Authorities in Japan are raising the alarm over a new, deceptively innocent social media scam that requires users to do one simple thing to earn some extra cash: take screenshots of videos.

While it may seem like an easy side hustle, the scheme has caused an estimated ?1 billion ($6.5 million) in total damages, with people losing ?800,000 on average in each case. A total of 1,615 of such cases were reported in 2024, according to the Consumer Affairs Agency.

Victims are asked to add a promotional account on the Line messaging app and go through a test run in which they send screenshots of certain videos and are paid around ?100 electronically for each.

The scammers explain that it is all part of an effort to help vloggers get more views on social media.

When the victims request to continue in the scheme, they are instructed to set up an account on a certain app or website where they are to enter their personal information, including their bank account details. Discussions on assignments promising high rewards are carried out over messaging apps such as Telegram.

For higher-paying tasks that go up to a few hundred thousand yen, victims are asked for a participation fee of a few thousand yen, before being told to pay increasingly higher fees.

At some point, victims are told they have made an error while conducting a task and that they must provide compensation.

To reassure the victim, the scammer promises them that they will get back their participation fees as well as the compensation they had paid in addition to the agreed-upon reward if they go on to complete the task correctly. Some victims have remitted as much as tens of millions of yen before realizing they have been duped.

So far, the Consumer Affairs Agency has found no evidence of repayments being made.

The agency warns users not to apply for side jobs on social media that promotes easy money, or respond to job posts that require advance payments to proceed to the next task.

It also asks users to be wary when they are told to download apps such as Telegram or Toome ¡ª since both are commonly used in scams ¡ª and to contact the government hotline if they feel that something is off.