Task Scams in Senegal
Fake online task jobs circulate on Senegalese WhatsApp and Telegram networks, promising easy income for clicks and reviews before demanding deposits that vanish.
Part of: Task Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Task scams — known locally as 'petits boulots en ligne' ('small online jobs') — have spread rapidly in Senegal's growing digital economy, targeting students, graduates, and others seeking supplementary income. The offers promise hundreds of CFA francs per task for activities like rating products, liking posts, or completing surveys.
Orange Money and Wave make it trivially easy for operators to pay small initial sums (to establish credibility) and later collect larger deposits from hundreds of simultaneous victims.
How this scam works on Senegal
A WhatsApp message advertises easy online income; interested people are added to a Telegram group. A 'superviseur' assigns tasks and pays tiny amounts for the first few. The group chat is populated with screenshots of other members' supposed earnings to generate social proof — these are fabricated.
After establishing trust, a 'mission spéciale' is announced offering multiplied returns. To participate, the worker must deposit a specified amount into a platform account. The deposit grows visibly on screen but cannot be withdrawn without paying a new fee. After several rounds, the platform and superviseur disappear.
Senegalese victims who deposited family savings or borrowed from a tontine group face compounded financial and social stress.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited WhatsApp message advertising easy online income in CFA francs
- No formal employment contract, no company registration information
- Any deposit required to access higher-earning tasks
- Earnings visible on screen but withdrawal always blocked by new conditions
- Group members all post similar success screenshots around the same time
- Superviseur becomes evasive or aggressive when questioned about withdrawals
How to protect yourself
- Do not pay to work — legitimate employers pay you, never the reverse
- Report fraudulent job groups to WhatsApp using the built-in reporting feature
- Warn contacts immediately if you identify a scam spreading through shared groups
- Search the platform name with 'arnaque Sénégal' before participating
- Report the Orange Money or Wave collection number to the operator's fraud team
How to report it
- Report to the Division Spéciale de la Cybersécurité (DSC)
- Report the phone number to Orange or Wave fraud support
- Alert your local police commissariat with screenshots and payment records
Frequently asked questions
Is there any legitimate way to earn money online through small tasks in Senegal?
Yes — established global platforms such as Toluna, Swagbucks, and Amazon Mechanical Turk pay for genuine micro-tasks without requiring upfront deposits. Always verify any platform independently before committing time or money.