New FTC Data Show Skyrocketing Consumer Reports About Game-Like Online Job Scams
Cited in 2 Likelier entries (2 risks, 0 decisions).
Used in 2 entries
For each citing entry, the verbatim excerpt and Likelier's calculation notes (how the source's number was converted to the lifetime-probability framing) are shown below. Click through to read the full claim ledger.
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- Statistic
Task-scam reports rose from zero in 2020 to 5,000 in 2023, then quadrupled to ~20,000 in the first half of 2024; task scams accounted for nearly 40% of 2024 job-scam reports; cryptocurrency losses to job scams hit $41M in the first half of 2024
“"According to a new FTC data spotlight, these scams, known as task scams, have increased massively in the last four years, with reports of these scams increasing from zero in 2020 to 5,000 in 2023, then quadrupling to about 20,000 in just the first half of 2024. … Overall reported losses on job scams tripled from 2020 to 2023 and were more than $220 million in just the first six months of 2024. Task scams were estimated to account for nearly 40 percent of the 2024 job scam reports. … Cryptocurrency is the payment of choice for these scams."”
Calculation notes
Mechanism-trend evidence only — this is NOT a base-rate input. The spotlight reports the number of task-scam complaints (counts) and aggregate dollar losses, but no exposed-population denominator, so it cannot yield a per-adult-per-year hazard for task scams specifically. It documents that the gamified task-scam mechanism (fake "commission" work that flips into a crypto-deposit trap) is one of the fastest-growing fraud vectors and that cryptocurrency is its dominant payment rail, reinforcing the existing "Active cryptocurrency user" personal factor. Used to characterize the composition and growth of online-scam loss, not to move the headline 40% lifetime estimate.
Independence note: FTC Consumer Sentinel complaint data, methodologically independent from the AARP panel survey. Same data lineage as the 2024 Data Book source but a distinct, scam-mechanism-specific release.
Source date: 2024-12-19 · Accessed: 2026-06-14
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- Statistic
Task-scam reports rose from zero in 2020 to 5,000 in 2023, then quadrupled to ~20,000 in H1 2024; task scams ~40% of 2024 job-scam reports; overall job-scam losses >$220M in H1 2024; crypto losses to job scams ~$41M in H1 2024.
“Overall reported losses on job scams tripled from 2020 to 2023 and were more than $220 million in just the first six months of 2024. Task scams were estimated to account for nearly 40 percent of the 2024 job scam reports.”
Calculation notes
Corroborates the Spotlight's report counts and loss figures verbatim. No prevalence denominator stated.
Independence note: FTC press release restating the Spotlight; not independent.
Source date: 2024-12-12 · Accessed: 2026-06-13
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Task / job scam loss
How likely is a US adult to lose money to a gamified "task" or job scam?