Task Scams: Beware of These Increasing Fake Job Offers
Task scams are rapidly increasing and becoming the new weapon to extract money from people by offering fake job offers to them. People who are always in search of some extra income without adequate cybersecurity fall prey to the scams of these cybercriminals who give lucrative but fake online job offers.
The rapid rise of these scams that start from giving easy online tasks to complete is converting them into a financial nightmare, forcing victims to face huge economic and mental loss who get enroll into them in hope to get some extra income for their livelihood.]
We have tried to investigate these scams in this article, analyzing the approach of scammers, and have mentioned some precautionary measures for further prevention.
Understand These Task Scams…!
Cybercriminals typically start this task scam with lucrative messages sent via social media messaging apps that offer simple skill-based online jobs including; to like a social media post, promote a product in comments sections of popular posts, review a newly launched product, etc.
These fraudsters pose themselves as the true employees of some legitimate groups and businesses. Moreover, they also offer payments for completing every task and initially they even transfer this amount to win the integrity and trust of victims.
Once the victim falls into their trap, they then lure him to earn more money via another job and ask for registration money. As soon as the victim gives the money in the hope of getting a job with a big paycheck, they extort the money and disappear.
For instance, there was a case reported in India, where a woman was lured into a fake job offer through an Instagram link which eventually led to her losing 100 thousand Indian rupees.
How You Can be Scammed: Read It Carefully
- Initial Message: You will be contacted with a lucrative message offering handsome pay for an online work.
- Task Given: Once you will opt-in for the work, you will be assign to various tasks accordingly.
- Bogus Earnings: You will even see the fake My Earnings tab that will keep you hooked to complete these tasks.
- Upfronts Payment: When you earn a significant amount, the fraudsters will ask for upfront payments to transfer your earnings.
- Quick Disappearance: Once the scammer gets the money, they will quickly disappear without leaving any trace to find their identity.
I’m being Scammed: What Should be My Immediate Actions
- Cease Contact with Scammers: Stop all kinds of communication with the scammers, however, try to secure all evidence regarding your conversations.
- Connect to Your Bank: Contact it and tell officials about the unauthorized transactions happened from your account. Their guidelines can help you a lot.
- Secure Cards: If you have used credit cards for the payments, connect to your issuer and inform its grievance cell about the incident.
- File a Report: Visit the nearest police department and file a case regarding the incident. You can even register your complaint through FTC’s online complaint assistance.
- Protect Your Identity: In case of identity theft due to losing credit card information, you can report it to credit bureaus like Equifax, TransUnion, etc.
The Tense Part: Task Scams are Skyrocketing
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently presented a report. That shows that cases regarding fraud job offers including task scams are skyrocketing at a rapid pace.
There was no case reported in 2020, however these cases started to rise from 2021 when 500 cases were reported followed by 1000 in 2022, 5000 in 2023, and a staggering rise of 20,000 (and counting) in 2024 that include about 40% of all job fraud cases reported this year.
The most disturbing part is that victims in a greed for earning. More find themselves in a cycle of extraction without getting any fruitful return and it makes them vulnerable.
Moreover, these cybercriminals have now started the use of cryptocurrencies and various decentralized wallets. To extract money from their victims, making it more difficult for the authorities to trace and find them.
Real Scam Incidents that Shaken the Authorities
- A man from Mumbai, India who works as an electrician lost 1 million Indian rupees after being scammed for a job offer that promise high salary in return of minimal investment.
- A UK citizen was scammed with a fake parcel delivery text. He was told to send incoming OTP to get an event ticket in the parcel.
- People are getting messages on their social media accounts about non-existing products and their different discounts lure them to spend money on these products.
- Scammers impersonate relatives and ask for monetary assistance. These kinds of scams have a share of 30% in the total number of text scams that happened in 2024.
What You Should Do to Protect Yourself: Follow These Guidelines
- Verify the Authenticity: Research carefully to verify the identity of your relatives and the authenticity of these companies offering such lucrative proposals.
- Beware of Payments: No companies ask you to pay before the joining letter. If you are getting an offer like this, report it before avoiding it.
- Stay Informed: Read new articles and stay informed about the latest tactics these hackers use to scam people. Some informative websites regularly publish articles regarding news and developments in general cybersecurity.
- Report Any Suspicious Activity: If you face such a scam, never wait to report it to the concerning authorities like the FTC. Always save their numbers in your contact list. Your one step can save thousands of people from falling into these malicious frauds.
In Conclusion: Task Scams Rising at an Alarming Rate…!
Task scams are rising, and their rapid numbers with multiple operating channels. Enhance the need for better cybersecurity and awareness among people. To curtail this alarming trend, we need to remain vigilant and informed about the safety guidelines.
Proactive steps must be initiate that will not only reduce the number of cases. But will also raise awareness to create a safer and better digital environment.
Staying cautious will not only help us to protect ourselves but also our loved ones from these money extortion schemes.
