A new investigation has uncovered the deceptive platforms playing host to sophisticated job scams, which promise pay for completing simple, repetitive tasks online, but are actually stripping victims of millions and leaving them emotionally damaged.

Taking a deep dive into the mechanics behind these ‘task scam’ sites, along with a global study of over 6,500 consumers, Trend Micro’s latest report, Unmasking Task Scams to Prevent Financial Fallout From Fraud, found that cyber-criminals are using social media and SMS to lure naive job seekers, often impersonating legitimate companies.

The report revealed that while these scammers target a wide demographic and age group, nearly all their victims share one trait – the willingness to believe in earning easy money with just a few clicks.

Task scams typically involve activities such as liking and subscribing to social media pages or providing product reviews, usually performed in bulk at around 30 to 40 tasks at a time, with many victims receiving small payouts initially to build trust in the system. 

Added to that, Trend Micro found that scammers are employing gamification techniques, including VIP levels, reward streaks, and achievement incentives, all to keep the victim motivated.

However, once convinced, the scammers will then offer their victims the chance to earn more with so-called ‘double tasks’, but will demand a deposit to gain access to these higher-earning tasks.

Of course, no matter how many tasks the victim completes, or how much they think they’ve made, the crooks will withhold their cash, claiming even more money should be handed over to withdraw their earnings, with Trend Micro discovering that these cyber-criminals are raking in millions.

Last year, one victim reported losing $75,000 to task scammers posing as a legitimate marketing firm after receiving an unsolicited message via LinkedIn. Meanwhile, another victim claimed to have lost a staggering $800,000 to a larger network of criminal actors.

After getting hold of the victim’s money, the scammers transfer it via cryptocurrency wallets, with Trend Micro finding that a single wallet received over $187,000 in less than two months, while another wallet was linked to more than $1.2 million in transactions. 

As unemployment continues to rise and inflation bites, these scammers are taking advantage of the desperation many people are feeling to make ends meet, leaving victims to deal with a high emotional toll.

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“Task scams are now one of the most financially and psychologically damaging cyber-crime threats individuals face today,” said Robert McArdle, director of forward threat research at Trend Micro.

“The infrastructure enabling them, from domain registrars to SMS blasting services, requires immediate attention. Meanwhile, organisations can reduce risk by making their recruitment practices transparent and educating job seekers on how to identify legitimate communications.”

To avoid falling victim, Trend Micro recommends being vigilant to potential warning signs, like unsolicited job offers or those that do not involve an interview but promise unusually high compensation for simple tasks.

It also said that when receiving any such offers over social media or SMS, it is vital to verify the legitimacy of the employer through more official channels.