Put a name to it. Each definition is short, sourced, and links to the deeper answer where there is one.
- Advance-fee scam
- Pay now to get hired later. The money never comes back.
- Fake-check scam
- A real-looking check you deposit, then wire part back before it bounces.
- Task scam
- Gamified "earn money" microtasks that demand a crypto deposit to cash out.
- Money mule
- A "payment processor" job that moves stolen money through your own bank account.
- Reshipping scam
- A "logistics" job forwarding packages bought with stolen cards.
- Ghost job
- A real company's listing for a role it will not actually fill. Waste, not fraud.
- Lookalike domain
- An email domain built to imitate a real company's, one character off.
- Recruiter impersonation
- A stranger posing as a real company's recruiter to win your trust fast.
Why the names matter
Scams work by feeling unfamiliar and urgent at the same time. Naming the pattern breaks both. Once you can see that the "logistics coordinator" role is a reshipping scam or the "flexible online tasks" gig is a task scam, the script stops working on you. For the full walk-through, read how to spot a job scam, or paste the message into the free checker and let it name the pattern for you.