Task scam: paid to like videos or rate apps? What to do
"Work from home, just like videos or rate products, earn hundreds a day." The first small payments really do arrive. Then you're asked to deposit your own money to unlock better tasks or withdraw your earnings. Here is how to spot this scam, what to do if you've already paid, and why moving money for a "job" can get you into trouble yourself.
Key points
- Nobody honest pays you to like, rate or "boost" things online. A job offer that arrives out of the blue on WhatsApp or by text is a scam.
- Never pay to unlock tasks or withdraw earnings. The FTC is clear: any request to pay so you can get paid is a scam.
- Never receive money into your account to send it on. That's money laundering, and the person whose account is used gets caught up in it.
- Already paid or gave access to your account? Call your bank now and report it to the FTC or IC3 (US) or Report Fraud (UK).
How the scam works
The FTC and the FBI describe the same pattern again and again:
- The offer. A generic text or WhatsApp message about online work, with few details. Scammers often pose as staffing or recruitment firms.
- The tasks. You're asked to like videos, rate restaurants or products, or repeatedly click a button to "optimise" an app or "boost" products on a website or app the scammers control.
- Small payouts. The first tasks really do pay a little. That's the bait – it makes the job look legitimate.
- Deposits. Then come "premium" tasks that need your own money – usually cryptocurrency – to unlock, with the promise of bigger earnings. The FBI notes the pay structure is deliberately confusing.
- No withdrawal. The dashboard shows your balance growing, but you can't take it out. There's always another fee or a bigger deposit needed. The money you sent is gone.
The other version: "just move this money for us"
Sometimes the scammers don't want your money – they want your bank account. A "job" may involve receiving money into your account and sending it on, keeping a small cut, or receiving parcels and reshipping them.
That money (or those goods) usually comes from other victims or stolen cards. UK Finance and Cifas, through their Don't Be Fooled campaign, put it bluntly: if you let criminals move money through your account, "you're involved in money laundering, which is a crime". Once you start, it can be hard to stop. The FTC adds that reshipping goods "is never a real job".
How to tell it's a scam
| What happens | What it means |
|---|---|
| A job offer arrives unprompted by WhatsApp or text | Scam. The FTC says legitimate employers don't recruit that way. |
| You're paid to like, rate or "optimise" things online | Scam. The FTC warns that paying people to rate or like things is illegal and honest companies don't do it. |
| You have to pay to get work or to withdraw your earnings | Scam. The FTC: never pay money to receive pay. |
| Your "earnings" only exist in an app or on a website, and you can't withdraw them | The numbers on screen aren't real money. |
| You're told to open a crypto account or pay in cryptocurrency | A classic sign – crypto is the scammers' preferred payment method. |
| You're asked to receive money or parcels and send them on | Money muling or reshipping fraud. Don't do it. |
| You're asked for ID, bank details or your online banking login | Send nothing. Nobody needs these to "like videos". |
What to do right now
- You haven't paid anything yet: stop replying, leave the group chat and block the contact. Don't send money, even if they promise it will "release" your earnings. If money has arrived in your account from strangers, tell your bank – it may belong to other victims.
- Ignore "recovery" offers. If someone later promises to get your money back for a fee, that's another scam. The FBI says never to pay anyone who promises to recover lost cryptocurrency.
I've paid or shared my details. What now?
| What happened | What to do |
|---|---|
| You sent money by bank transfer | Call your bank straight away on the number on your card or its official website, and report the payment as fraud. Ask it to reverse the payment. Don't send any more. In the UK, bank transfers may be covered by reimbursement rules – see the fake bank call guide. |
| You paid by card | Contact your card issuer, report the fraudulent charge and ask for it to be reversed. |
| You sent cryptocurrency | Contact the exchange or the company you used to send it, report the transaction as fraud and ask whether it can be reversed. Keep the wallet addresses and transaction IDs. Secure or close any crypto account you opened for the "job". |
| Other people's money went through your account | Tell your bank immediately and don't make any more transfers. Don't send on any money that's still in your account. |
| You gave someone your online banking login or installed an app they told you to | Call your bank and ask it to block online access. Change your passwords from a different device and uninstall the app. See Entered your details on a phishing site. |
| You sent a photo of your ID or your Social Security number | In the US, follow the steps at IdentityTheft.gov; elsewhere, report it to the police and watch for credit applications in your name. |
Save the evidence: the chat, the scam website or app address, payment receipts and transaction details. Your bank and the police will ask for them.
Report it
- US: report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, including any transaction details.
- UK: report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland); in Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. Forward a scam text to 7726 – it's free.
- The platform: report the account in WhatsApp or Telegram, and the job ad to the site where you saw it.
- Elsewhere: contact your bank first if you've lost money, then your local police.
Protect yourself next time
- Remember one rule: if you have to pay to work or to get paid, it's a scam.
- A real job comes with a named employer you can look up, a contract, and no fees for you.
- Never open accounts, receive money or forward parcels for someone you only know online.
- Tell students and young people looking for their first part-time job – they're a common target.
The same "small win first, then bigger deposits" trick drives the investment scam.
Sources
- FTC (US) – New FTC Data Show Skyrocketing Consumer Reports About Game-Like Online Job Scams (12 Dec 2024)
- FBI IC3 (US) – Scammers Defraud Individuals via Work-From-Home Scams (I-060424-PSA, 4 Jun 2024)
- FTC (US) – Job Scams
- FTC (US) – What To Do if You Were Scammed
- Don't Be Fooled (UK Finance and Cifas) – Money muling
- NCSC (UK) – Report a scam text message
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