FTC SCAM ALERT: How to Avoid Online Paid Task Scams

Never pay anyone to get paid, or to get a job

(FTC) — You may get an unexpected message on WhatsApp, Telegram, text, or social media. The person says you can make quick money online by doing tasks. It sounds simple, and the message says you’ll get paid right away. But the Federal Trade Commission warns that this could be a scam. 

Task scams, or gamified job scams, start with an unexpected message offering you work, such as optimization or product boosting online. You complete the tasks through an app or online platform and supposedly earn money through a commission with each click you make. But spoiler alert: there aren’t any commissions and only the scammers make money.

As you complete each task, you’ll see what looks like more and more supposed earnings in the app. They’re fake, but the scammers want you to think those earnings are real. So they might pay you a little, usually $5 to $20, to try to gain your trust.

Then the scammer turns the tables. To unlock and complete your next set of tasks and to be able to get your earnings out of the app, the scammer tells you to deposit your own money, usually in crypto. But even making that deposit won’t let you get those fake earnings, and your real money will be gone.

To avoid task scams:

● Ignore generic and unexpected texts, WhatsApp, or Telegram 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 give a positive rating or like things online. No honest company will do that.

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

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