In a reshipping scam, you're "hired" as a package inspector, quality-control agent, or logistics coordinator who works from home. Packages arrive at your address; your job is to inspect, repackage, and forward them to addresses (often overseas) using prepaid labels the "employer" provides. What you're actually doing is laundering merchandise purchased with stolen credit cards — moving evidence out of reach of investigators while your name and address sit on the trail.
It's a job that turns you into a criminal accomplice, and the promised paycheck almost never arrives.
How the scheme uses you
Criminals buy electronics and luxury goods with stolen cards but can't ship directly abroad without raising flags. So they recruit domestic "mules" to receive the goods and re-forward them, laundering the origin. You absorb the legal and financial risk while they collect the resold merchandise. The "salary" is dangled to keep you shipping and typically never paid — and reshipping personal payments makes you a money mule too.
How it's disguised
The listing looks like a normal remote logistics role.
- "Package Inspection Specialist — receive, verify, and reship items. $2,500/mo."
- "Work-from-home quality control: repackage products and apply our labels."
- "Logistics coordinator: forward company shipments to international partners."
The legal reality
Reshipping stolen goods and forwarding fraudulent payments can expose you to charges including wire fraud and money laundering — even if you didn't know. "I didn't realize" is a poor legal defense once your name is on the shipping records. No legitimate company runs its shipping through strangers' homes.
Red flags to remember
- A "job" centered on receiving packages and reshipping them elsewhere
- Prepaid labels sent to you, often for overseas destinations
- No verifiable company, and pay that only comes "after the trial month"
- Requests to also forward or "process" payments you receive
- Vague "quality control" duties that boil down to repackaging
What to do if you're targeted
- 1Stop shipping immediately and keep all packages, labels, and messages.
- 2Do not forward any more items or funds.
- 3Report to the FTC, IC3, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
- 4Consult about your exposure if you've already shipped goods or money.
Frequently asked questions
Could I get in legal trouble even if I didn't know?
Yes. Reshipping stolen goods or forwarding fraudulent payments can carry serious legal consequences, and lack of knowledge is not a reliable defense once you're on the records. Stop and report as soon as you suspect it.