Pay to Click (PTC) Scams
What is Pay to Click (PTC)?
Pay to click or PTC refers to work wherein the user gets paid for clicking on certain things such as banner ads, links, videos and more. These kinds of jobs require virtually no qualifications and offer daily or weekly payouts, making them preferable by those who are less tech-savvy or looking for an easy way to earn money on the side.
However, by participating in PTC work, you may be getting involved with things you may not want to be associated with. PTC activities are generally illegal or walking a thin line of legality. Examples of PTC scams are where you get paid to:
- Click on ads
- Watch Youtube videos
- Like a page of Facebook
- Retweet a tweet
- Pin something on Pinterest
- Write a review
All these kinds of activities have two things in common: One, they ask you to endorse something which you are not really buying or supporting. Secondly, the work is often demeaning, extremely repetitious and low paying. In many cases, they have a referral program where users are rewarded referral commissions for roping in others into the platform. Therefore, users become incentivized to portray an unrealistic image about the platform and its earning potential to gain referrals.
The Bad Effects of Pay to Click Scams
There are several reasons why you do not want to get involved in Pay to Click scams:
- You are supporting crime: Companies that are offering pay to click schemes are in most cases cheating advertisers. Advertisers are paying advertising networks for engagement such as clicks, views and retweets from people who are genuinely interested in their products and/or services. PTC companies are cheating advertising networks by fraudulently paying people to click on these ads and generate revenue for themselves. PTC companies operate as ‘click farms’ that are guilty of ‘click fraud’. You are faking interest, which may not be illegal in your country, but can at least be considered unethical.
- You probably do not get paid: As these Pay to Click networks are making their money illegally, they are often taken down by the advertisers or advertising networks. Advertising networks quickly discover that they are being cheated and stop paying the scammer. The PTC company will then not pay you either.
When Not to Trust a PTC Site
Our general advice is to never trust a PTC site. Please use our general Scam checklist to see if the website is a scam or not. There are also some extra warning signs:
- Easy money is offered: Earning money can never be easy. If it would be easy, why would everybody not join these platforms? Do not trust websites offering high fees for simple tasks such as clicking on ads.
- Requiring upfront payment: An additional red flag is if the website asks you to pay for a subscription to get higher rewards or charges an application fee just to join the platform. These websites are nearly 100% scams.
- Never invest: Websites asking to invest in their site are very likely HYIP or Ponzi schemes. They use the money to pay other investors instead of investing the money into real assets. After a point, there is no more money to pay investors and you lose everything you have put into it.
- Payment proof: Do not trust payment proofs being displayed. These can easily be faked. If you still want to continue, privately contact a few references and see if they actually exist and have received any funds. You can also check the forum or community pages of the site to see if there are any real people behind it.
- Withdrawal problems: If you have trouble withdrawing your money or are required to reinvest your money, it is time to stop wasting your time and energy. The site will never payout.
As stated before, we think that nearly all PTC sites are scams. If you like to work from home, there are several legit websites where you can find meaningful and often better-paid work.
Please read our article on Work from Home Scams which include a list of trusted websites and make sure you are not cheated.
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