Remote assistant offer starts with an overpayment check

The position was advertised as a remote personal assistant job with flexible hours and immediate pay. The employer sent a check before any real work started. The check was supposedly for office supplies, software, or a first assignment budget. The target was told to deposit it and send part of the money to a vendor. This is the classic fake-check employment pattern. A bank may show the deposit as available before the check clears. When the check is later rejected, the worker owes the bank. The money sent to the fake vendor is gone. The warning sign is not just the check. It is the sequence: fast hiring, little interview process, advance payment, and instructions to move money onward. Real employers do not need new hires to act as payment processors. Stop when a job requires depositing a check and sending money, buying gift cards, or buying equipment from a required vendor.