Fake cheque and overpayment scams in Canada trick side hustlers into sending real money against a payment that does not stick. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s payment-methods bulletin says suspects send fraudulent cheques, ask victims to deposit them, and tell them to transfer the funds before the cheque has cleared. If the cheque returns, you repay the full amount. A marketplace version, on the merchandise page, is the buyer who “overpays” and wants the difference wired back.
This is general information, not legal advice. Task apps that want an unlock fee are task scams. The combined warning list is side hustle scams in Canada.
How do fake cheque scams target side hustlers in Canada?
Fake cheque scams in Canada arrive as a job or a gig, with the cheque first and the work as a story. The CAFC job page describes three versions side hustlers run into.
Counterfeit cheque jobs. A text or email answers a resume posted online. The roles the page lists include caregiver, administrative assistant, data entry clerk, and mystery shopper. A counterfeit cheque comes with a story about why they need help cashing it. You are asked to cash it and return some of the funds.
Mystery shopper cheques. A notice says you were selected as a mystery shopper, quality control officer, or similar. The notice includes a cheque. You are told to deposit it and transfer a large part to a specific account. The page says you may also be told to buy gift cards and send the numbers “to confirm they work,” and to fill in a survey at each step. The CAFC calls the surveys a prop. The cheque is fake and you owe the bank.
Car wrapping. An unsolicited message says you can earn $300 to $500 per week wrapping a vehicle with a company logo. If you reply, instructions and a contract are followed by a cheque. You deposit it, withdraw funds, and send money to a graphics company or for other fees. The page says you then learn the cheque is counterfeit and you are responsible for funds withdrawn. Those weekly figures are the pitch on the CAFC page, not a rate this site is quoting as pay.
The payment bulletin’s advice is short: be cautious when accepting a cheque. It can bounce, and you repay the full amount. Money that your bank lets you withdraw is not proof the cheque is good.
How do overpayment and fake e-transfer scams target sellers in Canada?
Overpayment and fake e-transfer scams in Canada target people who listed something for sale. The CAFC merchandise page says fraudsters contact anyone selling goods on social media or online classifieds. If you posted an ad, they may claim to be out of town and offer to buy the item unseen.
The page’s overpayment tactic: you receive more than the asking price, you are told to deposit the funds and wire the excess back immediately, and you later find the payment was fraudulent. The page says fraudsters use compromised bank accounts, fraudulent cheques, and stolen credit cards for this.
The same page’s e-transfer tactic: a fake “etransfer” email or text asks you to accept a payment. It looks official. The purpose the page names is to steal banking credentials. A separate CAFC note, protecting yourself online, adds that the message can be a request for funds from your account, or a phishing message, and that sellers are asked to ship the item and send a tracking number before a fake “pending” payment is released. That note also says not to transfer funds, for example to a shipping company, in order to receive a payment for an item you are selling.
The October 2025 merchandise habits page repeats the overpayment definition in one line: the original payment bounces or is reversed, and the seller is left without the product and without the refunded money. Its practical advice is to beware of overpayments, beware of overseas buyers who will not see the product, pick up and pay in person when you can, and use a payment method with fraud protection, such as a credit card, when you are the buyer.
| Script | Who it targets | CAFC page that describes it |
|---|---|---|
| Cheque, then send money back | Resume posters, mystery-shop “hires,” car-wrap pitches | Job scams |
| Overpayment and refund the difference | People who listed an item | Merchandise scams |
| Fake e-transfer “accept” link | Classifieds and social sellers | Merchandise scams, and the online-protection note |
| Ship, then the payment was never real | Sellers who release tracking first | Protecting yourself online |
In 2025, the CAFC top 10 page recorded merchandise fraud at 2,596 reports, 2,222 victims, and $11.7 million on its frequency table. Job fraud, which includes the cheque jobs, was $50.6 million. Those are reported losses, not every incident in Canada.
What should Canadian sellers and gig workers do instead?
Canadian sellers and gig workers should keep the money moving in one direction: the other person pays you, and you do not pay them to be paid. For a local sale, the merchandise habits page says to pick up and pay in person whenever possible. Do not wire an “extra” amount. Do not deposit a stranger’s cheque. Do not click an e-transfer link that arrived from the buyer and asks for banking credentials or a QR-code confirmation. The online-protection note says QR codes sent to sellers “so you can receive payment” have been used to collect online-banking details.
If you are the buyer on a marketplace, pay in a way you can dispute, and be wary of prices the habits page describes as blowout sales. That is the other side of merchandise fraud: you pay and nothing arrives.
A real mystery-shop company does not start with a cheque. The comparison is in mystery shopping. Listing habits for local pickup are in Facebook Marketplace flipping and Facebook Marketplace listing tips.
Illustrative example
Illustrative example. Suppose you listed a dresser for $80, an assumed price, not a market quote. A buyer sends a payment of $300 and asks you to forward $220 for a courier. That shape is the overpayment tactic on the merchandise page: more than the asking price, then an immediate transfer of the excess. If the $300 later reverses, the sketch leaves you short the $220 you sent and without a trustworthy payment for the dresser. Do not ship the dresser against that message. The $80 and $300 are assumptions so the arithmetic is visible. They are not CAFC statistics.
What do you do if you already deposited the cheque in Canada?
If you already deposited the cheque in Canada, contact your bank, stop sending any further funds, and report the fraud. The job page tells targets to report to local police and to Report Cybercrime and Fraud, online or at 1-888-495-8501. The payment bulletin says the same, and it says you can report an attempt even if you did not lose money.
Do not send a second payment because the first one is “stuck.” Do not give account access to someone offering to fix the cheque. If the bank asks you to repay the returned cheque, that request is the outcome the CAFC describes. This page cannot tell you what your bank will do on a particular deposit. Ask the bank.
Selling your own goods is still a tax question when the sale is real. A fraudulent payment that reverses is not income you keep. How genuine personal sales differ from reselling is is selling on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace taxable.
Which guides sit next to fake cheque scams in Canada?
The full set of warning signs is side hustle scams in Canada. Unlock-fee apps are task scams. Where to file the report is how to report a side hustle scam in Canada. Day-to-day selling is reselling and Facebook Marketplace flipping. The tax side of a real sale is tax on reselling and platform income.
What are the common questions?
If my bank lets me withdraw the cheque, is it safe to spend?
No. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre payment bulletin says fraudulent cheques are deposited and the funds are moved before the cheque has cleared. If the cheque returns, you are responsible to repay the full amount. Access to the funds is not proof the cheque is good.
What is an overpayment scam on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace?
The CAFC merchandise page says you receive more than the asking price and are told to wire the excess back. The original payment is later fraudulent. Fraudsters use compromised accounts, fraudulent cheques, and stolen credit cards. Do not refund a difference and do not ship against that payment.
Are car-wrap cheques a known scam in Canada?
Yes. The CAFC job page describes unsolicited car-wrap offers that promise $300 to $500 per week, then a cheque you are told to deposit and partly forward to a graphics company. The cheque is counterfeit. Those weekly amounts are the pitch, not a real rate.
What should I do with a fake e-transfer email about something I am selling?
Do not enter banking credentials or scan a QR code from that message. The CAFC says fake e-transfer emails aimed at sellers are used to steal banking details, and some messages are actually requests for money. Deal with the buyer in person when you can, and report the attempt.
Where do I report a fake cheque in Canada?
Tell your bank, report to local police, and contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre through Report Cybercrime and Fraud or at 1-888-495-8501. You can report an attempt even if you did not lose money.
Which sources support this guide?
The rules, rates, and platform requirements in this guide are checked against these primary sources. Retail price ranges are labelled as ranges to verify locally, and they are not quotes.
- Job scams — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
- Merchandise scams — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
- Check twice, pay once: starting new habits to avoid merchandise fraud — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
- Bulletin: Payment methods — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
- Protecting yourself online — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
- Top 10 frauds in 2025 — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre