Police are aware of reports emerging in the Wellington police district where people have lost money though a “Task Scam”.
A Task Scam is a form of online fraud where individuals are deceived into completing tasks under the belief they are in employment.
Sergeant Rowen Steenkamp, Wellington Police says “Most online scams request money or personal information, Task Scams are more deceptive, requiring you to complete activities that seem easy or attainable. These include such things as, writing a specified number of online reviews for consumables like luxury travel packages, household products and cosmetics.
Sergeant Steenkamp says at least eight cases have been reported to date in Wellington including some involving significant financial losses, which includes two cases where the victims have lost in excess of $100k (137,000 and 105,000).
“In the recent cost of living crisis, we’ve seen an increase in people having second jobs or side hustles. As a result, what is known as a Task Scam has emerged as a particularly deceptive threat.
“These scams imitate legitimate earning opportunities, with the ability to seemingly work around your lifestyle when and how you please.”
Wellington-based man Peter* is speaking out to help prevent others falling into the same trap.
Peter lost nearly $22,000 to a Task Scam last month. He was lured in by the chance of some easy money and regrets his decision.
Peter says it’s the first time he’d ever been scammed and never expected he would fall for it.
“I have lost a significant amount of my life savings, I had to stop ‘working the task’ because I had no money left.
“But then my (fake) “supervisor” encouraged me to borrow money from a friend, or to apply for a loan from a bank, or online loan website.
“They build trust, they monitor your progress like any other good manager would. They offer advice, before requesting more and more financial investments to enable you to move through to reviewing higher value items, it’s very convincing.”
“I urge people to be very careful online and avoid any schemes which offer easy cash,” he says.
What is a Task Scam?
Scammers are using various online platforms, from reputable job websites to social media channels, to unsolicited approaches on chat platforms.
“The scam operates on the allure of easy money. These offers typically promise high returns for simple tasks, instantly sounding appealing. In recent cases we have seen people offered $200-500 for 30 online product reviews, with higher-end items such a cruises claiming to provide even higher rates of commission,” says Sergeant Steenkamp.
The victim is assigned a manager who contacts them via Whatsapp, Telegram or Messenger using spoofing websites.
Spoofing is where someone disguises an email address, phone number, or website URL to appear to be from a local, trusted source.
The most enticing piece of these scams is the lure of easy money. Victims are promised hefty commissions upon completion of tasks. However, in most cases, they pay large sums of money to completing ‘training’, or to enable them to progress to the next task.
These are more often paid into crypto wallets or offshore bank accounts and the money is never seen again,” says Sergeant Steenkamp.
Consequences for Victims
The consequence of falling for a task scam is often huge financial loss. Recently, we have seen losses ranging from $7000 – $120,000. Globally, victims are thought to have lost more than $185 million.
In addition, the emotional and psychological distress, the feelings of betrayal and deception can have a lasting effect.
Remember this advice to help keep yourself safe:
- Confirm job offers: Thoroughly research the company and confirm the job exists, especially if you are approached via social media or chat platforms.
- The saying rings true: If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Be cautious of earning high money for little effort.
- Ask other opinions: Ask your friends or whanau their thoughts on the job offers, a second set of eyes my see something you don’t.
If you are in the unfortunate position of being a victim of a scam, please report the matter to Police.
Take the chance to upskill yourself on scam awareness, check for further information on the Netsafe website.
*Peter is not the victim’s real name.
Image credit: Unsplash+
The best way to avoid on line scams it to never do on line banking , we need to force the banking system and govt’s and businesses to make cash usable everywhere. If a business refuses to accept cash take you business else where. The more people do this the more silly little cashless business will change policy or go out of business. if you really need to buy or pay for something on-line use a prezzy card I guess.
We need to stop the push towards a cashless society or we will be putting our selves in even greater financial trouble.
Also, we need to push the stopping of ‘Online Banking’ as the internet has proven time and time again that it is NOT secure.
We do ‘Phone Banking’ which is more secure, but outside of that, we visit the Bank in-person to interact with a real human.
Cash is legal tender, and Anon is correct; if they don’t take cash, take your ‘custom’ and ‘business’ elsewhere.
Avoid the Woke businesses that are rabid about not using cash, and are anxiously awaiting with great anticipation the arrival of CBDC, Social Credit, and the other hosts of tyrannical aspects of Government control!!!
Yes, between yourself and Anon I could not have put it any better. We need to stop the march towards a cashless society and we need to stop it now before it’s too late.
‘Talent’ contests are another scam to meticulously avoid. Before you know it you have unwittingly signed away the rights to your own image and imagination. Hypnosis techniques both online and ‘in the flesh’ are behind most scams. Keep those shades down. Don’t take lollies from strangers and if you’re at a bar, keep your drink covered.
Thank you Peter, for the heads up. Victims are mostly too embarrassed and confused to be able to relay their experiences in a coherent way.