Job offer on WhatsApp or Telegram: the "task" job scam
A recruiter offers easy money for liking videos, rating hotels or "boosting" products, then asks you to top up to unlock bigger tasks. It is a job scam. Here is how it works and what to do.
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Job offer on WhatsApp or Telegram: the "task" job scam
"Hi, I'm from a recruitment agency. We have a part-time job from home, S$100 to S$500 a day, just a few minutes of tasks on your phone." You never applied for anything, but the offer sounds simple: like YouTube videos, rate hotels, write product reviews or "boost" items on a shopping platform. The first tasks even pay a few dollars. Then come the "premium tasks", which need you to top up your own money first. This is the task job scam, one of the most commonly reported scam types in Singapore. The rule: a real job never asks you to pay to work.
How does the "task" scam work?
- The bait. A WhatsApp or Telegram message, or an SMS, from a "recruiter", often with a foreign number or a profile picture of a smiling HR executive. Sometimes it begins with a post on social media.
- The easy tasks. You follow accounts, like videos or screenshot ratings, and receive small payouts by PayNow or bank transfer. This builds trust.
- The group. You are added to a Telegram group with other "workers" (often fake accounts) who post screenshots of big earnings.
- The top-up. To unlock bigger commissions, you must "prepay" or "top up" orders on a website or app. Your balance on screen keeps growing.
- The trap. When you try to withdraw, there is always a reason you cannot: a "negative balance", a "combination task", a "tax" or a "release fee". Each requires another payment. The money on screen was never real.
A related variant asks you to receive and forward money, or to "rent" your bank account or Singpass. That turns you into a money mule, and letting criminals use your bank account or Singpass can be a criminal offence in Singapore.
What are the warning signs?
- You never applied. Real recruiters do not cold-message strangers with salaries that sound too good.
- The work is trivial and the pay is high. Liking videos does not earn hundreds a day.
- You must pay to earn. Top-ups, deposits, fees, "unlocking" tasks.
- Withdrawals keep failing until you pay more.
- Communication only by WhatsApp or Telegram, no interview, no contract, no company address you can verify.
- Cryptocurrency or payments to individuals' accounts.
- They ask for your bank account, Singpass or NRIC "for payroll" or to "process" money.
What should I do if they just messaged me?
- Do not reply and do not click any link.
- Block and report the number in WhatsApp or Telegram and through ScamShield.
- If you are genuinely job hunting, use established job portals and check the employer independently. Employment agencies in Singapore must be licensed by the Ministry of Manpower, and MOM provides a way to check licensed agencies on its website.
- Never share your Singpass, bank logins or OTPs.
What if I've already paid or sent my details?
- Stop paying. No fee will ever unlock a withdrawal. The more you pay, the more they ask.
- Call your bank on the official number and report the transfers. Ask whether anything can be stopped or recovered.
- If you gave your bank account or Singpass, tell your bank, reset your Singpass password, and make sure no one else can access your accounts. If money arrived in your account from strangers, do not move it: tell your bank and the police.
- Keep everything: chat history, group names, website addresses, wallet addresses and receipts.
- Make a police report through SPF e-services and follow ScamShield's I've been scammed checklist.
Where do I report it?
Make a police report online or at a Neighbourhood Police Centre. Report the numbers through ScamShield and the accounts to WhatsApp or Telegram. If you are unsure whether an offer is genuine, the ScamShield Helpline (1799) can help.
Frequently asked questions
I got paid for the first tasks. Does that mean it is real? No. Small early payouts are part of the script, paid with other victims' money, to make you trust the system.
They say I will lose everything unless I pay one last fee. Should I? No. There is no last fee. The balance on screen is just a number on a fake website.
Is it illegal to let someone use my bank account if I didn't know it was a scam? It can expose you to investigation. That is why you should never lend or sell your bank account or Singpass, and should report to the police as soon as you realise.
Someone contacted me offering to recover my money. Is that real? Almost certainly a second scam. Real recovery goes through your bank and the police, never through someone who charges a fee.
In short
An unsolicited job, trivial tasks, early payouts and then top-ups that never come back: that is the task scam. Real jobs pay you; they do not charge you. Stop paying, call your bank, keep the evidence and make a police report. And report the number in the NoCall spam numbers directory to warn others.
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Article details
Editorial content reviewed by NoCall with practical context for spotting suspicious calls and messages.
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