- Scammers offer £800 a day for TikTok tasks, then demand cash for fake training
- Young adults are falling into digital Ponzi schemes disguised as remote job offers
- Initial payments are bait – what follows is manipulation, pressure, and financial loss
As young adults across the UK search for flexible summer work, a troubling scam trend is emerging.
Criminals are targeting 16- to 25-year-olds with fake online job offers, many of which promise outrageous daily pay, sometimes up to £800, for tasks like liking and sharing videos on TikTok.
These scams appear professional at first, and victims often receive small payments initially, which creates a false sense of legitimacy.
From easy money to financial manipulation
The early cash is not income; it’s usually funds taken from previous victims in a kind of digital Ponzi scheme.
After the initial task-based rewards, scammers shift tactics, and the victims are asked to send money to access additional “training” or to “unlock” higher levels of earnings.
This pressure can escalate quickly, and in many cases, the transferred funds are funneled directly to criminal groups or used to lure more victims.
What seems like harmless engagement quickly turns into an operation designed for laundering money and manipulating trust.
According to Nortonthese scams are becoming alarmingly common, with survey data showing that 29% of Brits were targeted by a scam in the first three months of 2025, and 18% of those were job-related.
The scam messages are tailored to appear professional, with one scam reading: “We offer flexible remote part-time or full-time positions… Daily earnings range from £300 to £800… guaranteed monthly income of no less than £8,000.”
Experts warn that the ability to spot the warning signs is now more important than ever.
Offers that promise high pay for minimal effort, require upfront payments, or insist on contacting strangers via messaging apps should raise immediate concerns.
Maintaining digital safety begins with having the best antivirus and best ransomware protection in place, particularly for those applying through social media or lesser-known platforms.
It is also very important for job seekers to protect personal information, and those who think they may have been targeted need to act quickly.
The best identity theft protection tools can help detect and respond to misuse of personal data, especially when scammers gain access to banking or identification details during the so-called application process.
That said, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and being alert to these schemes is the first line of defense.