# Your earnings are ready. First, send money.

ID: SA-001
Type: Educational reconstruction
Audience / at-risk group: Job seekers and online task workers
Subject: Task scam pattern
Sources checked: 2026-09-14

## Lesson
A number on a dashboard does not prove that withdrawable earnings exist. Do not send money to release supposed wages.

## Source findings
FTC guidance describes task scams in which an online platform displays apparent commissions, then asks the person to deposit their own money. The message here is an educational reconstruction of that pattern.

## Limits
The wording and amounts are invented. This is not a victim’s message or an accusation against a named business. A legitimate payout minimum is different from asking someone to send a separate deposit. AI involvement is not established.

## Sources
- [Federal Trade Commission](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/11/task-scams-create-illusion-making-money) — Consumer advisory documenting task scams
- [Federal Trade Commission](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2024/12/paying-get-paid-gamified-job-scams-drive-record-losses) — Task-scam analysis and reporting context

Original editorial text: CC BY 4.0. Third-party captures, source texts, names and logos retain their own rights.