For quite some time, I was able to avoid online scams like he plague. But the more vulnerable you are, the more it will happen. I had to learn the hard way, so until I start searching for a job or side hustle. I was always under the delusion that the normal employer-employee relationship was that you traded your time and skill for their money.
To me, that means when an employer hires you. You then do the job you were hired to do for a set number of hours at an agreed-upon rate before the work begins.
Is it different for online work?
When is it okay to do a job and then be told you must join an online banking site in order to get paid? I went along with it because I wanted to see for myself if it was a scam or not.
That’s when I asked if there were any fees to get paid… they lied.
After joining the site, they “deposit” the funds into your newly created account. You can see the money sitting there—an account you were forced to create, or else risk not getting paid. (Spoiler: you’re not getting paid anyway.)
Once the money appears, they tell you to “follow the process” to receive your payment. But before you can withdraw it, you have to pay a $150 VAT fee to “unfreeze” your funds. It’s supposedly refundable, or so they claim.
That’s the point where I knew it was a scam and stopped. Because it doesn’t matter if the job is online or offline:
Employers pay employees, not the other way around.
Maybe I missed out on something legit, but when the hair on the back of my neck stands up? Nope.
If you’re on social media looking for a job or side hustle in these groups, it goes without saying: be extremely cautious, especially if they want to continue on Telegram, WhatsApp, or even MS Teams.
If they ask for your:
- Full name
- Country of residence
- Date of birth
- Sex
- Picture
They’re not hiring you as an employee. You’re a freelancer or contractor—so why do they need all that personal info?
In my opinion, they’re collecting as much personal data as possible to create a fake ID, especially if they have your photo. If they can get money from you on top of that, it’s icing on the cake.
So… run.
As for me, it’s been 11 months since my mom passed, and I started seriously looking for work. I recently deleted over 614 cover letters. All I got out of it was two lousy interviews—both scams—and one seasonal gig with Intuit.
Honestly, it’s been really discouraging, especially as the bills pile up and I fall further behind.
I’m sharing this in the hopes that it helps at least one person avoid getting scammed. Because this kinda fraud is happening in Facebook groups every single day.
If you do land work, make sure you’re getting paid—ideally, before you deliver the entire completed job. At the very least, ensure there’s a clear and detailed agreement on how and where you’ll be compensated.