Task scam
A fake online job in which the worker completes trivial "tasks" and must deposit their own money to unlock earnings.
The structure inverts employment: instead of being paid for work, you pay to keep working. Small early withdrawals are permitted, exactly as in pig butchering, because a payout that clears is the cheapest way to buy belief.
Task scams are among the fastest-growing categories in several national datasets, and the recruitment is now largely by text and social media. A second harm is that some of these “jobs” involve receiving and forwarding payments, which makes the worker a money mule and exposes them to criminal liability of their own.
Where it shows up
- Job and task scams — Work that costs money instead of paying it — and sometimes makes you a money mule without telling you.