FILIPINOS who are looking for extra income should be wary of one of the most predatory schemes available on the internet today — the “job” or “task” scams.

A job or task scam is similar to a Ponzi-style scheme, where victims are promised very high returns with little to no risk.

This form of con often offers its prey a large sum of earnings after completing simple tasks or jobs, including liking or streaming a video and subscribing to a particular channel.

Others also ask victims to invest in a “one-time registration fee” in order to secure wider access to substantial money from scammers who guise themselves as employees of trusted and reputable investment companies or private corporations.

These crooks steal money through social engineering crimes and take advantage of the vulnerable and those who desperately need to augment their finances by accepting odd and suspicious jobs online.

Most of the time, scammers under the job or task scheme would offer part-time jobs adorned with an overly flexible schedule and high daily or weekly payouts that seemed too good to be true.

One of the victims of this scam shared in a virtual interview with local media that one of the tasks he was assigned to do was to subscribe to multiple YouTube channels for P40 each.

And because at first he was able to savor the fruit of this easy labor, he thought the side job he got into was legit. Not until he was invited to join a group chat, where members were asked to invest their own money in cryptocurrency.

Scammers told him that the bigger the investment, the larger the amount of money that he would receive.

After gaining their victim’s trust and when the invested money grows substantially, these con artists will suddenly remove their victim’s access to the money he or she is supposed to earn from the investment.

While it might be difficult to immediately assess which part-time jobs are fraudulent schemes, these tips will help you prevent falling victim to this job or task scam:

If it offers a lot of money for a simple task

While it is ideal for many to earn a large income for a menial task, being offered a thousand pesos for little work should cause some skepticism. 

If the job posting is informal or contains errors

Legit companies are meticulous when it comes to job postings and offers, so if the message contains a blunder in grammar or spelling, that’s a green light to refuse the offer.

If you were asked to provide personal details

Authentic job offers would only ask for your curriculum vitae and credentials, never your bank details. 

If the application process isn’t meticulously done

Candidates for a job often undergo a rigorous application process that includes interviews, exams, and other requirements. So, it is only right to be suspicious of so-called recruiters who wouldn’t even ask you to provide your credentials during the application period.