Looking for a New Job? Be Aware of Task Scams

Side gigs and small hustles are increasingly common, but sometimes, a desirable small job winds up being a scam. Fake jobs and task scams are on the rise, and consumers are losing time and money to scammers. 

Consumer trends and reports tell us these scams are increasingly common. In 2023, only about 5,000 people reported gamified job scams, or task scams, to the Consumer Protection Agency. By 2024, more than 20,000 had reported losses, and the volume of scams in 2025 remains to be seen. A task scam can seem appealing, but it’s up to you to avoid losing money in these fake jobs. 

Key Insights

• A task scam is a fake job offer that requests you complete simple, repetitive tasks for money, allegedly for commission.
• A task scam typically starts with a small payout for a simple task, but then asks you to pay out of pocket in some way, scamming you out of your money. 
• The best way to avoid these scams is to ignore a fake job offer that comes unsolicited by text or WhatsApp and avoid paying anything to be paid. 

What is a Task Job Scam?

Imagine you receive a message on your phone about an exciting new opportunity to complete simple tasks online for money. That is almost certainly a task job scam. The scammer contacts you with a generic text message offering money for a simple job. You might complete a fake job interview or simply sign up for the fake company.

You complete the first simple task, perhaps clicking on links or liking certain profiles in social media. The company might pay you a bit to build your trust, but at some point, you’ll be asked to “level up” for better opportunities or to pay for a membership of some kind. That is when the scammers take your money, and you’re left with a fake job and an empty wallet. 

Consumer issues with these job scams are on the rise, making them one of the top job scams to be wary of. A Reddit poster recently shared their own issues with task scams. The poster claims they were “intrigued by easy money” and earned $35 initially before having to deposit $50 and hitting a “lucky” order, which required depositing more of her own funds. 

Source: reddit.com

Luckily, the poster “knew right then and there it wasn’t real” and walked away before losing more money to these common job scams. 

Among the online reviews on PissedConsumer, a would-be worker used the site's Report a Scam feature to describe how disappointed and confused they were following a task scam. 

The job was to promote games, but the tasks were given only after paying a deposit.

My job was to deposito 100 dollars to do 40 task up to 3 times a day for 40-80 dollars commission. Plus the $100 deposit back. The idea was that we were supposed to be real customers promoting games.

The deposit amount required kept going higher and higher until the poster was unable to make the deposit and was therefore unable to receive any money back, effectively losing all the deposited funds to the scam:

… After I had made these deposits. When I told him I could not make the final deposit he said he would help with 500 is I could come up with the other $2350. They gave me a 2 day deadlime.to come up with the money.

After losing his funds, the customer realized he had no real contact information or recourse, as the scammer used a different name and was only available as a text through WhatsApp. 

How Do Task Scams Work?

To make the scam work, a consumer signs up for a fake job following an invite through social media or messenger. The consumer then completes simple tasks, like promoting games or completing orders and reviews.

Deposits are eventually required to continue the “work,” and eventually, it reaches a point where the scammers keep your money without paying commission. 

Task scams show up frequently in consumer news because they are so appealing. The scams offer easy money and even pay out low amounts of commission early on to build trust with victims who then are more willing to make deposits (and lose money) in these gamified job scams. 

How to Avoid Job Scams?

Your best means to spot and avoid these scams is to follow basic safe job search tips:

1. Ignore unsolicited text or WhatsApp messages about a job you haven’t applied for. A true employer won’t contact you that way about a job.
2. Avoid paying a company for a job. If you have to pay to be paid or pay a membership fee to work, it’s a scam. 
3. A final consideration is the type of work the job is asking you to do. Making fake reviews, likes, or orders is unethical and illegal. An honest company won’t ask you to do illegal tasks. 

How Do I Report a Scam?

If you’ve encountered a scam, we have ways to help you report it. In addition to reporting these consumer issues with the Consumer Protection branch of the Federal Trade Commission, you can also report scams and warn other consumers directly by reporting the issue through PissedConsumer. Have you encountered a task scam? Report it!