A fake “job” paying tiny amounts for repetitive online tasks, engineered to pressure you into depositing your own money.
Task scams recruit victims for simple, repetitive online work — “optimizing” apps, liking videos, rating products. Early tiny payouts build trust, then the platform requires you to deposit your own funds (often crypto) to unlock higher earnings. The balance shown is fake, and deposits are unrecoverable.
This is one of the fastest-growing job-scam categories, blending gamification with cryptocurrency payment demands.
Red flags
- Small real payouts followed by a request to deposit money
- A dashboard showing large “earnings” you cannot withdraw
- Recruited by unsolicited text or messaging app
Deep-dive guide
Task Scams & 'Like-and-Earn' Jobs: The Deposit-to-Withdraw Trap
Frequently asked questions
How does a task scam make money if it pays people?
The small early payouts are bait. Once you trust the platform, it pressures you to deposit your own money to “unlock” bigger tasks or withdraw a fake balance — and those deposits are what the scammers keep.