"Complete Tasks – Earn $120 Today" Text Scam — FTC Task Scam Warning
Micro-task earning platform — Telegram-based scam with escalating deposit requirements
Congratulations! You've been selected for our micro-task platform. Complete 40 tasks today and earn $120. Your first task set is ready. Sign up: task-earn-now.com
SMS
Confirmed scam
The task completion model mimics legitimate gig apps like Amazon Mechanical Turk to appear credible.
Typical victim loss: $1,000–$10,000
FTC Consumer Sentinel 2024 — job/task scam median $2,000; $501M total 2024
First seen
Aug 2024
Category
Employment
Attack vector
SMS
Trigger
Curiosity
4 red flags in this message
Pre-selected/congratulations
No legitimate platform pre-selects users via random SMS.
Same-day withdrawal promise
Scammers allow early withdrawals to build confidence before the deposit requirement appears.
Fake domain
Legitimate freelance platforms (Upwork, Fiverr, Amazon Mechanical Turk) do not recruit via text message.
Micro-amount guaranteed earnings
Exact earnings guarantees ($120, $200) are fabricated — real gig work income varies significantly.
What happens if you click
Task platform shows growing balance that cannot be withdrawn without a 'deposit.'
Deposit to 'unlock' withdrawal escalates repeatedly.
Platform disappears entirely once maximum deposit is extracted.
Fake Task Scam domains used in this scam
1 identifiedScammers register multiple lookalike domains for the same campaign — rotating them to avoid spam filters. Any link from these domains is fraudulent.
1 fraudulent domain identified in this campaign.
Other versions of this message
Scammers rotate wording to bypass spam filters. All variations lead to the same outcome.
You've been pre-approved for our online task platform. Earn $80–$200 daily by completing simple missions.
Join our team! Complete simple tasks on our app and withdraw earnings same day. Start here: quicktask-earn.net
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Frequently asked questions
Can I trust a task platform that shows a growing balance?+
No. The balance is fictional — displayed numbers that can never be withdrawn. This is confirmed in thousands of FTC and BBB reports.
What is 'task scam' according to the FTC?+
The FTC published a December 2024 Data Spotlight specifically on task scams. They describe a pattern: simple tasks → real small payments → escalating deposit requirements → total loss.
Are these platforms connected to overseas criminal networks?+
Yes. FBI and DOJ investigations have linked many to criminal operations in Myanmar, Cambodia, and other parts of Southeast Asia, sometimes involving trafficked workers forced to run the scams.
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Check your message →First documented: August 2024
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel 2024 — job/task scam median $2,000; $501M total 2024
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