---
schema_version: 1
id: collection-01-ftc
title: How to spot and avoid task scams
type: article
language: en
authors:
  - BCP Staff
source:
  name: FTC
  url: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/08/how-spot-avoid-task-scams
published_at: Aug 14, 2025
topics:
  - Consumer protection
selection_note: "Start here: a concrete scenario with useful everyday and
  consumer-protection language."
rights:
  note: "Public domain. Source: Federal Trade Commission; BCP Staff."
  license_url: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2021/05/share-ftc-materials-here-there-and-everywhere
expressions:
  - text: gain your trust
    meaning: 取得你的信任
  - text: turns the tables
    meaning: 扭转局面；文中指骗子突然变换套路
  - text: deposit your own money
    meaning: 存入你自己的钱
  - text: a sure sign of
    meaning: ……的确凿迹象
  - text: give a positive rating
    meaning: 给出好评
vocabulary:
  - text: supposedly
    meaning: 据称；按说（暗示未必属实）
  - text: commission
    meaning: 佣金；提成
  - text: earnings
    meaning: 收入；收益
  - text: generic
    meaning: 笼统的；没有针对性的
  - text: scam
    meaning: 骗局
asset_map: {}
demo: false
---

You get an unexpected message on WhatsApp, Telegram, text, or social media. The person says you can make quick money online doing tasks. It sounds simple, and the message says you’ll get paid right away. But this could be a scam. Read on to find out how to spot and avoid them.

Task scams — or gamified job scams — begin with an unexpected message offering you “work” doing things like “optimization” or “product boosting” online. You complete the tasks through an app or online platform and — supposedly — earn money through a “commission” with each click you make. But spoiler alert: there aren’t any commissions and only the scammers make money.

As you complete each task, you’ll see what looks like more and more supposed earnings in the app. They’re fake, but the scammers want you to think those earnings are real. So they might pay you a little — usually $5 to $20 — to try to gain your trust.

Then the scammer turns the tables. To unlock and complete your next set of tasks, and to be able to get your “earnings” out of the app, the scammer tells you to deposit your own money, usually in crypto. But even making that deposit won’t let you get those (fake) earnings — and your real money will be gone.

To avoid task scams:

- Ignore generic and unexpected texts, WhatsApp, or Telegram messages about jobs. Real employers will never contact you that way.
- Never pay anyone to get paid, or to get a job. That’s a sure sign of a scam.
- Don’t trust anyone who says they’ll pay you to give a positive rating or like things online. No honest company will do that.

Learn more about spotting and avoiding scams at ftc.gov/scams. And report scams you see to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.