- “Gamified job scams” jumped 485% last year
- These entice job seekers to complete tasks online for small payments
- This represents a loss of more than $6.8 million in 2025
A new study from CNC Intelligence has revealed a significant increase in the number of “job scams” or “gamified job scams” targeting job seekers in 2025.
Almost everyone is aware of the increasingly difficult job market, with more than 7.5 million Americans currently unemployed. This has allowed fraudsters to prey on those looking for new opportunities.
The task scam begins with, you guessed it, a task. This usually involves liking a video, commenting on a product, or leaving a review. From there, scammers will build trust by giving them a small payment – often via cryptocurrency, but that’s where the generosity ends.
Growing demands
This is where it starts to get serious. Targets are then encouraged to deposit cryptocurrencies into an account to then complete other tasks – but, of course, this never happens.
Withdrawals are blocked and “trusted” contacts within the system will persuade victims to continue depositing more funds in order to “unlock” additional income. These gains never materialize and the victims suffer huge losses.
In fact, the study identified a total loss of $6.8 million due to this type of scam in 2025, a 485% year-over-year increase.
That’s a total of 4,757 job scam reports, almost six times more than the 813 reported in 2024.
“Job scams are designed to lure victims into a cycle that becomes more difficult to escape the longer it continues,” says Matthew Stern, CEO of CNC Intelligence.
“The first few tasks may seem legitimate, but as soon as the high-pressure demands for money start, it’s a strong signal that something is wrong. No real employer will ever ask you to pay to access your own income. Other early clues include payment terms that seem unusually generous, or all communications are done via WhatsApp or Telegram.”
The job market is incredibly tough right now, which makes it even more important to be careful with your savings.
The main thing to remember is that just like your bank won’t call you to ask for your contact information, legitimate job postings won’t ask for it. You pay them when you do work for them, especially not with cryptocurrency.
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