Most job scams try to take your money. Reshipping and money mule scams are different: they use you. They recruit people for what look like ordinary remote jobs, then route stolen goods or stolen money through them. That can leave you out of pocket, with a frozen bank account, and potentially facing legal trouble, even if you had no idea what was going on.
What is a reshipping scam?
In a reshipping scam, you’re hired as a “quality control inspector”, “logistics coordinator”, “package handler” or “shipping assistant” who works from home. The job:
- Packages are delivered to your address.
- You open them, check or photograph the contents, and repackage them.
- You ship them on using prepaid labels the “employer” emails you, often to an overseas address.
What’s really happening: the goods were bought with stolen credit cards. Using your address hides the criminals’ location and gets merchandise past fraud checks. Promised pay often never arrives, and your name and address are attached to every shipment.
What is a money mule job?
A money mule is someone who moves money on behalf of someone else. Criminals need mules to move stolen or scammed funds and make them harder to trace. Mule “jobs” are advertised as:
- Payment processing agent or financial assistant.
- Funds transfer coordinator.
- Crypto exchange assistant, converting cash to cryptocurrency and sending it to a wallet.
The work usually involves receiving money into your personal bank account, keeping a small percentage as “commission”, and sending the rest on by wire transfer, payment app, gift cards or cryptocurrency.
The money is typically stolen: from fraud victims, including other job seekers, or from hacked accounts. When the source is traced, the trail leads to you.
Why this matters: the risks to you
Being used as a money mule or reshipper can have serious consequences:
- Your bank account may be frozen or closed, and you may be asked to repay funds that pass through it.
- You may lose money you forwarded or spent on shipping.
- You can face legal consequences. U.S. law enforcement, including the FBI, warns that acting as a money mule can lead to prosecution, and that not knowing where the money came from doesn’t necessarily protect you.
- Your identity is exposed, since the “employer” has your name, address and banking details.
Warning signs of reshipping and money mule jobs
- The job involves receiving packages at home and shipping them elsewhere.
- You’re asked to receive money into your personal account and transfer it to others.
- You keep a percentage of each transfer as your pay.
- The job is remote, easy, and pays well for very little work.
- You were recruited online without a real interview, sometimes through dating sites or social media rather than job boards.
- You’re asked to open new bank or crypto accounts in your name for the job.
- The company is vague about what it actually sells or who its customers are.
A legitimate employer will never ask you to use your personal bank account to move its money, or your home address to forward its merchandise.
What to do if you think you’re involved
Stop immediately. Don’t forward any more money or packages.
- Contact your bank and explain what happened. Don’t move or withdraw money that isn’t yours.
- Don’t send packages on, and don’t use prepaid labels you were given. Contact the retailer or shipping carrier if you’ve received goods.
- Report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FBI also publishes guidance on money mules on fbi.gov.
- Keep every record: messages, emails, shipping labels and transaction details.
- Protect your identity: if you shared your SSN, ID or banking details, follow the steps at IdentityTheft.gov.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get in trouble if I didn’t know it was a scam?
It’s possible. Law enforcement treats money laundering seriously, and not knowing may not fully protect you, especially if you keep going after warning signs appear. Stopping as soon as you realize what’s happening, and reporting it, is the best thing you can do.
Are package inspection jobs ever real?
Real logistics and quality control jobs exist, but they happen at warehouses and business premises, not by receiving packages at your home and reshipping them on labels someone emails you.
Is it a money mule job if I only keep a small commission?
Yes. The commission structure is typical of mule recruitment: you’re paid to let your account be used to move money. The amount doesn’t change what the activity is.
Reshipping and money mule schemes are one of the eight kinds of fake job postings in how to tell if a job posting is fake. FakeJobDetector flags package forwarding, payment-processing and personal-account transfer requests in job postings. Join the waitlist.