Job offer on WhatsApp or Telegram: the "task" scam

A WhatsApp message arrives from a number you don't know: "Hi, I'm from HR, we've seen your profile. We offer part-time work from home, 50 to 200 euros a day, all you need is your phone." You never sent a CV, but the message is friendly, it names a company that sounds real, and the job looks incredibly easy: liking videos, following accounts or rating products and hotels. This is the task scam, and it almost always ends the same way: you are asked to deposit your own money to keep getting paid, and that money never comes back.

How does the "task" scam work?

The script is well rehearsed and moves in stages, each one designed to lower your guard a little more:

1. The hook. An unsolicited message on WhatsApp, SMS or Telegram, often posing as a recruitment agency, an e-commerce platform or a well-known brand. They promise high pay for a few minutes of work, no experience needed.
2. The first tasks, actually paid. You are asked to like a few videos or follow some accounts and send screenshots. You receive a few euros, sometimes through Bizum (Spain's instant mobile payment service) or a bank transfer. That first real payment is the bait: it exists to make you trust them.
3. The move to Telegram. You are passed to a group or to a "mentor" or "receptionist" on Telegram and signed up to their own website or app, where a "balance" grows with every task. The group is full of supposed co-workers celebrating their earnings: usually accounts run by the scammers themselves.
4. "Prepaid tasks" or "missions". Now, to unlock better-paid tasks, you have to "top up" your account with your own money, usually in cryptocurrency (USDT, for example) or by transfer to third-party accounts. The on-screen balance climbs with attractive commissions.
5. The wall. When you try to withdraw, there is suddenly a problem: your account has a "negative balance", you made a "mistake" on a task, you have to pay "taxes" or a "withdrawal fee". Every fix requires another deposit. The balance you see is just a number on a website they control.

A dangerous variant: instead of asking for money, they ask you to receive money into your account and forward it to another one. That is not a job: it is acting as a "money mule" to launder the proceeds of other scams, and it can get you into serious legal trouble even if you didn't know.

What are the warning signs?

• Nobody hires you on WhatsApp out of the blue. Real companies don't recruit by messaging random numbers.
• Lots of money for almost nothing. Earning tens of euros a day for clicking "like" is not a real job.
• No contract, no interview, no social security registration. Just chats, screenshots and an unknown website.
• You have to pay to work. No legitimate employer asks you to deposit money, "top up" an account or buy cryptocurrency in order to receive your wages.
• Pressure and urgency. "The mission expires in 30 minutes", "if you don't finish now you lose everything you've earned".
• They ask for a photo of your ID card or your bank details right away, without any formalities.
• They use a real company's name, but the contact comes from a foreign number or an unverified profile.

What should I do if they just messaged me?

1. Don't reply or do any "test task". However harmless it seems, it confirms your number is active and opens the door to the rest of the script.
2. Block and report the contact from the app itself: both WhatsApp and Telegram let you report a chat before blocking it.
3. Don't tap links or install any apps they send you.
4. If you wonder whether the offer could be real, look up the official website of the company they mention yourself and contact it through its own channels. If the company exists, it can tell you whether it runs that recruitment process (spoiler: it doesn't).
5. Check the number in the spam number directory and report it so others can recognise it.

What if I've already paid or sent my details?

Don't blame yourself: these networks are highly professional and fool people of all ages. What matters is to act quickly and in order:

1. Stop paying now. There is no "final" deposit that unlocks your money. Each new payment only drags the scam out.
2. Call your bank on the official number printed on your card or shown in its app (never a number the scammers gave you). Explain that you have been the victim of fraud, ask them to block transactions and ask whether they can try to stop or recover recent transfers.
3. If you paid in cryptocurrency through an exchange, contact its support team and keep the wallet addresses and transaction IDs.
4. Keep all the evidence: screenshots of the chats, phone numbers, Telegram usernames, the website address, payment receipts and bank statements. Don't delete the conversations.
5. If you sent your ID or personal details, change any related passwords, turn on two-step verification and keep an eye on your accounts, and on any contract or loan taken out in your name, for months.
6. If you received money into your account and forwarded it, stop immediately, don't move any more funds and tell your bank and the police. Cooperating from the start is what protects you best.

For more on the steps with your bank, see how to get your money back after a phone scam.

Where do I report it?

• In Spain, Policía Nacional (091) or Guardia Civil (062): file a report at a police station, bringing all the evidence. It is a fraud offence, and your report helps link cases from the same network. Elsewhere, report it to your national police.
• In Spain, INCIBE's 017 helpline: a free, confidential cybersecurity helpline that can advise you on your data, your accounts and the report. INCIBE's Oficina de Seguridad del Internauta (OSI) publishes alerts about these campaigns. Elsewhere, contact your national cybersecurity agency or consumer fraud service.
• 112: only if there is a real threat or emergency under way (it is the emergency number across the EU).

Also watch out for the recovery scam: after you lose money, so-called lawyers, "hackers" or agencies may contact you promising to get it back in exchange for an upfront fee. It is the same network, or a similar one, trying to make you pay twice.

Frequently asked questions

They really paid me for the first tasks. Doesn't that prove it's legitimate? No. Paying small amounts at the start is part of the plan: it costs them little and builds the trust they need to ask you for much bigger deposits.

Is it illegal to like posts or write reviews for money? Paid fake reviews break the platforms' rules and can amount to misleading advertising, but the main problem here is something else: the "job" is only an excuse to take your money.

They want me to pay a tax before I can withdraw my balance. Should I pay? No. No tax is paid that way. That balance does not exist outside their website, and any extra payment is lost.

How did they get my number? Most often they message lists of randomly generated or leaked numbers. Being contacted doesn't mean you were specifically chosen.

In short

A job offer you never asked for, arriving on WhatsApp or Telegram, paying a lot for almost nothing and sooner or later asking you for money, is a scam. Don't reply, block, report and, if you have already paid, stop, call your bank and report it to the police. NoCall helps you spot suspicious numbers before you answer; and if you've received one of these messages, report it in the NoCall spam number directory to warn others.