Remote job offers to host laptops or interview for someone

The Scam

According to an Oct. 13, 2026 FBI public service announcement, North Korean remote "IT workers" post fake job openings on well-known job boards, often as freelance gigs with simple requests such as interviewing on someone's behalf or receiving and hosting laptops in your home. The FBI says they pay Americans for a growing range of services to hide their involvement, including appearing on camera, taking part in job interviews or meetings, verifying fraudulent identities, giving access to personal social media or professional networking accounts, shipping packages, completing urinalysis tests or fingerprint submissions, or keeping employment-related devices connected to the internet from their homes. They invent elaborate stories, create fake companies and produce official-looking documents, and the FBI says they have used threats of violence and intimidation to pressure Americans to keep going. The FBI says these actions are illegal and put participants at risk of law enforcement scrutiny.

The Targets

Job seekers, especially people under financial stress, whom the FBI says the scheme strategically targets.

Red flags

• A freelance gig that pays you to interview for a job on someone else's behalf
• A job that asks you to receive company laptops and keep them connected to the internet at your home
• Requests for your personal information, financial information, or account logins in exchange for payment
• A backstory such as being a Chinese or East Asian national who needs a temporary U.S. presence, or an Eastern European displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war (common stories the FBI cites)
• Official-looking documents from a company you can't otherwise find
• Threats or intimidation when you try to stop

Your Move

• Reject any request to provide personal information, financial information, or personal account logins in exchange for payment
• Don't agree to interview, appear on camera, or verify an identity for someone else, or to host work laptops for a stranger
• If you or someone you know receives a threat to life or is worried about physical safety, call 911
• Report it to the FBI at IC3.gov

More steps for any scam link: I clicked a scam link. What now?

Still circulating?

FBI PSA I-101326-PSA, Oct. 13, 2026, updates earlier guidance and says North Korean IT workers increasingly rely on the help of witting and unwitting Americans.