Sharing my experience of falling for a task scam, in the hope that it helps others avoid the same fate. What seemed like a simple, safe task ended up causing significant financial damage. Here is the full story in detail.

The Scam Method

The scam I encountered was deceptively simple: send screenshots of YouTube videos for payment. The scammers explained that completing this task would earn a reward. It required no special skills or significant time, so I participated without suspicion. But this was just the beginning of the trap.

The Damage

This scam cost me a total of 200,000 yen. The scammers, pretending to process reward payments, demanded various fees and deposits under different pretexts. The amounts started small, so I paid without suspicion, but the demands escalated until I had paid a substantial sum before realizing what was happening.

How the Scammers Operated

The scammers used multiple bank accounts — a common technique to avoid detection. By receiving small transfers to different accounts, they make it difficult to track the fraud.

The Specific Scheme

One day, I received an SMS message: “Want an easy part-time job?”

I was short on money, and curiosity got the better of me — I added them on LINE.

The scammers immediately sent details: “Just send screenshots of specified YouTube videos and earn 50,000 yen per day.” Even though I suspected it was a scam, curiosity made me go along.

Despite my doubts, I watched the specified videos and sent screenshots. To my surprise, 150 yen was actually deposited.

Encouraged by this, I followed the scammers’ instructions: “To withdraw more money, you need to register on our dedicated site” and “From now on, we communicate via this dedicated chat app.”

On the dedicated chat app, I kept completing tasks, earning 7,000 yen for less than an hour of work per day.

Then came the invitation: “Want to try a high-reward task?”

The scheme: deposit money into a specified account, perform operations on their site, and the money would increase by 1.3x.

I knew this was the real scam, but I sent 3,000 yen anyway. After performing the specified operations, the money really did increase to 1.3x.

Excited, I sent 10,000 yen for the next high-reward task. But the scammers claimed the money was lost due to an “operation error.”

Regretting my mistake, I sent another 10,000 yen. This time it succeeded, and 10,000 became 13,000.

When I tried to withdraw, they said: “This task requires 3 rounds.” They demanded an additional 30,000 yen deposit, which I paid in complete trust.

After performing the operations again, they claimed: “There was an error in your operation — you need to pay 150,000 yen.” I convinced myself that my money would increase and I would get everything back, so I sent the 150,000 yen. It too “increased” to 1.3x.

When I finally tried to withdraw, they demanded another 300,000 yen. That is when I finally realized I had been completely manipulated.

The lesson: no matter how simple or safe a task seems, be extremely cautious when strangers on the internet demand money.

My Regrets

• Acting out of curiosity even though I knew it was a scam
• Not thinking calmly when asked to transfer large amounts
• Having internet banking enabled, making it too easy to send money
• Lack of knowledge about fraud prevention

What to Do If You Are Scammed

If you fall victim to a scam like this, contact the police or a consumer center immediately. Share the bank account information used by the scammers.

The police have a dedicated cybercrime reporting hotline: https://www.npa.go.jp/bureau/cyber/soudan.html (Japanese)

For wire transfer fraud, contact your bank. In my case, I contacted PayPay Bank’s “Wire Fraud Consultation” service. This can trigger the “Wire Fraud Relief Law” to freeze the scammer’s account. However, if the account is empty, recovery is impossible — act quickly before the scammers drain the account.

Prevention Tips

• Verify: Research the task provider’s credibility and avoid anything suspicious.
• Double-check: Thoroughly review payment conditions and work details.
• Share information: Warn others on social media and community platforms.

Ultimately, online safety requires not just individual vigilance but community-wide information sharing and support. Learn from this incident and stay careful online.