Click and earn over $10,000 a month. Is order farming the real deal?

Have you ever come across a part-time job ad like this one in Moments or chat groups:

Flexible hours, work from the comfort of your home

Click and earn over $10,000 a month

Easy! Daily payment! High income!

Sounds like the dream job. After all, who doesn't want to stay at home and earn money by using their phones?

But have you ever wonder, would such good fortune just fall on you like this?

Fake ads circulated by scammers in WeChat Moments.

1. Order farming: scammer hotspot

Unfortunately, reality is usually not so kind. Most of these order farming job ads that you see in Moments are scams.

From the WeChat user report data, we can see that order farming is a scammer hotspot. The number of reports on order farming has always remain high with victims suffering losses in the hundreds and thousands.

Why have so many people fallen prey to order farming scams despite the extensive media exposure it received?

On their own, these ads are already very attractive as they offer users with a way to quickly and easily make money without needing to go through the job application process or attending any interview. More importantly, scammers have become more cunning and know how to cover their schemes using different stories.

Scammers are well aware that they cannot keep using the same cover, so they are constantly "upgrading" their strategies and coming up with new tricks.

When the people grew more cautious about paying for the orders in advance, scammers changed their gimmick and promise instant repayment instead. Once they have lured their victims in, they will then defraud them by messing around with the system during the payment tutorial.

Sometimes the scammers use the promise of high commission to ask their victims to perform cash top-ups on malicious websites, gambling platforms, order snatching apps.

Order Farming Scam Methods

	1	Attract users with part-time ads that offer high returns and flexibility
	2	Use fake identity documents and contracts to earn users' trust
	3	Lure users to click malicious links or download unregulated apps
	4	Make users lose their guards by giving them small returns and commissions at the beginning
	5	Refuse to return the money and use excuses such as "at least 10 orders needed", "network errors" or "orders were not activated"
	6	Block users when they realize what is going on

Ultimately, scammers like to take advantage of the greed of the people, making those who dream of a quick way to get rich easy targets.

2. Should I take up part-time jobs involving order farming?

What if the order farming job is posted by a real merchant? Should an ordinary user like me give it a try?

The answer is simply no!

According to the laws and regulations of many countries, order farming infringes on consumers' right to know and right to fair trade, so it is illegal.

For example, Article 8 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China specifies that: "A business entity shall not deceive or mislead consumers by engaging in any false or misleading commercial publicity in respect of the performance, functions, quality, sales conditions, user comments, and honors received of its goods." The Singaporean government is also planning to step up the penalties for certain crimes in order to deter people from committing frauds. In the future, those who help others to make suspicious transfers using their bank accounts without finding out the actual purpose or those who directly allow others to use their accounts may be subjected to prosecution for money laundering.

We urge WeChat users to keep a lookout and not misplace their trust in fake ads and engage in illegal activities.

3. Zero tolerance for order farming and other fraudulent activities

WeChat has a zero tolerance for any suspicious activities that may violate the laws and regulations.

When a user submit a report with the relevant evidence, the WeChat team will take action in accordance with the WeChat Community Guidelines, WeChat Terms of Service and WeChat Acceptable Use Policy. Any account found guilty of engaging in fraudulent order farming activities will be penalized.

We will also identify and remove any accounts that carry out fraudulent acts in the name of order farming. Organizers and participants of any illegal order farming groups will also have their accounts dealt with in accordance with the relevant regulations. We encourage everyone to report any of such job ads to us whenever you see them. Together, we will make WeChat a safe and green community.

4. Remember these tips to identify scams

Finally, the WeChat Safety Center would like to remind everyone that order farming is illegal and risky business.

1. Any part-time job that requires you to make payment first or involves order farming is a scam. Do not be lured by the premise of easy money and click on any link that do not look familiar to you.
2. Use official platforms to look for part-time jobs. Do not trust part-time job ads that offer high returns for simple tasks.
3. Order farming is illegal. Do not break the law for small gains. Stay away from order farming and create a fair, just and healthy online shopping environment.
4. Report any illegal activities: If you see any of such illegal activities on WeChat, submit a report together with the relevant evidence using the WeChat app or by contacting the WeChat customer service center.