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

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

"Hi! I'm a recruiter. We're looking for people to work from home, 30 minutes a day, $150 to $500 a day, no experience needed." The message arrives on WhatsApp, by text or on Telegram from a number you don't know, sometimes using the name of a well-known recruitment agency or online retailer. The "job" is liking videos, following accounts, rating hotels or "boosting" products. It sounds harmless, and at first they really do pay you. That's the trap. This is the task scam, and it ends with you paying money to get back money that never existed.

How does the "task" scam work?

1. The hook. An unsolicited message on WhatsApp, text or Telegram, often posing as a recruitment agency, an e-commerce platform or a big brand. Great pay for a few minutes of work, no experience needed.
2. The first tasks, actually paid. You're asked to like some videos or follow some accounts and send screenshots. A few dollars land in your bank account. That first real payment is the bait: it exists to make you trust them.
3. The move to Telegram. You're passed to a group or to a "mentor" or "receptionist" 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.
4. "Prepaid tasks" or "missions". To unlock better-paid tasks you now have to "top up" your account with your own money, usually in cryptocurrency or by bank transfer to someone else's account. The balance on screen keeps climbing with tempting commissions.
5. The wall. When you try to withdraw, suddenly there's a problem: a "negative balance", a "mistake" on a task, "tax" or a "withdrawal fee" to pay. Every fix needs another deposit. The balance you see is just a number on a website they control.

What are the warning signs?

• Nobody hires you on WhatsApp out of the blue. Real employers and recruitment agencies don't recruit by messaging random numbers.
• Lots of money for almost nothing. Earning hundreds of dollars a day for tapping "like" isn't a real job.
• No employment agreement, no interview, no payslip and no tax deducted. In New Zealand, an employee should have a written employment agreement and be paid through payroll with tax taken off; here there's just chat, 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 to receive your wages.
• Pressure and urgency. "The mission expires in 30 minutes", "if you don't finish now you lose everything".
• They ask for a photo of your passport or driver licence, your IRD number or bank details straight away, with no formal process.
• They use a real company's name, but contact comes from an overseas number or an unverified profile.

What should I do if they've just messaged me?

1. Don't reply or do a "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 in the app itself: both WhatsApp and Telegram let you report a chat before blocking it. If it arrived as a text, forward it free to 7726, the Department of Internal Affairs scam-text reporting service.
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 company's official website yourself and contact it through its own channels. If the company exists, it can tell you whether it runs that recruitment (spoiler: it doesn't).
5. Check the number in the spam numbers directory and report it so others can recognise it.

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

1. Stop paying now. There's no "last" deposit that unlocks your money. Each new payment only drags the scam out.
2. Call your bank on the official number on your card or in its app (never a number the scammers gave you). Explain that you've been scammed, 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 ID or personal details, change related passwords, turn on two-step verification and watch your accounts, and any credit or loan applications in your name, for months.
6. If money was paid into your account and you were asked to send it on, stop straight away, don't move any more funds and tell your bank and Police. That's how scammers recruit "money mules", and cooperating from the start is what protects you best.

Where do I report it?

• NZ Police: report it on 105 or through the 105 online service on the NZ Police website, with all your evidence. Your report helps link cases from the same network.
• The National Cyber Security Centre: report the scam to the NCSC, which collects reports about online scams and can advise you on protecting your accounts.
• Consumer Protection: its Scamwatch pages explain how to spot job scams and what to do after one.
• 111: only if there's a real threat or an emergency happening now.

Frequently asked questions

They actually paid me at the start. Doesn't that prove it's legitimate? No. That small payment is part of the trick: it's cheap for them and builds your trust before they ask for much larger deposits.

The message used the name of a real company. Could it be them? Real companies recruit through their careers pages and job boards, with interviews and contracts. Contact the company yourself through its official website if you want to be sure.

Can I get my money back? It depends on how you paid and how quickly you act. Call your bank straight away and report it. Be wary of anyone who contacts you offering to recover the money for a fee: that's another scam.

I sent a photo of my passport. What should I do? Keep an eye on your accounts and credit, and be suspicious of any call or message that uses your details. If you think your identity is being misused, report it to Police and tell your bank.

In short

If a stranger offers you easy money on WhatsApp or Telegram for liking videos or writing reviews, it's a scam: the first payment is bait and the rest is deposits that never come back. Don't reply, block and report, and if you've already paid, stop, call your bank and report it to Police and the NCSC. And report the number in the NoCall spam numbers directory so others don't take the bait.