Fraud
Offers that ask you to pay first
Fake side jobs are built to look like real ones. They copy the language of genuine listings and often use the names of real companies. A few patterns show up again and again.
Warning signs
- You pay to start. Registration fees, starter kits, training packages or "activation" payments. Real employers and clients pay you, not the other way round.
- You move money for someone. Receiving payments into your account and sending them on, or buying gift cards for reimbursement. This can involve you in money laundering.
- Tasks that pay to unlock more tasks. Liking videos, rating products or completing "orders" where you must deposit money to continue.
- Pressure and secrecy. Being told to act today, to keep the offer to yourself, or to move the conversation to a private messaging app.
- Pay that doesn't match the work. High hourly rates for tasks that need no skill and no interview.
Check before you reply
Look up the company's official website yourself rather than using the link in the message, and contact them through it. Search the company name together with words like "scam" or "complaint".
If you've already paid
Stop sending money, even if you're promised a refund once you pay one more fee. Contact your bank straight away, keep the messages and receipts, and report it to the police and the consumer protection authority where you live.
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