KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Working from home is becoming more popular and unfortunately, scammers have picked up on the increased demand for work-from-home jobs.

One East Tennessee woman thought she’d found the perfect job on one of the popular online websites. The only problem was that scammers had stolen information about the real job opening and directed would-be job seekers to their fake website. The fake job involved repetitive tasks like “optimizing products” or “boosting Amazon reviews,” through an app or website, and the scammer promised high daily earnings with minimal effort.

Marianne Reyns went to the online job site LinkedIn, where she found the perfect opportunity to make money at home, or so she thought. She believed she was working for Nexxen, a digital advertising company. But, she wasn’t.

“I was paid to just click a button, and to optimize it to make it be a five-star rating. See, it’s supposed to push these star ratings out. You hit this little button, and you just keep clicking it. All of a sudden, if it does a double order like that, it brings up a negative,” said Reyns.

Reyns showed several negatives, which means she’s losing money. There are three negative transactions amounting to nearly $400.

“This is where it brings up the negatives where you have to put your money in to get your money out,” said Reyns.

She is supposed to earn a hefty profit; instead, the scammer is keeping it.

“It says $9,499.55,” said Reyns. “Yeah, frozen balance because you have to put that money in to get it out.”

Sensing, Reyns was anxious. A woman calling herself Annie Corbin sent this text: “I know this feels overwhelming. You have done so much, and it’s completely okay to feel stressed with such a large amount. Let’s take this step by step, focus on what you can handle safely right now.”

Reyns said it was Annie Corbin who helped her start the job.

“She said, ‘Well, you just have to go through the training.’ I said, ‘Yeah, is there any investment? Because I’m not investing anything.’ She said, ‘No, there is no investment. You just have to do this, and then you get paid for the training.’ So, she walked me through the training, and that’s how I got the first $100,” said Reyns.

However, soon after the first bit of profit, Reyns said she was paying them. She showed us an $800 withdrawal from her credit card sent to the scammer.

“You have to send them the money that is in the negative, which was about $800, to be able to do the rest of the task,” she explained.

“Does any of this make sense to you?” asked Don Dare.

She replied, “No.”

“Then why were you doing it?” he asked in response.

“Because I was looking for a job, and it seemed easy, and I was making money at the beginning. It was like gambling,” said Reyns.

She went on to say that she expected to make a profit, but instead she lost about $2,000.

The real Nexxen has issued a warning about this scam. The company says they will never request payment (cash, crypto, or any other form) as a condition of employment. They do not offer positions that require you to invest in vague or dubious financial schemes, and they do not promote roles that resemble get-rich-quick opportunities.

Reyns has this advice if you are looking for a work-at-home job.

“Be careful of all the things out there that look real,” said Reyns.

Nexxen is a legitimate, publicly traded advertising company and had nothing to do with this scam. It continues to issue warnings about fraudulent activities using its name. It’s easy to get caught up in this “Pay to play” trap, because you’re asked to complete simple tasks, and at first, you receive small initial payments. To keep you working, the scammer builds trust. However, once you deposit your own hard-earned money, it’s gone. The scammers disappear with your funds, and you can’t cash out any of your fake earnings.

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