- ‘Gamified job scams’ have jumped 485% in the last year
- These prompt jobseekers to complete online tasks for small payouts
- This represents a loss of over $6.8 million in 2025
New research from CNC Intelligence has revealed a huge increase in the number of ‘task scams’ or ‘gamified job scams’ targeting jobseekers in 2025.
Pretty much everyone will be aware of the increasingly difficult job market, with over 7.5 million Americans currently unemployed. That has opened the door for scammers to prey on those looking for new opportunities.
The ‘task scam’ begins with, you guessed it, a task. It’s typically liking a video, commenting on a product, or leaving a review. From there, the scammers will build trust with a small pay-out – often via cryptocurrency, but that’s where the generosity ends.
Escalating demands
This is where it starts getting serious. Targets are then encouraged to deposit cryptocurrency into an account to then complete further tasks – but, of course, this never happens.
Withdrawals are blocked, and ‘trusted’ contacts within the scheme will persuade victims to keep depositing more funds in order to ‘unlock’ further earnings . These earnings never materialize, and victims are left with huge losses.
In fact, the research has identified a total loss of $6.8 million to this type of scam in 2025, marking a 485% year-on-year increase.
That’s a total of 4757 task-scam reports – almost six times higher than the 813 seen in 2024.
“Task scams are designed to pull victims into a cycle that becomes harder to escape the longer it continues,” explains Matthew Stern, CEO of CNC Intelligence.
“The early tasks can feel legitimate, but as soon as pressurized requests for money begin, it’s a strong signal something isn’t right. No real employer will ever ask you to pay to access your own earnings. Other early clues include payment terms that seem unusually generous, or all communication being through WhatsApp or Telegram.”
The job market is incredibly difficult right now, which makes it all the more important to be careful with the savings you have.
The main thing to remember is, just like your bank won’t call you to ask for your details, legitimate job postings will not ask you to pay them when you complete jobs for them, especially not with cryptocurrency.
The best ID theft protection for all budgets
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