How to Avoid Scams When Applying for Virtual Assistant Jobs

This guide covers the scams that target virtual assistant applicants in particular: fake cheques, gift card errands, package reshipping, "payment processing assistant" roles, renting out freelance accounts and unpaid trials that never end. You'll learn the access a genuine VA client can reasonably ask for, how to check a client before you accept, and what to do in Nigeria if something has already gone wrong.

Quick answer

To avoid virtual assistant job scams, refuse any offer that asks you to pay a fee, deposit a cheque, buy gift cards, forward packages, receive money into your own account or share your BVN, bank login or freelance account. Check the client exists outside the chat. Keep marketplace work on the platform until a contract is in place. Insist on a written agreement that sets out tasks, pay and payment method before you start.

Why virtual assistant jobs attract scammers

The VA job description gives scammers cover. A real executive or personal assistant books flights, pays invoices from the client's card, orders office supplies and replies to emails as the client. So when a "client" asks you to buy a laptop, collect a parcel or pay a vendor, a beginner can't easily tell whether that's the job or the trap.

The US Federal Trade Commission lists "personal assistant" jobs as one of the common covers for fake cheque scams, next to mystery shopping and car wrap offers. The pattern is the same everywhere: the job is real enough to believe, and the money is what the scammer is after.

Three things make Nigerian applicants a particular target:

• Many VA jobs are advertised in WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels and Facebook posts that say "DM for details", where nobody screens the poster.
• Scammers know dollar pay is attractive at current exchange rates, so a promise of $800 a month for light admin work gets attention.
• Your Nigerian bank account, BVN and verified freelance profile are valuable to fraudsters who can't open their own.

The scams that target virtual assistant applicants

Each scam below has a "tell": the moment where the request stops being VA work.

The fake cheque or overpayment scam

The "client" hires you quickly, often after a chat-only interview. They send a cheque or a transfer and ask you to keep your first week's pay and use the rest to buy a laptop, software or supplies from a vendor they name. The vendor is the scammer.

The FTC states it plainly: no honest employer will send you a cheque to deposit and then tell you to send on part of the money, and any offer that involves depositing a cheque and using some of it "for any reason" is a scam. The cheque later bounces, and the bank will want the full amount back from you. Banks have to release deposited funds quickly, but it can take weeks to find out a cheque is fake, so seeing money in your account proves nothing.

Example (hypothetical): a "client" sends you $2,500 and asks you to keep $300 and pay $2,200 to an equipment supplier. At ₦1,362 to $1 (CBN NFEM weighted average, 23 October 2026), the $2,500 is about ₦3,405,000. When the payment is reversed, you're the one who owes it.

The gift card errand

The message usually comes from someone posing as a senior executive. They're "in a meeting" and need you to buy Apple, Amazon or Steam gift cards for a client or staff reward, then send the codes by chat. They promise to repay you with your salary. They won't. Gift card codes are hard to trace and can't be recalled once you send them.

A real employer who wants you to buy something gives you a company card or a budget approved in writing, and pays for it from their own account.

Reshipping and parcel forwarding

The ad might say "logistics assistant" or "personal shopper assistant". You receive parcels at your address, repackage them and send them to another country using labels the "employer" provides. The FTC is clear that reshipping goods is never a real job. The goods are usually bought with stolen card details, and you're the address that police can find.

"Payment processing" and money mule roles

This one hits Nigerian applicants hard. You're told the company "can't receive payments in Nigeria yet", so customers or "clients" will pay into your naira or domiciliary account and you transfer the money on, keeping a commission. The job title might be finance assistant, payment agent or VA.

That money is almost always stolen or fraud proceeds, and moving it makes you part of the chain. Expect your account to be frozen and your bank to ask questions. You could also be pulled into a police or EFCC investigation, even if you didn't know where the money came from. Scambusters, which tracks work-from-home fraud, warns that people recruited to cash cheques or forward payments can end up in trouble with the police while believing they had a genuine job.

Task scams dressed as VA work

These often start on WhatsApp or Telegram with a "recruiter" offering part-time remote assistant work. The tasks are simple: rate products, like videos, "optimise" app listings. A dashboard shows your earnings growing. Then you're told to pay, often in crypto, to open a bigger batch or withdraw what you've earned.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center describes this exact setup: the pay structure is deliberately confusing, the earnings on screen can never be cashed out, and every one of those payments goes straight to the scammer. The FBI also flags that these "employers" don't ask for references, which no real hiring process skips. For the group-chat side of this, see our guide on avoiding scams on Telegram and WhatsApp.

Renting out or borrowing a freelance account

You may be offered a monthly fee to "lend" your verified Upwork or Fiverr profile to someone who'll work through it. Or someone may offer you their account so you can skip the approval queue. Either way, one person holds the money and the other carries the risk. The account owner can be banned, and the person using a borrowed account can be cut off from earnings at any time with no way to complain. Freelance platforms tie each account to a verified identity for a reason. Build your own profile, even if it takes longer.

