the transaction if possible.
Report to the FTC
File a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, even if you only saw a scam ad and lost no money. You can also report to your state attorney general.
If a “helper” with immigration papers cheated you
MOIA, the City office for immigrants, points to a free hotline on immigration fraud: 800-566-7636 (New York State's New Americans Hotline): say "Russian" and a free interpreter joins. It explains how to recognize this kind of fraud and where to turn.
If you are forced to work
If you are made to work by force, fraud or threats, it may be trafficking. Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888, 24 hours a day and confidential. Say "Russian" and a free interpreter joins. You can also text 233733, but texts are in English.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Any statusFree
The federal agency that takes reports of scams. If you see a job scheme or lost money, report online.
Immigration fraud hotline (MOIA)
Any statusNYC residentsFree
A free line named by MOIA (New York State's New Americans Hotline) for people cheated with legal services or who want to learn to spot fraud. Say "Russian" and a free interpreter joins. Both attorneys and non-attorneys commit this fraud. Get immigration legal advice only from a lawyer, a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), or an organization the DOJ recognizes. Forms are free at www.uscis.gov/forms; hand over copies, never original documents.
Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), agency licenses
NYC residentsFree
The City agency that licenses employment agencies in New York City. An agency cannot charge you before it places you, or charge for classes, photos or résumé review. Check a license online at nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/check-license.page and complain online at nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page (the form also comes in Russian), without giving your name or status.
Reliable places to look for jobs
Any statusFree
The FTC advises starting with USAJobs.gov, the federal government's official job site, and CareerOneStop, a U.S. Department of Labor site with hundreds of thousands of jobs and links to training programs in each state. New York City also has free Workforce1 centers.
- Task scam
- A scheme in which you are told you can earn by doing simple tasks in an app, and then you are asked to deposit money.
- Fake check scam
- A scheme in which you are sent a check, asked to deposit it and to send part of the money on. The check turns out to be fake.
- Reshipping
- A “job” in which you receive packages and forward them, often abroad. It is part of a scheme using stolen goods.
- Immigration fraud
- Cheating people who seek immigration legal help, for example with false promises of a quick work permit.
- DOJ-accredited representative
- A non-lawyer authorized by the U.S. Department of Justice to give immigration legal help at a recognized organization.
- 311
- The City's information service for questions about services and complaints. Reach it online at portal.311.nyc.gov or in the NYC311 app; the phone number is 311: say "Russian" and a free interpreter joins.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.