Task-based 'like and subscribe' job offer by text
Unsolicited texts offer easy phone work, such as liking or subscribing to videos, with no interview required. A dashboard may show earnings growing, but when you try to cash out you are told to pay fees that keep going up.
How it works
A text says a company will pay you well to complete simple tasks on your phone, such as liking or subscribing to YouTube videos. There is no resume or interview. You may be moved to an app or a dashboard that appears to track tasks and show a rising balance in a digital wallet. When you try to withdraw the money, you are told you must first pay a fee. Those fees grow, more tasks are added, and the balance on the screen is never paid out. The Better Business Bureau warned in June 2026 that this task-based scheme was hitting job seekers, including in Alabama, and that job-scam reports had nearly doubled the year before.
Red flags
- The job arrives as an unsolicited text and hires you with no interview.
- The work is simple 'tasks' such as liking, subscribing, or rating content.
- A dashboard or wallet shows earnings, but you must pay a fee to withdraw them.
- The fees keep increasing, or the conversation moves to WhatsApp or Telegram.
What to do
- Do not pay a fee to 'unlock' or withdraw job earnings.
- Stop contact, and do not share ID photos or bank details to 'verify' the account.
- Report the text at BBB.org/ScamTracker, reportfraud.ftc.gov, and ic3.gov. You can also forward the text to 7726.
- If you already paid, contact your bank or the payment service and tell them it was a scam.
Where to report it
- reportfraud.ftc.gov — the FTC's report form.
- ic3.gov — the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.