Coloradans are losing millions to job scams. Here’s how to avoid them.

A new analysis found Coloradans to be the second most likely to fall for a job scam in the country.

October 22, 2026

Job scams can be carried out in a number of different ways. (Brett Wharton/Unsplash)

Reporting by Nate Trela, Fort Collins Coloradoan

While Colorado paychecks may usually keep up with the cost of living, it’s hard to fault people for looking for something more.

But Coloradans appear to be successfully targeted with job scams more than most of the U.S.

A new analysis of FTC data by BrokerChooser found Coloradans to be the second most likely to fall for an employment scam in the country. Colorado residents reported 1,077 job scams in the first half of 2026 with about $5.8 million lost. That works out to about one report in 5,770 people, losing an average reported loss of $5,733.

Nationally, 43,074 job scams were reported in the first half of 2026, an average of one every 6 minutes. Victims combined lost about $171 million, or about $4,138 per victim.

Nevadans were the most likely to be targeted successfully (one in 4,885 people), while Hawaiians were the least likely (one in 15,723). North Dakotans lost the most money per victim, an average of $12,734.

How can you spot a job scam?

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office offers several tips for spotting business and job opportunity scams:

Be skeptical of work-from-home jobs offering big, quick payouts. Most scam jobs are centered around activities such as envelope stuffing, product assembly, mystery shopping, reshipping and payment processing. In some cases, you could even end up unwittingly aiding illegal activity by participating.
Research the business, employer or training opportunity.
Ask for written information before agreeing to any payment or investment.
If the employer or program has little or no online presence, won’t provide more detailed information in writing or if they have lots of negative ratings, you should probably keep looking for other opportunities.

What should you do if you think you were the victim of a job scam?

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Trade Commission are good places to start.

If you’ve sent money to a scammer, contact the company you used to process that payment immediately and see if it can reverse the charge.
Report any scams, fraud or suspicious business activity to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office or the Federal Trade Commission.

In which states are people most likely to be the victim of a job scam?

Scams can be found all over the country. Here is a list of the 10 states where they were most frequently reported, ranked by the number of scams reported per 1 million people and the average amount reported lost per victim: