A message arrives on WhatsApp or Telegram from someone claiming to work for a well-known online brand, offering payment for “simple tasks” such as liking videos, rating hotels or optimising app listings. It looks casual, low-commitment and, at first, it pays. Lloyds Bank says reports of this kind of advance-fee job scam have risen 237% year-to-date, and it is now one of the fastest-growing frauds reported by its customers.
How the task scam plays out
According to Lloyds, fraudsters typically post fake job adverts on social media, over half of reported cases originate this way, promising easy remote work like liking videos or writing reviews. Christina Ford, a fraud investigator at Lloyds, describes the opening stage: “Customers are told they will earn a set amount per task and initially receive payments into their accounts.” Those first small payouts are the hook; they are real, and designed to build trust before the next stage.
Once trust is established, the scam shifts. Victims are moved into a private group chat, presented as a “workspace” or “training” platform, and asked to pay upfront fees for processing, training or background checks, or to deposit their own money to “unlock” higher-value tasks or fix a fabricated “negative balance.” Liz Ziegler, Lloyds’ fraud prevention director, is blunt about the giveaway: “No legitimate company will ask you to make payments when applying for a job.” Once a victim pays, the scammer disappears, or escalates the demands until the victim stops paying.
Who is being targeted, and how much is being lost
Lloyds’ data shows the average victim loses £1,420, with around 7% losing more than £5,000. Younger adults are disproportionately affected: 53% of victims in Lloyds’ figures are aged 18 to 34, a group more likely to be actively job-hunting through social media and messaging apps rather than traditional recruitment channels.
Some variants go further than simple task payments. Lloyds warns of more sophisticated versions involving fake interviews, forged employment contracts, and attempts to manipulate victims into becoming money mules, unwittingly moving stolen funds through their own bank account, which carries its own separate legal risk for the victim regardless of their intent.
How this differs from a standard fake job advert
Action Fraud’s longstanding guidance on recruitment scams describes the more traditional version of this fraud: a fraudster poses as a recruitment agent for a job, often overseas, that does not exist, and once one fee is paid, tells the applicant about another fee, and another, none of which lead to real employment. Task scams follow the same advance-fee logic but compress it into a faster, app-based cycle, using small real payouts rather than only promises, which is what makes them feel more convincing than a traditional too-good-to-be-true job offer.
Action Fraud’s advice for spotting either version overlaps closely: check documents and messages for poor spelling and grammar, verify that the organisation offering the work actually exists using official company records, and contact that organisation directly through independently found contact details, never through a number or link supplied by the recruiter.
Warning signs specific to task scams
Beyond a request for any upfront payment, Lloyds flags several additional red flags: being pressured to move the conversation quickly into an unfamiliar app or group chat presented as a “team workspace,” being asked to use a personal bank account to process payments on the employer’s behalf, and being told a “negative balance” has appeared on a task dashboard that can only be cleared by sending more money. A dashboard showing a fluctuating balance that requires ongoing payments to access is not a real payroll system; genuine employers pay staff, they do not require staff to pay in first.
Frequently asked questions
Can task scams start from a text message rather than social media? Yes. While Lloyds reports over half of cases begin on social media, the same tactics appear in unsolicited texts and WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers.
Is it safe to accept the first small payout and then stop? The first payout itself is not the danger; the risk comes from any request to pay money in, whether described as a fee, deposit, training cost or balance-clearing payment. Declining that request and ending contact avoids the loss.
What should I do if I’ve already paid? Stop all further payments, contact your bank immediately, and report the scam to Action Fraud, or to Police Scotland if you live in Scotland.
The bottom line
Task scams use genuine early payments to build trust before asking victims to pay in, whether through fees, deposits or a fabricated negative balance. Lloyds Bank’s figures show reports rising sharply, with average losses over £1,400 and younger adults most affected. The rule that catches almost every variant is the one Lloyds’ fraud prevention director states plainly: no legitimate employer asks a worker to pay to get paid.