“Pay to Get Paid” – The New Job Scam That’s Raking in Millions Right Now

How does this job offer sound? When you pay, you get paid. Sounds fishy, right? In fact, it's one of the fastest-growing job scams out there right now.

Looking at job scams overall, a data from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that job scam reports have nearly tripled between 2020 and 2024. Further, reported losses grew more than five times-spiking to $501 million in 2024.

In all, job scams are more common and more costly than ever.

And leading those losses is a new breed of job scam, where victims indeed "pay to get paid."

"Pay to get paid," the hottest job scam going

The FTC has dubbed these "pay to get paid" scams as "gamified job scams" or "task scams." Given the way these scams work, the naming fits. The work feels like a gamey task-and the only winner is the scammer.

It all plays out like this:

You get a job offer by text or private message. The scammer offers you "work" involving "app optimization" or "product boosting," which they often describe in loose, hazy terms.

You accept the offer. Then the scammer sets you up with an account on an app or platform where you get tasked to "like" or "rate" sets of videos or product images online.

You get to work. The app or platform is fake, yet it looks like you're racking up commissions as you click and complete sets of tasks. At this point the scammer might dole out a small payment or two, making you think the job truly is legit.

The scammer sets the hook. Here's where the gamey "pay to get paid" part comes in-if you want more "work," you must pay for it. At this point, the scammer requires a "deposit" for your next set of tasks. Like a video game, the scammer sweetens the deal by saying the next set can "level up" your earnings.

You get scammed. You make the deposit, complete the task set, and try to get your earnings from the app or platform-only to find that the scammer and your money are gone. It was all fake.

Based on what we've seen in the past, these scams borrow from other "easy money" con games found on payment apps. "Easy money" scams build slowly as scammers build a false sense of trust with victims by making small returns on small investments over time. Finally, with the con set, the scammer asks for a huge amount and disappears with it. "Pay to get paid" scams can work much the same way.

A few things to keep in mind about this scam as well:

• Per the FTC, any job that pays you to "like" or "rate" content is illegal. That's the irony here. It asks you to do something illegal, which leads to something else illegal-theft.

• Reports show that scammers often fund these scams with cryptocurrency. In fact, the FTC says people lose far more money to job scams using cryptocurrency than any other form of payment.

Keep your money safe from "pay to get paid" job scams

Step one-ignore job offers over text and social media

A proper recruiter will reach out to you by email or via a job networking site. Moreover, they'll give you clear details about a possible job, and they'll answer any questions you have just as clearly.

Quite the opposite, scammers write vague texts and private messages. They're often big on hype but short on details. Asking questions about the job will get you similarly vague answers. Ignore these offers.

Step two-look up the company

In the case of online job offers in general, look up the company. Check out their background and see if it's an actual company-and see if that matches up with what that recruiter is telling you.

In the U.S., you have several resources that can help you answer that question. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) offers a searchable listing of businesses in the U.S., along with a brief profile, a rating, and even a list of complaints (and company responses) waged against them. Spending some time here can quickly shed light on the legitimacy of a company.

For a listing of businesses with U.S. and international locations, organizations like S&P Global Ratings and the Dun and Bradstreet Corporation can provide background info as well.

Lastly, check out the company's website. See if it has a job listing that matches the one you're offered. Legwork like this can help uncover a scam.

Step three-refuse to pay

As simple as it sounds, don't pay to get paid.

Any case where you're asked to pay to up front, with any form of payment, refuse. A legitimate employer will never ask you to invest or deposit a small amount of money with the promise of a big return. And a legitimate employer will provide you with things like training or equipment to do the job you're qualified for.

More ways you can avoid scams online

Online protection software like ours can help keep you far safer from job scams and scams in general. Specific to job scams, here are just a few ways it can help:

• Scammers still use links to malicious sites to trick people into providing their personal info. Web protection , included in our plans, can steer you clear of those links.

• And scammers love lacing texts with links to suspicious sites and other places where that can steal personal info. McAfee+ can block those links and prevent you from clicking on them. AI technology automatically detects scams by scanning URLs in your text messages. If you accidentally click a bad link, it'll block a risky site.

• Scammers get your contact info from somewhere. Many scammers get it from data broker sites. Fueled by thousands of data points on billions of people , they can harvest your contact info, along with other personal info for a highly tailored attack. McAfee's Personal Data Cleanup scans some of the riskiest data broker sites , shows you which ones are selling your personal info , and, depending on your plan, can help you remove it.

• You can also lower your profile on social media with our Social Privacy Manager . It helps you adjust more than 100 privacy settings across your social media accounts in just a few clicks, so your personal info is only visible to the people you want to share it with.