Be Wary of Job Offers Via Text Messages, Warns FTC as 'Task Scams' Reportedly Spike Dramatically
Be Wary of Job Offers Via Text Messages, Warns FTC as 'Task Scams' Reportedly Spike Dramatically
In 2024, the gamification of fraudulent text messages saw a significant surge, as per statistics from the Federal Trade Commission, leading to consumers losing a substantial sum of over 200 million dollars to supposed opportunities that turned out to be schemes.
Over the previous four years, the agency has been monitoring a new form of scams, where con artists send text messages to their targets, promising them compensation in return for completing simple online tasks. The initial tasks and rewards are purposely designed to entice victims, only for the scammers to subsequently ask for an advance payment before granting the next batch of work, which, predictably, never materializes.
In 2020, the FTC didn't receive any reports concerning these so-called task scams. However, such complaints began to surface the following years, amounting to around 500 in 2021, 1,000 in 2022, and a staggering 5,000 in 2023. But this year, task scams skyrocketed to unprecedented heights. In the first half of 2024, the FTC received over 20,000 complaints.
The agency revealed that consumers reported losing approximately $223 million to schemes involving fake job offers in the first half of 2024. Text-based swindles accounted for nearly 40% of those losses, while consumers only reported losing $90 million to job scams of any kind in 2020.
Typically, task scams initiate with a text or WhatsApp message from an unknown sender advertising a vaguely defined job opportunity. If the recipient responds, they're informed they can receive payouts for completing tasks related to "app optimization" or "product boosting."
These scams may seem particularly attractive in an era where individuals commonly generate income from undertaking micro-tasks such as labeling AI training data. Some victims even admitted to receiving initial payments, leading them to believe they'd stumbled upon a genuine job opportunity.
However, after a victim is engrossed, the sender requests an upfront payment before they'll forward the subsequent set of tasks, which allegedly comes with an even larger payout. Scammers typically demand these payments in cryptocurrency, as the FTC reported.
To shield yourself from task scams, the FTC advises ignoring unexpected text or WhatsApp messages regarding job opportunities, particularly offers to pay you for promoting stuff online. Moreover, consumers should never pay anyone as a precondition of getting paid for the work they've done.
"Anyone instructing you to remit funds to secure the funds you're supposedly earned is a clear sign of a scam," the agency warned. "No legitimate business would ever engage in such conduct."
In light of the FTC's statistics, it's evident that tech-based scams, such as task scams, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and prevalent in the digital future. As technology advances, scammers are leveraging it to create more convincing schemes, like charging victims in cryptocurrency.