People searching for easy side income are being drawn into a fraud scheme that mimics gig work, shows them fabricated earnings for tasks like liking videos or rating products, and then blocks withdrawals until they send cryptocurrency deposits. The FTC first flagged the pattern in a November 2024 consumer alert, and by August 2025 the agency published updated guidance as reports continued to climb. The FBI and Singapore Police Force have each issued separate warnings describing the same mechanics, signaling that the scheme is active across borders and growing.
How fake video-liking gigs turn into crypto drain traps
The scheme works because it feels like real freelance work at the start. Victims receive an unsolicited message, often through a messaging app or social media, offering pay for simple online tasks such as liking videos, boosting product ratings, or clicking through content. An app or web dashboard tracks what appear to be rising earnings. Early on, some users can withdraw small amounts, which builds trust and makes the operation look legitimate.
The trap springs once a victim tries to pull out a larger sum. The platform claims the user must first deposit money, nearly always in cryptocurrency, to “unlock” the next batch of tasks or release accumulated earnings. The FTC alert described this pivot directly: after initial tasks, users are told to deposit their own funds to keep working and to access what they believe they have earned. The deposits vanish, and the displayed balance never pays out.
The FBI outlined the same sequence in a June 2024 public service announcement, warning that scammers rely on confusing pay structures and insist on cryptocurrency transfers to continue. That PSA, posted on the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, emphasized that victims are often shown fake dashboards and pressured to act quickly before they can verify the offer. Larger deposits are encouraged with promises of higher commissions, creating a cycle that drains victims progressively.
Regulators and police across borders flag the same playbook
What makes these scams difficult to track is how quickly they adapt. The FTC returned to the subject in August 2025 with updated guidance on spotting task scams, confirming that the format had persisted well beyond the initial wave. That guidance reiterated the core warning: any job that requires a deposit to release pay is a scam, and the crypto sent will not come back.
Outside the United States, the Singapore Police Force issued an advisory in March 2026 reporting an increase in scam cases involving cryptocurrency transfers tied to supposed online tasks. The advisory described prevention steps and reporting channels, reinforcing that the same deposit-to-withdraw mechanic is active in Southeast Asia. The CFTC has also published digital-asset fraud guidance that directly addresses the “pay fees or taxes out of pocket to withdraw earnings” pattern, adding another federal regulator to the list of agencies warning the public.
No single agency has released aggregated complaint totals or dollar-loss figures specific to video-liking task scams. The FTC alerts do not break out this subcategory from broader fraud intake data, and law enforcement bulletins tend to group it with other crypto-enabled job or investment schemes. Still, the fact that multiple regulators have returned to the topic suggests that complaints are persistent and that the losses are significant enough to warrant repeated public education campaigns.
Red flags for would-be gig workers
Across the various alerts, a consistent set of warning signs emerges. Unsolicited job offers that arrive by text, messaging app, or social media should be treated with skepticism, especially when they promise high daily earnings for minimal effort. Requests to move conversations off of established job platforms and onto encrypted chat apps are another common marker.
Any requirement to pay before getting paid is a critical line. Legitimate employers do not ask workers to front money to access tasks, unlock commissions, or cover supposed taxes or platform fees. Pressure tactics are also telling: scammers often claim that offers are expiring, that accounts will be frozen, or that a “team” will be penalized unless a deposit is made quickly.
Finally, opaque or constantly shifting rules around withdrawals are a major indicator of fraud. Victims report being told that they must complete a certain number of “random” tasks, hit a minimum balance, or clear a negative account status before they can cash out. Each time they meet a new requirement, another barrier appears, along with a new demand for funds.
What to do if you’re targeted or lose money
Experts advising through these official alerts stress that people should stop sending money as soon as they suspect a scam and avoid engaging further with the operators. Screenshots of chats, payment records, and platform dashboards can help investigators, so victims are encouraged to preserve evidence rather than deleting it out of embarrassment.
In the United States, victims can report incidents to the FTC and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, which uses those submissions to spot patterns and support enforcement actions. In Singapore, police urge residents to file reports promptly through official channels and to contact their banks or crypto platforms to see whether any transfers can be frozen. While recovery is often difficult, timely reporting can limit further losses and help authorities disrupt similar schemes.
The cross-border nature of these video-liking and task scams means they are likely to keep evolving. But the underlying rule remains simple: if a side gig asks you to send cryptocurrency in order to withdraw what you supposedly earned, it is not a job at all-it is a payment funnel for criminals.
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