The National CERT of the Republic of Serbia informs citizens that a new online pyramid scheme is underway in the form of attractive offers that allegedly allow for quick earnings, in just a few clicks and with flexible working hours. These are sponsored ads that are distributed via social networks such as Facebook and Instagram, and the "work tasks" in most cases involve liking videos on the YouTube platform, filling out certain order forms, etc. For the purposes of this scam, the name of the legitimate platform Tagger is being misused.
Examples of sponsored ads can be seen below:
If users respond to this type of ad via WhatsApp (most often foreign phone numbers), they receive information about the conditions of the “work engagement” and details on how to perform work tasks and earn online income on a daily basis. In the next step, users are directed to the Telegram application, through which they receive tasks and forward screenshots of liked videos or other types of “work tasks” as confirmation that they have completed the work. This pyramid scheme begins with small amounts (usually up to 500 dinars) that users pay into a bank account for the purposes of the alleged membership fee. In order to gain the trust of users, at the end of the first “working day”, they are paid a “daily allowance” that is usually double the value of the money invested.
During further communication, users are offered the opportunity to "progress", that is, to invest larger amounts and earn more money, which is most often possible in the first rounds of this scam. To continue further "cooperation", users are required to make larger payments to one of the bank accounts. If the user becomes aware that they are part of an online scam and decides to withdraw the invested funds, the user is required to make a payment of several hundred thousand dinars in order to receive an alleged "code" that allows them to withdraw their money. If users agree and pay the requested amount to receive the alleged "code", all communication is interrupted and users are left without their invested money.
It should be borne in mind that this type of scam is becoming more and more common, and users most often come across such offers through sponsored ads on social networks, and the concept is always the same - quick money, just a few clicks, work from home and flexible working hours.
The National CERT's recommendation is that users examine the legitimacy of the offered conditions for online investing in as much detail as possible before each investment, but also to be extra cautious with investments that promise large and quick profits.