Task and "rate products" job scams

Check this example →

How it works

1. A message offers flexible, well-paid, no-experience work: rating products, boosting apps, “optimising” hotel listings.
2. You’re moved to a chat app and onto a slick “work platform”. The first few tasks pay out small sums, which you can really withdraw. That builds trust.
3. Then the tasks change. A “lucky order” or “merged order” puts your balance negative, and you must top it up to continue and to withdraw anything.
4. Each top-up is followed by another reason to pay more. The money goes to a crypto wallet. It never comes back.

The tells

• You were contacted first, about a job you didn’t apply for.
• Pay is high for work that needs no skill.
• You’re asked to deposit, “top up” or “recharge” anything to continue.
• Salary or deposits in crypto, or a group chat full of “colleagues” showing earnings.

What the numbers say

The FTC says “task scams” took off in 2024 and that fake job offers were the second-largest category of text scam that year. Victims who paid to unlock their earnings reported that they never got the money back.

What to do

• Stop. Don’t deposit anything, however much “you’ve already earned”.
• Don’t try to win it back by paying one more time. That’s how the loss grows.
• Save the chat and the wallet address, then report it to your national fraud agency and to the platform where it started.
• If you used your bank card or bank transfer, contact your bank straight away.

The rule: a real employer pays you. It never asks you to pay in.

Where to report it