Unpaid trials that never end

A short test is normal. A real client may ask you to draft a reply to a sample email, tidy a spreadsheet or set up a calendar in 30 to 60 minutes. A scam (or just an exploitative client) sends test after test that look a lot like real client work: research 50 leads, write 10 product listings, manage their inbox "for three days to see if it's a fit". Then they disappear.

A fair rule: anything longer than about an hour, or anything the client could use in their business, should be paid. Say so politely before you start.

Fees to get hired

"Pay ₦15,000 for your onboarding kit." "Buy our VA certification before your first client." "Registration fee refundable after your first salary." The FTC's line is simple: honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job, and a placement firm that wants an upfront fee is a reason to walk away. Our planned guide on why you should never pay to receive a job offer covers the variations.

Legitimate VA access versus scam requests

This is where VA applicants get confused, because real clients do hand over sensitive access. The difference is direction: a real client gives you access to their accounts and money, while a scammer wants yours.

Your BVN deserves its own note. No foreign client needs your BVN. It's a Nigerian banking identifier, and your bank or a regulated payment app may ask for it when you open an account, but a client should never ask for it. If an employer runs payroll through a provider such as Deel or Remote, you'll enter your details on that provider's own site, not send them in a chat. Our guide to receiving dollar payments in Nigeria explains which apps and accounts handle this properly.

How to check a virtual assistant client before you accept

Run these checks before you share any document or do any substantial work. Most take a few minutes.

1. Find the business outside the conversation. Search the company name, the client's full name and their website. A real small business owner usually has a website, a LinkedIn page or social accounts with a history longer than a few weeks.
2. Search the name with "scam", "review" and "complaint". The FTC recommends this step before accepting any offer.
3. Check the email domain. A client claiming to run "Brightline Consulting" should email from that company's domain, not from brightline.hiring247@gmail.com. Some genuine sole traders use Gmail, so weigh it with the other checks.
4. Ask for a short video call. A client who refuses to show their face, or insists on interviewing by chat or Telegram only, is a warning sign.
5. Look at the profile, not just the message. LinkedIn lists requests for money or sensitive information, pushing the conversation off LinkedIn immediately and "unrealistic job opportunities" among the signs of a fake profile. Our guide to spotting fake recruiters on LinkedIn goes further.
6. Get the deal in writing. You need a contract or written offer naming the tasks, hours, pay rate, currency, pay dates and how you'll be paid. A vague "we'll sort payment later" is a no.
7. Run the money test. Ask yourself: at any point does this arrangement need me to send money, receive money that isn't my pay, or buy something with my own funds? If yes, stop.

For deeper employer checks (company registries, domain age, cross-checking job ads on the company's own site), see how to verify whether an international employer is legitimate.

Platform-specific advice: Upwork, Fiverr, job boards and social media

Freelance marketplaces

On Upwork and Fiverr, payment runs through the platform, and that's your protection. Scammers often post a plausible VA job, then within one or two messages ask you to "continue on WhatsApp" or "send your email so we can do the paperwork". Before any contract exists, that request is the red flag.

Keep talking and getting paid on the platform until you have a contract, and don't take payment off-platform to "save fees". Watch for fake "support" messages too: Fiverr and Upwork staff won't ask you to verify your account by scanning a QR code or sending card details in a chat.

Job boards and company career pages

A role listed on a recognised job board or on the company's own careers page is a better starting point than a forwarded flyer. Still check it. Make sure the role, the company and where applicants may live all match. If the "hiring manager" then contacts you from an unrelated address and changes the terms, treat it as a new, unverified offer.

WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook groups

Many real VA opportunities in Nigeria are shared in community groups, and so are many fakes. Groups are fine for leads but not for hiring. Ask for a company website, a named contact and a contract, and don't pay anyone who "connects" you to clients.

A hypothetical scam message, taken apart

Example (hypothetical): this message reached an applicant on Telegram after they posted in a VA group.

"Hello, I'm Daniel, HR for a US real estate firm. We saw your profile and want to hire you as a remote personal assistant, $750 weekly, 3 hours a day. No interview needed. You'll handle client payments and buy office equipment. Send your full name, address, phone, BVN and bank details so we can register you with payroll today."

What gives it away:

• Unsolicited and instant. No application, no interview, a fixed offer in the first message.
• No company name. "A US real estate firm" can't be checked.
• Pay out of line with the work. Three hours a day of light tasks for $750 a week is far above what VA job ads typically pay. Compare with our virtual assistant salary guide.
• "Handle client payments". That's a money mule role.
• "Buy office equipment". That's the setup for a fake cheque.
• BVN and bank details before any contract. No payroll provider needs these by Telegram.

A real first contact names the company, links to the role, invites you to apply or interview and leaves payment details for after an offer.

Protecting your documents and data while you apply

You'll need to share some personal information to get hired, so share it in stages:

• At application: your CV, a portfolio link and an email address. Leave out your home address, date of birth and ID numbers. A city and "Nigeria" is enough on a CV.
• After an interview and written offer: ID for the contract, through the employer's or payroll provider's official system.
• Never in chat: BVN, bank login, card PIN, one-time passcodes, scans of your passport sent to a personal email or messaging app.

