Task scams create the illusion of making money

Have you been getting unexpected messages about online work? The FTC’s new Data Spotlight highlights a big increase in the number of people reporting gamified job scams, or “task scams.” Read on to learn what they are and how to avoid them.

In a task scam, scammers ask you to do simple, repetitive tasks, such as liking videos or rating product images online. The supposed “job” is to complete tasks in an app or online platform for which you’ll “earn money” from a “commission” on each click. But those promises are fake: there aren’t any commissions and nobody but the scammers make any money.

Task scams usually start with an unexpected text offering online work. They say you can “make good money” by “product boosting” or doing “optimization tasks” online. Once you complete each task, you’ll see an ever-increasing tally of supposed earnings in the app. (They’re fake.) At some point, the app or online platform will ask you to deposit your own money — usually in crypto — to complete your next set of tasks and to get your supposed (fake) earnings out of the app. But if you make the deposit, not only is your real money is gone, you’ll never get those fake earnings.

To spot and avoid task scams:

• Ignore generic and unexpected texts or WhatsApp messages about jobs. Real employers will never contact you that way.
• Never pay anyone to get paid, or to get a job. That’s a sure sign of a scam.
• Don’t trust anyone who says they’ll pay you to rate or like things online. That’s illegal and no honest company will do it.

Learn more about spotting and avoiding scams at ftc.gov/scams and report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Image