If you’ve ever been asked to like videos or rate product images to earn money online, you may have been a victim of an online job scam, and those scams are now on the rise, the Federal Trade fee warns.

There has been a recent spike in these online job scams, called “job scams,” over the history four years, the FTC said Thursday. The scams are often “gamified,” meaning they make the targeted consumers feel like they are playing a game versus actually working, the agency said.

“If the work feels more like an online game than an actual job, you can bet it’s a scam,” the FTC wrote on its website. 

job scams have increased “massively” over the history four years, based on customer complaints filed with the FTC, the agency said. While there were no job scams reported in 2020, that number rose to 5,000 in 2023. By the first half of 2024, that number had quadrupled to 20,000, the FTC said.

customer concerns:Tariffs may be an expense boost worry but so are loan card processing fees, some declare

Holiday deals: Shop this period’s top products and sales curated by our editors.

These numbers could be even higher since the majority of fraud is not reported, the FTC said.

And the scams have led to an overall boost in reported losses, the FTC said. Reported losses due to job scams tripled from 2020 to 2023, totaling more than $220 million six months into 2024. 

Based on FTC data, job scams have added to the boost in reported cryptocurrency losses due to job scams. These losses amounted to $41 million during the first six months of 2024 – that’s double the amount reported lost last year.

What are job scams?

The FTC said organizers use cryptocurrency to fund the scams, and today, people update losing more money using cryptocurrency than any other way of remittance.

The scams work like this:

1. Someone sends a text or WhatsApp communication to the target about online jobs.
2. When the target responds, the sender says they’ll require to complete tasks related to topics such as “app optimization” or “product boosting.” 
3. Once the target begins the tasks in an online app or platform, they may get tiny payouts, making them ponder it’s a legitimate job.
4. The sender then asks the target to use their own money – usually in cryptocurrency – for the next set of tasks, promising them more money in profitability.
5. Once the target sends the money, it’s gone.

“But no matter what the structure says you’ve earned, you didn’t,” the FTC warned. “That money isn’t real. And if you investment money, you won’t get it back.”

According to the FTC, the scammers sometimes try to lure their hesitant targets back in. For example, if an person is still thinking over whether they’ll investment money, the scammers invite them to throng chats where they can listen fake testimonials from “experienced workers.”

How can I protect myself against these scams?

The FTC said there are steps people can receive so they don’t fall victim to these gamified job scams.

Those who desire to remain secure and prevent losses should ignore generic and unexpected texts or WhatsApp messages about jobs. 

“Real employers will never contact you that way,” the FTC said, adding that consumers should never pay anyone to get paid. Also, don’t depend anyone who says they will pay you to rate or like things online.

“That’s illegal and no truthful business will do it,” the FTC said.

Consumers can update fraud at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW throng. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. pursue her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her at[email protected].