Set up two-factor authentication on your email and freelance accounts, and use a separate email address for job hunting. If a client gives you access to their tools, keep their passwords in a password manager rather than in notes or chat history. Our planned guide on protecting your identity during job applications has a fuller checklist, and the passport question gets its own guide on what to know before sending your passport to a recruiter.

If you've already been caught: what to do in Nigeria

Act quickly, because speed matters most when money is involved.

1. Stop all contact and payments. Don't send "one last fee" to release your earnings. That's part of the scam.
2. Call your bank or payment app at once. Use the number on their official website or app. Tell them what was sent, when and to whom, and ask whether the transfer can be stopped or the receiving account flagged. If you received money you were told to forward, tell the bank before you move any of it.
3. Change passwords on your email, bank apps and freelance accounts. Turn on two-factor authentication if you shared any codes.
4. Keep the evidence: screenshots of chats, profile links, phone numbers, account numbers, transaction references and crypto wallet addresses.
5. Report it. Sterling Bank's fraud guide lists the EFCC, the Nigeria Police Force, your bank and the organisation being impersonated as places to report in Nigeria. Get the EFCC's current contact details from its official website, not from search results or social media, because fake EFCC pages exist. Report the profile or listing on the platform where you found it too.
6. Ignore "recovery" offers. The FBI warns that people claiming they can get your lost money back, especially crypto, are often running a second scam.

For a full recovery plan, see what to do if you've been scammed by a fake employer, and for the wider picture of remote job fraud in Nigeria, read our guide to spotting remote job scams.

Frequently asked questions

Do real virtual assistant jobs ask for a registration fee?

No. A genuine client or employer pays you and never charges you to start. Fees for onboarding, starter kits, "VA certificates" or job placement are a standard sign of a scam, even when the fee is small or called refundable.

Is a personal assistant job that sends me a cheque for supplies a scam?

Almost always, yes. If you're asked to deposit a cheque or transfer and send part of it to a vendor, it's a known fake cheque scam. The payment later bounces and you're left owing the bank the full amount.

Can a VA client ask for my passwords or card details?

A client can share their own logins and company card with you for the work, ideally through a password manager. A client should never ask for your bank login, card PIN, BVN, one-time passcodes or freelance account password.

Why does my new client want to move from Upwork to WhatsApp?

Sometimes it's harmless, but before a contract is in place it's a common scam move. Once you leave the platform you lose its payment system and dispute process. Keep the chat and the contract on the platform until the job is agreed and funded.

Is it legal to receive money for a foreign client and transfer it on?

It's risky and may well be illegal. Money passed through your personal account for a "client" is often fraud proceeds, which makes you a money mule. Your account can be frozen and you may face an investigation even if you didn't know.

How much should a real virtual assistant job pay?

It depends on the client's country, your skills and the hours, so check the published ranges in our salary guide. Be wary of pay far above typical VA rates for very little work, especially when no interview is involved.

Are VA jobs on Telegram or WhatsApp always fake?

No, but they need more checking, because anyone can post in a group. Ask for the company name, a website, a video call and a written contract. Don't pay anyone who promises to connect you with clients.

Is it normal to do a test task before getting hired as a VA?

Yes, a short test of about an hour is normal. Repeated tests, or tasks that look like real client work (lead lists, full inbox management, product listings), should be paid. Agree this before you start.

Key takeaways

• A real VA client gives you access to their tools and money and never asks you to send, receive or spend your own.
• Fake cheques, gift card errands, reshipping and "payment processing" are the scams aimed most at assistant roles.
• Task jobs that need a top-up or crypto payment to release earnings are fraud, according to the FBI.
• Check the client outside the chat, ask for a video call and get tasks, pay and payment method in writing before you start.
• Share personal documents in stages and never send your BVN, bank login or one-time codes to a client.
• If you've been caught, call your bank first, keep the evidence and report it to the EFCC or police through official channels.

Next steps

Once you know what to avoid, put your effort into roles worth checking. Browse remote admin and assistant listings: each one shows the company, its website and where applicants may live. Then save your search with "Get email updates" to get a free daily digest of new matches. WorkRemote reviews listings and aims to publish genuine remote roles open to applicants from Nigeria, but it can't check every detail, so still run the checks above. Applying through WorkRemote is always free. If you're new to the work, our guide to becoming a virtual assistant from Nigeria covers the skills, tools and how to land your first client.

Sources

• Job Scams, US Federal Trade Commission (consumer.ftc.gov)
• How to Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams, US Federal Trade Commission
• PSA I-060424: Scammers use fake job opportunities (work-from-home task scams), FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
• Recognising fake profiles, LinkedIn Help
• 10 Key Actions to Avoid a Virtual Assistant Scam, Internet Scambusters
• Don't Be a Victim: 4 Ways to Report Fraud and Protect Yourself in Nigeria, Sterling Bank
• CBN exchange rates by currency, Central Bank of Nigeria