There are many options for earning money on the Internet today. Modern technologies open up a wide range of opportunities. Many people are interested in remote work. Someone is simply looking for a part-time job, for example, mothers on maternity leave, students and pensioners, while someone is interested in a full-time job that will bring a stable income. The rules of the market work like this: when there is demand, there will be supply. The labor market in this case is no exception. Unfortunately, not all offers of remote work are honest. You can come across various fraudulent schemes. We will talk about one of them today - namely, sorting pictures
If you are looking for work online, then most likely you have already come across offers on the Internet such as “Sorting pictures for a reward”. At first glance, this offer seems simple and attractive: you just need to classify certain images according to certain parameters, performing simple tasks. Often the payment is quite good. Simple work with good income - what could be better?! However, it often turns out that this is nothing more than a scam. What is this scheme and how does it work? We suggest you understand this in more detail!
The essence of the proposal
To put it briefly, the work offered is quite simple, but the salary is usually promised to be good. This is what attracts people. To be honest, each of us wants to do nothing, but at the same time have a good income. The essence of the work is as follows: you are sent images (for example, photos, scans of documents or advertising banners), which need to be sorted by categories, topics or other criteria. Pictures can be sent both simply through a messenger, for example, in Telegram, and through a specialized site. You will need to send the finished result of the work back and wait for verification.
Agree that at first glance everything looks quite normal and does not arouse any suspicions. Often, a potential employer even demonstrates evidence that he works honestly, for example, showing screenshots of correspondence with other workers who leave grateful feedback about cooperation. The authors of the ads promise a stable income. They emphasize that it directly depends on the worker himself. Income is affected by the volume of tasks performed. Certain numbers also sound. Most often, amounts from $ 100 per month for “part-time employment” are mentioned, which looks quite attractive to many people.
Details and nuances
After the first contact with the employer, the candidate is asked to create an account on a special website or app to access the tasks. Often, this requires providing personal data, including a phone number or email address. It may not be necessary and you will simply be asked to join a certain group/chatbot on a social network or messenger.
Then there is the subscription. You may be asked to pay for access to tasks, purchase a “license” or even make an insurance deposit, although sometimes it happens without this, but you should not be too happy, because the fraud schemes are different.
If you have paid for a subscription, then you will receive a test task. If you have not paid any money, then you will immediately be given the main task. Why is there such a difference? More on this later…
Why is this a deception and what is it about?
In most cases, the main goal of scammers is to take over your funds. To do this, they insist on a subscription. The arguments can be very diverse. Someone may say that registration on their site is paid, someone will offer to buy a course on how to work, someone will call the payment an “insurance premium”, which in case of cooperation will be returned to you after completing the first task. There are many options, but the result is the same – your funds will be appropriated and you will receive nothing.
Even if you get a “job,” the tasks will be meaningless. For example, you will be asked to sort ready-made categories that do not require manual work. This is done simply to cover up their fraud. As a result, you may be told that you did something wrong and your money will not be returned for this very reason.
There may be another option, when you are not asked to pay anything, because the scammer has a different goal - he wants someone to do real work for free. The result is no payment. The scammers either stop responding to messages or find an excuse why payment is impossible.
How to recognize fraud?
How can you quickly understand that an ad is just a “hook and bait” thrown by a scammer and not leave the scammer any chance? Here are some “red flags”:
First, real companies never ask for upfront payment for work. If you are asked to pay for access to tasks, this is a clear sign of a scam;
Secondly, try searching for information about the employer on the Internet. The lack of contact information, legal address, or real reviews is a red flag;
Third, be critical of promises of payment. If it's about hundreds of dollars and the work is easy, does not require any special skills, education, or experience, then this is a clear scam.
What to do when you've already been cheated on?
- Gather evidence;
- If the payment was made by card, contact your bank immediately to try to cancel the transaction (chargeback). If you provided the fraudster with your card details, block it;
- Contact the cyber police of Ukraine with a corresponding statement and provide them with evidence;
- Try to spread information about the scammer and his scheme through social networks, instant messengers, and various thematic forums. Tell your friends and acquaintances about what happened to you so that they are informed;
- In the future, be more careful and cautious.
Example ad and other useful information
Where can you find ads of this nature? Sometimes they are found by a person surfing the Internet on their own. Most often they are distributed through social networks, in messengers and on job sites. Something similar will definitely be on the OLX platform.
Example
"We are looking for employees to work on the Internet! Your task is to sort images by categories. The work is simple, suitable even for beginners, no experience is required."
What we offer:
- Earn up to $500 per month.
- Flexible schedule: work when it suits you.
- Ability to work from home using a phone or PC.
What you need:
- Basic computer or smartphone skills.
- Attentiveness, desire to work and earn.
- Internet access."
Often, the emphasis is on the benefits that are intended to attract attention and interest: high pay, ease of completing tasks, 2-3 working hours per day, the ability to work remotely in a comfortable home environment, etc. Some scammers even add fake reviews from supposedly successful participants.
Let's summarize
Working online is quite real and if you wish, you can find vacancies that offer real tasks, for the completion of which you will receive a decent salary. Unfortunately, sorting pictures is not the case. This is nothing more than one of the ways to cheat on the Internet. The scheme itself may differ, but the result is always the same - you will be deceived and you will be left with nothing. If you follow the rules stated in this text, you will quickly understand that they are trying to deceive you and will not be led astray by promises, so we recommend that you remember them.
