Job and task scams

What you'll get from this chapter: How fake jobs that pay you to tap buttons turn into a demand for your own money, and the rule that ends them.

Part III: Smartphone Survival Kit · Chapter 11 of 14

Last reviewed: October 18, 2026

A job that pays you to tap buttons, and then asks you to deposit your own money, is not a job.

A task scam starts as an offer to like videos, rate products, or click through simple tasks. The first payouts are small and real. That is the bait. The app then says you must deposit your own money to unlock the next set of tasks or to withdraw a larger balance. The deposit is the scam. Further withdrawals fail until you send more.

A real employer pays you. It does not ask you to fund the work. Treat an unsolicited job in a text or a messaging app the same way you treat an unsolicited investment. Stop, and do not send a deposit.

Sometimes the question is not how to avoid a scam but whether one already got in. The next chapter covers the signs your phone may be compromised.