Recently, a new form of online scam has been claiming victims across Italy, targeting people looking for ways to make quick money through platforms like Telegram. Mauro (a fictitious name), one of the many victims, decided to share his experience in the hope of warning other users about the pitfalls of these scams, known as Task scams.
Details
Mauro’s story begins when he is contacted via WhatsApp by a British number: +44 7498 192927. After a short conversation, he is invited to join a Telegram group dedicated to internet marketing, where he is suggested to create an account on a website similar to This is Temu. the famous e-commerce platform of the Chinese company PDD Holdings, which also owns Pinduoduo. After completing the first “job” of fulfilling the order of a small merchant, Mauro earns a commission. The procedure seems simple: the company pays 3 EUR, while Mauro must add 2 EUR, leaving a total of 5 EUR, on the basis of which the commission is calculated.
To reassure the victims of the scam, the scammers make them read a fictitious “security guarantee agreement” that includes the logo of the Republic at the beginning and the logos of well-known Italian banks at the end. Everything seems to go smoothly until Mauro, after being reassured by the aforementioned document, decides to move on to the next levels, called VIP1, VIP2, etc. At each level, the demand for withdrawals increases, justifying that this is necessary to carry out new tasks to support the various “merchants” of an “online shopping center”.
At this point, the carousel of payments begins: Mauro is tricked into making instant transfers of between €2,500 and €30,000 to bank accounts of a Lithuanian bank, Paysera, and an Italian bank, Mooney. But every attempt to collect the promised fee fails. Excuses follow: an unsuccessful job, an insolvent trader or an inefficient tutor.
Each step of the process is managed through a Telegram account that poses as the marketing manager and continues to provide instructions.
The spiral of fraud: promises and further losses
When Mauro, disappointed and suspicious, stops responding, he is contacted again with new promises. He is told that another transfer would release the fees previously accrued and allow him to participate in a new round of earnings. The addiction to the scam mechanism takes root deeply in the victim’s mind, so much so that, as he tells us today, Mauro is forced to borrow money to meet the demands. The result is devastating: not only is Mauro unable to recover the money he invested, he ends up losing tens of thousands of euros. This situation is not an isolated case. Mauro reports that he is in contact with other victims, some of whom have even lost their homes due to these scams. Tired of suffering, Mauro decided to take action. He filed a complaint with the postal police in his town, detailing every step of the scam.
What needs to be defended
Mauro’s experience is a warning to anyone who is lured by seemingly quick and easy ways to earn money online. Protecting yourself from these scams is essential:
- Collect all evidence. Keep screenshots of conversations, payment receipts and other useful documents.
- Block immediately all contacts with scammers and report them to the platforms on which they operate (Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.).
- Submit a complaint at the first suspicion to the postal police.
- Contact a Consumer protectionlawyer to review your legal options.
- Share your experiences. If you warn other people by sharing details of the scam, you can prevent them from falling into the same trap.
- In case you have become a victim If you have been a victim of the scam and have been asked to pay in cryptocurrency, it may be worth contacting the Decrypto team to find out if it is possible to get back the money you saved through the scam.
