Jobs and income · Also called task job scam, app optimization job, product boosting job, rate and review job scam, gamified job scam
Task scam (gamified online job)
A task scam is a fake online job that pays you to do simple tasks, such as rating products or liking videos, through an app that shows your earnings growing. After small early payouts, you are told to deposit money, usually cryptocurrency, to unlock the next set of tasks or withdraw your earnings, and that money is lost.
How it works
- An unexpected text or WhatsApp message offers online work, with few details, using words like product boosting or app optimization.
- You are given an account on an app or site and asked to complete sets of simple tasks, such as rating products or liking videos, for commission.
- Small payouts at first build trust, and the app shows a growing balance.
- Then you are told to deposit money, often in cryptocurrency, to complete the next set or withdraw your earnings, and the deposits are never returned.
Red flags
- An unexpected text or messaging app message offers you online work with no specifics.
- The job is to rate products, like videos, or boost or optimize apps in return for commission.
- You must deposit your own money, often cryptocurrency, to unlock more tasks or withdraw your earnings.
- You are hired quickly, with no interview or discussion of your qualifications.
If you are targeted
- Stop contact and do not deposit any more money, whatever balance the app shows.
- Contact your bank, payment app, or the crypto exchange you used straight away, report the transfers, and ask whether any can be reversed.
- Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.
- Be wary of anyone who later offers to get your money back for a fee; that is a recovery scam.
Prevention
For individuals
- Ignore generic, unexpected texts or messaging app messages about jobs.
- Follow the FTC's rule: never pay anyone to get paid.
- Do not trust anyone who says they will pay you to rate or like things online.
For organisations
- Messaging platforms can act quickly on reports of accounts that send mass unsolicited job offers.
- Banks and crypto exchanges can warn customers who send repeated deposits to a platform they describe as a job.
By the numbers
Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.
| Employment scam losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025 | $362.9M | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
| Job and employment agency scam losses reported to the FTC in 2024 | $501M | US, 2024, FTC |
Real cases
No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.
Delivered through: SMS phishing (smishing), Fake apps
How official datasets classify it
- FBI IC3
- Employment
- FTC
- Job Scams & Employment Agencies
- Scamwatch
- Jobs and employment scams
Questions
- What is a task scam?
- It is a fake job in which an app pays you small amounts for simple tasks like rating products, then asks you to deposit your own money, often crypto, to keep going or withdraw. The FTC says the earnings shown are not real.
- Can I get my deposits back from a task scam app?
- Depositing more will not unlock the balance. Contact your bank or the crypto exchange you used straight away, report the scam, and ignore anyone who offers to recover the money for a fee.