Task Scams Unmasked: A Global Cybercrime Threat Exposed

Trend Micro has exposed a global "task scam" industry that lures victims into digital tasks and strips them of funds through escalating deposit demands. The scams impersonate legitimate companies, exploit trusted communications channels, and use gamification techniques. Victims lose between hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars each, with scammers transferring millions via cryptocurrency wallets. The report highlights the need for organizations to make their recruitment practices transparent and educate job seekers on how to identify legitimate communications.

Cybersecurity giant Trend Micro has released a comprehensive report detailing the mechanics and scale of a rapidly growing fraud model known as "task scams." These sophisticated online job scams lure victims into performing repetitive digital tasks and systematically strip them of funds through escalating deposit demands. The report, titled "Unmasking Task Scams," highlights the urgent need for organizations to make their recruitment practices transparent and educate job seekers on how to identify legitimate communications.

According to the report, task scams are one of the most financially and psychologically damaging cybercrime threats individuals face today. Trend Micro's research reveals a sprawling global criminal infrastructure that impersonates legitimate companies, exploits trusted communications channels, and preys on job seekers using gamification techniques. Scammers are transferring millions via cryptocurrency wallets, with victims losing between hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars each.

The report includes firsthand engagements with scammers, infrastructure mapping of malicious websites, and forensic analysis of associated cryptocurrency wallets. In one case, a single wallet received over US $187,000 in less than two months. Another wallet was linked to more than US $1.2 million in transactions. Key findings include the impersonation of real companies, gamified scam platforms, widespread use of SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and fake websites, and domain registrations linked to high-risk registrars.

Victims report a high emotional toll, often describing behaviors akin to gambling addiction. In some cases, task scams are linked to larger criminal operations that include forced scam labor and human trafficking in Southeast Asia, though such ties are not confirmed in every case. Trend Micro's ScamCheck with Scam Radar can help users recognize early on when they are being targeted by a scammer. The latest version of Trend Micro ScamCheck is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The report underscores the importance of organizations taking proactive measures to protect job seekers. By making recruitment practices transparent and educating the public on how to identify legitimate communications, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to these deceptive scams.

References:

[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trend-micro-unmasks-global-task-120200109.html
[2] https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke-university-federal-judge-strikes-down-two-trump-administration-dei-programs-diversity-investigation-colleges-20250815
[3] https://u.today/ripples-606-million-xrp-transfer-sparks-hopes-of-price-reversal