New FTC Data Show Skyrocketing Consumer Reports About Game-Like Online Job Scams

New Federal Trade Commission complaint data show a sharp spike in online job scams that require consumers to repeat sets of tasks, which tracks closely with an increase in reported losses to job scams overall.

According to a new FTC data spotlight, these scams, known as task scams, have increased massively in the last four years, with reports of these scams increasing from zero in 2020 to 5,000 in 2023, then quadrupling to about 20,000 in just the first half of 2024.

These scams helped drive an overall increase in reported losses to job scams across the board, according to the spotlight. Overall reported losses on job scams tripled from 2020 to 2023 and were more than $220 million in just the first six months of 2024. Task scams were estimated to account for nearly 40 percent of the 2024 job scam reports.

Task scams often start with a text or WhatsApp message to a consumer about online work, but with few specifics. When consumers respond, they’re told they’ll be completing tasks related to things like “app optimization” or “product boosting.” Once they start doing tasks in an online app or platform, consumers may even receive small payouts from the supposed job, giving them confidence it’s a legitimate job. Then the scam pivots, asking consumers to put their own money in to complete the next set of tasks, always with a promise it will lead to more money coming back, but once they send it, the money is lost for good.

Cryptocurrency is the payment of choice for these scams. The spotlight notes that task scams have helped drive the overall increase in reported cryptocurrency losses to job scams, which hit $41 million in just the first half of 2024--nearly double the amount reported lost in all of 2023.

The spotlight offers advice to consumer to avoid these scams:

• Ignore generic and unexpected texts or WhatsApp messages about jobs. Real employers will never contact you that way.
• Never pay anyone to get paid. Someone telling you to pay money to get the money you have supposedly earned is a sure sign of a scam. No legit business would ever do that.
• Don’t trust anyone who says they’ll pay you to rate or “like” things online. That’s illegal and no honest company will do it.